6 Tips to Manage Stress for Exam Success

It’s that time of year again, Uni exams are in progress and the SAC’s are becoming a frequent reality for VCE students as they work towards their end of year exams for VCE 2016.  Stress levels can begin to creep up as the demands of life seem to multiply and keeping a balance becomes trickier and trickier.

Stress is something which can have an accumulative impact, and if left unaddressed it can begin to have a very significant impact on our health and well-being.  Prolonged periods of stress can result in our body being flooded with the Stress Hormone Cortisol.  This can lead to all kinds of issues including:

• Brain fog
• Inability to concentrate
• Memory issues
• Increased appetite
• Difficulty losing or even maintaining weight
• Sleep disruption
• Irritability
• Compromised immune system leaving you more susceptible to illness

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None of the above are what you want when you have exams coming up, you don’t want the hard work to be lost in a state of overwhelm.  Here are some tips to help manage your Stress levels:

1.  Mindfulness is an excellent practice to incorporate into your daily routine to help reverse the effects of Stress, as little as 10 minutes a day will have a positive impact on your overall well-being.  I recommend this to all my clients, not just as a short term measure but as a lifetime wellness booster to become as intrinsic to your daily routine as brushing your teeth. 

2.  Regular exercise will also reap benefits.  It’s easy to drop these healthy habits because we convince ourselves that we don’t have time, however these are the very habits that help us maximise the usefulness of our time by keeping us working at our peak performance level.

3.   Stay Hydrated.  Sip water regularly, dehydration can lead to lethargy and headache.  It's easy to forget when you're trying to cram for exams, but a bottle of clear fresh water is always your friend!

4.   Eat properly - eat 3 meals a day, keep protein in each meal.  Have healthy snacks available so that you don't opt for the sugar rush and it's inevitable after crash.  Easy quick options can save the day  e.g. carrot sticks  and humus, boiled eggs, peanut butter on celery, yoghurt and fresh fruit.

5.   Aim to get 8 hours sleep.  Turn off your electronic devices at least 30 minutes before you hit the sack.  Do some light stretching before you get into  bed.  If you are having trouble "switching off" so that you can get to sleep try the 4, 7, 8 breathing pattern, which is to inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 7 and exhale slowly to a count of 8.  Repeating this process will help you drift gently off to sleep.

6.  Research has also shown that peak performance is achieved when you focus purely and simply on the task at hand, without consideration of how other people will react or to the outcome.  By focusing simply on what you need to do when you need to do it you allow yourself to get more easily in to that “zone” of flow, where things just seem to gel better.  Removing the distraction of judgement is an accomplishment enhancer!
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As a Hypnotherapist and Counsellor I liken myself to a sports coach. While most professional sports people have an innate ability, and they can motivate and push themselves to train and perform, all of them chose to have a coach to guide them and provide feedback to them on their performance as well as tips on how they can improve the efficiency of it.  In the same sense while most people can practice mindfulness and improve their focus and concentration over time, a Hypnotherapist can lift that process to another level and teach techniques and provide feedback.  The skills taught by a Hypnotherapist can be utilised to access calm and relaxed states of focus and being when required.  The Hypnotherapist works with the clients to help them access their own inner resources, and to improve the efficiency as well as  tapping into the potential of their own mindset.

If you are studying for Uni exams, VCE or want to improve your performance generally feel free to give me a call on 0435 923 817 to discuss how I can help you.  Alternatively you can contact Georgina using the form at the end of the page at this link.

Melbourne Hypnotherapist and Professional Counsellor Georgina Mitchell is located in Mentone South East Melbourne.  Georgina utilises a broad range of modalities and techniques in her practice including Hypnotherapy, NLP, Counselling Modalities (Solution Focused, Acceptance Commitment, CBT, Gestalt), and most recently Theta Healing.