Dealing with Exam anxiety is something we all have to face, anyone going into an exam not feeling the least bit nervous is probably not taking the situation seriously. Part of what you will be feeling is caused by increases in adrenalin levels in your body, the good news is that adrenalin also heightens your brains effectiveness.

The following are very basic tips which may help you manage your anxiety in the exam.

Before the Exam :

• Be prepared! Learn your material thoroughly, approach the exam with confidence: View the exam as an opportunity to show how much you've studied and to receive a reward for the studying you've done
• A program of exercise is said to sharpen the mind.
• Try to get a good night's sleep the night before the exam.
• Don't go to the exam on an empty stomach. Fresh fruits and vegetables are often recommended to reduce stress. Stressful foods can include processed foods, artificial sweeteners, carbonated soft drinks, chocolate, eggs, fried foods, junk foods, pork, red meat, sugar, white flour products, foods containing preservatives or heavy spices, and chips and similar snack foods.
• Take a small snack, or some other nourishment to help take your mind off of your anxiety, such as a banana. Avoid high sugar content snacks, which may aggravate your condition, including glucose energy tablets.
• Allow yourself plenty of time, especially to do things you need to do before the test and still get there a little early.
• Relax just before the exam.
• Don't try to do a last minute review.
• SWITCH YOUR MOBILE OFF !
• If you are aware that you have a problem with exam anxiety, be sure your teacher or lecturer knows before well any exam begins (and not the hour before!). There may be other options to evaluate your knowledge or performance within the subject matter. You may also be entitled to extra time in the exam.

During the Exam :

• Read the directions carefully, even with pre-seen papers, there may be a change that has had to be made prior to the actual exam.
• Budget your test taking time, and stick to your time allocation for each question. Remember the first few marks of a question are easier to get, than the last few marks. Extra time spent trying to get the last mark out of a question, would be more effectively spent getting the first few marks from the next question.
• If you go blank, skip the question and go on.
• If you can, leave space after each written answer so that you can go back and add more relevant information if you have time at the end.
• If you're taking an essay test and you go blank on the whole test, pick a question and start writing. It may trigger the answer in your mind.
• Don't panic, when students start asking for more paper, or handing in their papers. There's no reward for being the first to finish.