Stressed Out Over Studying . . . Tests?
Author: Kansas State University
Topic: Stress
"I need to get myself psyched up to get things done. That's how I motivate myself!"
This is what many students believe. But psyching yourself up actually interferes with studying and with doing well on tests.
Read on to understand
1. how you learned to get too tense many times each day,
2. how that affects your grades, and
3. what you can do about it.
THE PROBLEM
You learned to be more tense than you need to be. That probably started early, perhaps in the second or third grade. You had a teacher who wanted to teach you how to take tests. So she gave you some practice. She announced on Monday that you would have a test on Friday. Then she reviewed a little with the class each day. You wanted to do well on the test for your teacher, for your parents, and for yourself. So when the day of the test came you got just a little "uptight" and anxious. But, of course, you passed it.
Your teacher gave another test. Again, you wanted to do well, so you got "psyched up" for the test, took it, and passed it.
What were you learning about taking tests? You were learning that it is best to get psyched up, tense, and a little anxious to pass tests. In Junior high and high school you got better at becoming a little anxious or tense whenever you had to perform. Perhaps it was taking tests, giving speeches, speaking up in class, or being in a play or musical group. And in college you got so good that now you're a real pro at tensing yourself, at becoming tenser than you need to be to succeed in whatever you do.
People who research these things estimate that we react with more tension than we need 50 to 200 times a day!
You stop at the library to get a reference for a paper that's coming due and find the book is checked out. You react.... You see someone who reminds you of a meeting tonight. You had forgotten about it and had planned to study for a test.... You pick the shortest check-out line at the Union Bookstore and then three people in front of you leisurely write checks for small purchases. . . In the lecture, your mind wanders off until you hear the professor say, "Remember that. It will be on the next test!" So it goes.... In each situation, your body reacts with more tension than necessary.
Your imagination also contributes. Recall when you took a speech course and just thought about or imagined yourself up in front of the class wlth all those faces looking up at you. You reacted before you ever got to class!
HOW DOES ALL THIS AFFECT GRADES ?
You overreact so many times a day in these little ways that your body does not have time to return to a more natural and stress-free level. You remain activated and tense. This, in turn, affects you in several ways:
You'll have more difficulty concentrating on studying.You're more aroused mentally (note, not more alert, just more aroused). Your thoughts may jump around, and you'll have trouble keeping focused on the text in front of you. Everything in the room your eyes fall upon will distract you. Or, you may find yourself having read several pages and not remembering anything on the last two.
You'll feel "rattled" and make "dumb" mistakes (like adding incorrectly or forgetting obvious facts). In some cases, you might "clutch and forget everything until the test is over. Then you can think of the answers, but it's too late!
You'll feel excessive fatigue. Being unnecessarily tense is like driving a car with its brakes partly on. The car runs out of gas sooner and the brakes wear out sooner. Same thing with our bodies -- we're just plain pooped at the end of the day, a time when we often need to be alert for studying.
Or, you'll be unable to sleep.When you hop into bed to go to sleep, your mind "turns on" and you lie there wide awake. Reacting with just a little more tension than necessary all day long builds, and it's hard for some people to turn it off at night.
