Calming Finals Anxiety
A stressed student puts his head down. A proper night’s sleep before a big test can help more than pulling an all-nighter. (Diverse Stock Photos/CC BY-NC 2.0)
Finals season creates a heightened sense of anxiety for almost every student. Even with knowledge of the whole year, the most prepared student can still be nervous. This year, the senior class will have been the only grade in the school to have taken high school finals because of the two years impacted by the pandemic, so the rest of the grades do not know what to expect Luckily, there are many tips for calming nerves.
To begin, preparation beforehand is the most important part. An article from the organization Educational Endeavours has three steps for long term preparation: get notes organized for studying, set a study schedule, and envision what will be on the test.
The organization Best Schools also emphasizes the importance of a study schedule. Having a routine for studying like reviewing for one hour each night or planning which days to cover which material makes the daunting task of reviewing the entire year a little better.
The article also says, “Creating a schedule helps you pace yourself and avoid burnout.” Cramming is something almost every student has done, but minimizing it will increase chances of knowing the material fully and not becoming overwhelmed quickly.
As far as short term preparation, getting a good night’s sleep is one of the most important things to consider, according to Best Schools. Studies like one published by the National Institute of Health have found that students who sleep less get worse grades. 82% of the students who took part in the study slept less than 7 hours, and almost all of their grades were worse because of it.
In the end, being kind to yourself is key. An article from the Odyssey to let yourself know you are not alone. Most people feel anxiety over finals to some degree. No student is alone in worrying.
Self-worth helps current Hershey High senior Mofi Oladipo during her finals. Remembering that everything on the test she had seen at least once before helped her destress during the test. Oladipo said, “All the knowledge you know is in your head. You just need to put it down on paper.”
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Maeve Reiter is a senior and the Hershey Editor of the Broadcaster. She enjoys dancing and listening to music, and she is constantly carrying a book around.
