Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All Your Time Studying; A Guide for Kids and Teens

by Barbara Oakley

The Best Stress? Test Stress! Research has shown that the more you practice active recall in the weeks before a test, the less that stress will bother you when you take the test.3 So if tests stress you out, it’s especially important for you to practice recall in your studies. Let’s face it, though: It’s easy to get stressed when you sit down to take a test. Your palms get sweaty, your heart races, and you get an anxious feeling in the stomach. This happens because your body releases chemicals when you are under stress. Surprisingly, these stressful feelings can help you do better on the test.4 When you might notice anxious feelings, try to shift your perspective. Instead of thinking, “This test makes me nervous,” try to think, “This test has got me excited to do my best!”5 When you get nervous, you tend to breathe from the top of your chest.*6 This “shallow” breathing doesn’t give you enough oxygen. You begin to feel panic that has nothing to do with the test. You just aren’t getting enough oxygen! If you tend to get nervous before a test, it can help for you to practice deep breathing. To do deep breathing, put one hand on your belly. It should move out when you breathe in, just like the picture shows. Try to imagine your breath also expanding your back, as if you had sails. Practice deep breathing in the days before a test, so you get used to it. Just stand sideways in front of a mirror to try it out for thirty seconds or so. Shallow breathing is at the top of your ches...