Evening Routines that Beat Test Anxiety

Did you know that you can dramatically reduce your test anxiety in just a few minutes before bed? Here's how:

Go to bed earlier. It seems like you have a billion things to do before you can hit the sack, but do all of those things really need to be done tonight? Or maybe just before bedtime is when you check your favorite social networking page to see what your friends are doing, and before you know it half the night is over. Save that late-night productivity or web-surfing until after the big exam - sleep deprivation can damage your ability to study, retain information, and concentrate. Lack of sleep also interferes with your ability to cope with stress.

Quickly review what you studied that day. Once you've changed into your PJs, you might want to grab your study notes and review your most recent study session. Don't spend too much time on it, though - you don't want to lose any sleep! But, before you turn out the lights, quickly reviewing what you studied will help you remember the material better.

Keep a notepad by your bed. People who have test anxiety often have trouble falling asleep. Get in the habit of using a notepad to record any evening thoughts - things you need to do tomorrow, some piece of information you want to look up, and so on. This is a good way to release the thoughts in your head that keep you awake. Once you've written them down, you can let them go until the morning when you will have the time to deal with them.

Practice relaxing your muscles. When you're tucked into bed and the lights are out, try this exercise: Starting with your feet, tense your muscles tightly while you breathe in (to the count of five), then release the muscle tension as you exhale, and focus on the relaxed sensation. Repeat with every major muscle group, moving upward and ending with your face. While this is a great way to relax before bed and bring on better sleep, it is also practice for the actual exam when you may need to do some muscle relaxation exercises in your chair to relieve anxiety.

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