How to cope with Exam Stress

It’s almost exam time which can be stressful for students, parents, and teachers. How are you coping?

I know everyone is different and that some of you will sail through with flying colours. Either way you might be interested in these facts I read in a study done on 1,000 parents of teenagers. This study focussed partially on how parents felt exams affected their children. A whopping 82% of parents said that their teens’ worries were around their exams or education.

Exam stress is affecting teenagers mental health

66% of parents believed that their child reached a point where they felt unable to cope with school, exams, or the pressure of their education. 47% thought it affected their teen’s mental health, and 44% believed it hit their confidence. Interesting to note also is that 27% of parents said they felt more stressed than their child did about the exams. And one in three found it difficult to help their teens through the anxiety of exams.

Sleep is so important

It is so sad to see exams causing so much pressure, stress, and anxiety. As parents or caregivers, we can support them in managing this stress. Sleep for example, is very important, teenagers need about 8-10 hours a day. Quality sleep will help them deal with stress. It supports their mental alertness, and how well they put all of their learning together. This applies to all of us really.

Help them to be organised

We can encourage them to plan a revision timetable and help them to breakdown their work load into smaller tasks, to take regular breaks from study. A healthy diet and exercise are important. Conscious breathing, meditation, relaxation, and visualisation practices are brilliant to help relax, find inner peace, and to find the ability to stay calm in stressful situations. Having some down time with friends with help them unwind too.

Balance their nerves

Herbal remedies can help them or you. Higher Nature Balance for Nerves contains magnesium, passion flower, B vitamins, and theanine all included to aid relaxation, reduce stress, and to feel calm. It’s suitable from age 13. If you would like to try something different there’s A.Vogel Passiflora Complex tincture. It’s particularly useful for supporting those prone to worry or feeling under pressure. It’s suitable from 12 years of age. These are just some of our most popular herbal remedies to help with anxiety and stress.

Rescue Remedy is one that you will frequently hear me talk about. This is the little rescue remedy in the now famous yellow bottle. This can be used alongside any of the supplements that you choose. Students, parents, and teachers can benefit from this little remedy. It is especially useful in the days coming up to the exams and on exam days too.

Melissa Dream is a popular choice to help if you or your teenager can't get to sleep. It can help to switch off an over thinking mind.

For concentration you could consider Revive Mastermind this is the one to help support cognitive function.

We are happy to have a chat with you to help you choose what's best for you or your teenager.

Hope these tips can help get you through this stage of life successfully.