Test anxiety is one of the most common types of performance anxiety with previous research suggesting that 25-40% of U.S. adults suffer from it. Test anxiety often manifests in physical sensations such as headaches, stomach aches, impaired concentration, shaking, sweating and more. Dealing with these mental and physical symptoms can be truly debilitating for many people. Below, I have included a few evidence-based tools that have been shown to effectively reduce stress when implemented.
1. Mindfulness exercises
Mindfulness exercises are one of the evidence-based ways to calm the mind and the body. These exercises focus on bringing attention to the present moment while being aware of and accepting one’s thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations. A crucial step in mindfulness meditation is the ability to accept one’s feelings in a nonjudgmental and unconditional manner, allowing oneself to fully experience and ultimately let go of the worries.
According to “Mindfulness-Based Therapy: A Comprehensive Meta-Analysis“ which included 209 studies with a combined total of 12,145 participants, mindfulness-based therapy can be considered a highly effective tool for reducing anxiety. The study found a positive correlation between the mindfulness levels of the participants and clinical outcomes.
It may take some time to adjust to doing these exercises as a beginner. However, due to their effectiveness, they are very popular, and you can easily find many resources, such as articles or guided YouTube videos, to help you learn and get used to them.
2. Progressive relaxation technique
This technique was developed by Dr. Edmund Jacobson, who provided a detailed description of progressive relaxation in his 1938 paper, which involved tensing and relaxing 14 different muscle groups one at a time. This method is said to be highly effective as it allows the person to feel a physical release of the stress through alternatively tightening and relaxing the muscles of the body, experiencing what letting go of the tension physically feels like.
A quasi-experimental study, “The Effect of Progressive Muscle Relaxation Method on Test Anxiety in Nursing Students” was conducted at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences to measure the prevalence of test anxiety among nursing students, and the effectiveness of the progressive muscle relaxation technique, or PMR, on test anxiety. The study consisted of three stages with 49 nursing students, including both male and female individuals who were assigned to either the control or experimental group. The experimental group underwent four sessions of PMR and practiced it twice daily until finals, after which they filled out self-reported checklists. The overall findings of the study indicated that the PMR had notable effects in reducing test anxiety among nursing students.
3. Practice testing
The uncertainty about an upcoming test often fuels anxiety for many students. Practice testing can be highly beneficial, as it enables students to practice taking a test through retrieval processing, which not only helps them become familiar with the format but also enhances their ability to memorize material by retrieving it from long-term memory.
Various studies have examined the effects of practice tests, including “Classroom-based Programs of Retrieval Practice Reduce Middle School and High School Students’ Test Anxiety.“ In this study, over 1,400 public middle and high school students completed a survey about their reactions to retrieval practices. The findings revealed that 72% of the students indicated that the retrieval practices helped them feel less anxious about the exams, 22% experienced no change in their nervousness and only 6% reported increased anxiety.
4. Expressive writing
I was first introduced to this method in one of my psychology classes at UCLA, where our professor included a blank page at the front of the exam for us to try expressive writing. Trying it out helped me manage my anxiety and, as evidence suggests, writing about your worries and thoughts regarding the upcoming exam can not only help you process your concerns but also reduce anxiety.
The study “Writing About Testing Worries Boosts Exam Performance in the Classroom“ focused on the effects of expressive writing on anxiety reduction. Two laboratory experiments and two randomized field experiments were conducted to test how a brief expressive writing assignment immediately before an important test helped students manage test anxiety. The study found that short expressive writing interventions reduced anxiety by decreasing rumination and were especially helpful for students with higher test anxiety.
The methods outlined above, along with proper sleep, nutrition and hydration can be beneficial for managing test anxiety. I hope that you will find them helpful.
Well done on finishing up another grueling finals season this fall, and I hope these tips can come in handy for you in the winter!
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Featured Image: First year psychobiology student Naima Gelle studies for her biology midterm in Powell Library. Photographed by Tanisi Venkannagari/BruinLife.
