Skip to main content

How to overcome exam fear and exam time sleeplessness

J asks: Whenever my exams are round t or the corner, I find I cannot sleep at nights. In other words I have exam phobia and exam insomnia or sleeplessness. My family doctor has prescribed mild tranquilizers but these are of no help. What can I do?


Reader's Query

Response: Apparently, anxiety over your approaching exams robs you of your sleep. Tranquilizers can only artificially sedate your nerves. It is wiser to tackle the root of your insomnia problem: anxiety and stress.

student withe exam fear and exam time sleeplessness

A good night’s sleep is absolutely essential for a good memory and to recall whatever you have read easily and quickly. Spending sleepless nights before the exams can take a toll on your physical and mental abilities and not help you perform your best. So make some lifestyle changes and try some of these tips and measures to tackle your sleeplessness and tension.

How to overcome exam fear and exam time sleeplessness or insomnia

Eat right

This one’s not just for insomniacs but for everyone. Make sure you have your dinner at least 2 hours before you go to bed. Do not eat heavy, greasy spicy food for dinner. It will take a lot of time for your stomach to digest all that junk and you will have trouble falling asleep. Do have a light dinner and include sedative foods like sweet potatoes, bananas, lettuce etc. You can also try sleep-inducing drinks such as milk or herbal teas before bedtime.

Consume warm milk (preferably skimmed) before a few minutes before you go to sleep. Skimmed milk contains tryptophan and calcium which help you fall asleep easily.

Teas such as chamomile, sage have a mild sedative effect and so having these before you hit the pillow will definitely help.


Exercise!


Boost your blood circulation by exercising. Half an hour at the gym or taking long walks between your study sessions will make you feel better and help you sleep peacefully.

Yoga is one of the best exercises to combat anxiety and stress related insomnia. (Do read How Yoga Poses Help You Sleep Better.)

Furthermore, doing regular exercise while studying has been found to boost pupils' exam grades in both French and maths, according to researchers from the University of Geneva, Switzerland. 

Exercise and physical fitness, reportedly improves executive functions and cognitive flexibility, which in turn helps with subjects that rely on specific and structured answers, such as mathematics, opine the experts.

However don’t overdo on exercise and see to it that you exercise 3-4 hours before you go to bed. 

Over-exercising and also exercising close to bedtime will prove to be counterproductive and prevent you from falling asleep easily and uninterruptedly. 


Breathing exercises / pranayam


Do AnulomaViloma Pranayam or alternate nostril breathing pranayam and Bhramari (Bumble bee) Pranayama for 10-15 minutes twice a day. This will calm your nerves, relieve your stress and anxiety and help you get a sound sleep. 


Meditation

Meditate for 15-30 minutes every day. Read the posts Meditate to release tension and Meditation for Beginners. 


Hot Foot bath Or Warm Shower

A hot foot bath is also a great way to relieve tension and fight insomnia. Alternatively you may try a warm shower before you go to bed. 

Limit your use of technology at night


Stay away from your laptops, smartphones, TV’s and preferably even e-book readers like Kindle one or two hours before you go to sleep. If at all you must read, read a physical book.

Even if you can’t fall asleep, lie on the bed and rest. Do not get up and study. It’s important to maintain the same bed timings every day. Make deliberate attempts to unwind and relax at night.

Try soothing music, a good book (a paperback and not a kindle) or calming visualizations, acupressure (this acupressure tip will help you fall asleep easily) or even a spot of meditation.

Keep your room cool and dark. Use dark curtains to block any light. If your curtains are not doing the trick for you, use an eye mask / sleep mask. Do read about the benefits of a sleep mask.

Also read about Aromatherapy sleep pillows and pillow mists.

Auto-Suggestion For Exam Fear / Phobia


Try to resolve your exam phobia with the help of auto-suggestion. Use positive affirmations and keep on repeating positive sentences every now and then.

When you actually believe in an auto suggestion it becomes a confirmation. A few auto-suggestions that you might find useful for pondering over are as follows:

1. I have all the necessary qualities, talents and skill.

2.I am a good learner. I learn quickly and easily.

3. I have perfect control over my mind and I can easily avoid TV, phone, computer games etc when I have to go and study.

4. My mind is peaceful, alert and attentive when I study. I can easily understand and comprehend whatever I study or read.

5. I have a good memory and I can remember what  I have studied or read when I am writing my exam.

6. Exams for me are an enjoyable opportunity to showcase how well I have studied.

7. I have done my best to prepare well for this exam and learnt everything thoroughly

8. My mind will be clear and at its peak when I am in the examination hall and I will write the answer to each question clearly and accurately.


But for your self-affirmations and auto-suggestions to be effective you have to have will-power. You can try these affirmations when you are meditating for a better and positive experience.

Take the help of a psychotherapist. If you have tried every means including home-remedies and made healthy lifestyle changes but still find that you are unable to get rid of your exam phobia or anxiety then you may need to see a therapist.

Consult a psychotherapist who will help you control your anxiety and release tension. Once this is done you will be able to sleep soundly. But do get help well before exams, for therapy takes time to show results.

Comments

  1. Pushpa4:12 PM

    Spend time with people who have a positive effect. It will rub off on you.

    Avoid negative thoughts, such as 'Everyone else seems better organised, while I'm struggling.' Challenge such thoughts with positive thinking; for example, 'I have done well in exams before.'

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nidhi4:13 PM

    Practise deep breathing, meditation and yoga as forms of relaxation. They help your body relax and reduce stress. Alternately, take a brisk walk in fresh air after your day's revision is over.

    If you believe in God, pray before you start studying. Prayer will help you increase confidence reduce your stress as well.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Comments posted on this blog are moderated and approved only if they are relevant, on-topic and not abusive. Avoid using links to your site/blog in the body of your comment unless it is highly relevant to the post.

Popular posts from this blog

Highly Effective Indian Home remedies For Delayed Periods

Delayed periods or Irregular menstrual periods have become very common these days for a lot of women in their reproductive age and they suffer great agonies when their period does not come on time. A delay of 4-5 days may be fine but if it exceeds 8 days, then it's certainly a cause for concern. In this post, I'll be sharing highly effective Indian home remedies for your delayed periods . I'd been a long sufferer of irregular periods during my teenage to early twenties. I've tried most of the recipes here, along with Kapalabhati pranayama, yoga poses, mudras and other lifestyle habits. Now my periods are extremely regular like clockwork; not a day less or more than 28. When I look back, I'm surprised how I managed those years of anxiety and fear about my late periods. 

11 things you can do with olive oil

Besides lemon , milk , sugar , aloe , turmeric , sandalwood and honey , olive oil is another household item that has multifarious uses as a beauty aid. It is a mild, non-irritant, antibacterial oil that is rich in antioxidants; hence is ideal for the skin. Here are a few things that you could do with olive oil .

Home remedies for sleeplessness

The day dawns beautifully for those who have had a night of good sleep. But the same day drags on for those who have spent a disturbing, sleepless night. Sleep is a biological necessity even as eating and drinking are. Sufficient sleep renders a person normally sociable, lively and high-spirited. It’s a nature’s way of rejuvenating the person for the next day. Realize all this, and make sleep a physiological habit. The consequences of long time sleep deprivation can be very grave. Lack of sleep takes its toll on the skin and hair. It causes acne-breakouts and makes one look aged and haggard beyond years. Experts opine that during sleep as our metabolic rate falls, blood goes to those areas which need the most repairing. This also steps up the production of collagen and keratin, which aid the regeneration of skin cells and help resist premature ageing. So for a younger looking and a problem free skin you need to have a good quality of sleep every night.

Get rid of head lice with these home remedies

Lice infestation is such a bothersome, distracting and embarrassing problem. Surely everyone harbors them at one time or the other. It is usually common among school children but soon spreads to other members of the family. Contrary to popular belief, it is not a sign of poor hygiene, as lice are not fussy whether they lay their eggs in clean or dirty hair. But yes, a dirty scalp can well serve as a perfect breeding ground for these tiresome creatures. Lice get transferred easily from child to child owing to the close contact of heads, during play, while sitting together or by sharing caps. Though there are many chemical and herbal over-the-counter preparations to remove lice, it is better to refrain from using them for they might also remove a good bit of your hair, while others could have a drying effect on the hair.  There are many home-remedies which do work well but the age-old method of regular combing with a close-toothed comb on all counts, is the most eff...

Kapalabhati Pranayam for wrinkle-free, radiant complexion

Did you know that Kapalabhati Pranayam / kriya can also be used to enhance your beauty and ward off skin aging? Done the right way,  Kapalabhati Pranayam can be used as a beauty aid - it can give you a wrinkle-free, luminous forehead and radiant complexion. Kapalabhati For Beauty   ‘Kapalabhati’ Pranayam breathing exercise is an excellent way of maintaining good health and fighting diseases. ‘Kapala’ means ‘skull’ (and ‘forehead’ also) and ‘bhati’ means ‘shining’. By doing kapalabhati, the ‘nadis’(nerves) of the brain get good exercise. This is achieved by exercising the diaphragm. There will be a glow on the forehead. After the age of 25, the tell-tale signs of ageing start making their appearance in the form of fine lines on the forehead. A regular practice of Kapalabhati for 10-15 minutes everyday will give you a tight forehead sans wrinkles for many years to come. Avoid Botox, try Kapalabhati Why resort to Botox   and other expensive chemical or surgica...