Students at universities, colleges and schools are facing exams over the next few weeks. The stress of exams cannot be under estimated with many students suffering from a whole range of symptoms as a result, ranging from insomnia through to severe panic attacks.
Stress manifests itself in psychological, physiological, emotional and behavioural symptoms. A short burst of stress can prove to be productive; especially in terms of motivation, alertness and energy, however, prolonged stress will inevitably impact health negatively.
Exam stress is no different from any other form of stress. Stress is the reaction to a perceived demand, and with exams, the demand to obtain good results either to progress or simply maintain ones educational development can become unbearable unless individuals have methods for stress relief.
Stress is normal and is the body’s natural response to perceived or real demands, however, prolonged stress or when an individual feels that they have little or no control over stress quickly becomes a risk to mental and physical well being.
Several studies have demonstrated meditation to be a highly effective tool to address exam stress; especially those focused around Transcendental Meditation (sound based meditation) have also found a significant increase in student intelligence too.
Meditation is learning to become aware of our present moment, its being aware of what is going on or what you are doing as you do it, without judgement and in a caring compassionate manner.
“There are many students who use our free exam stress mindfulness guidance with great results” aid Dav Panesar researcher and teacher of meditation practices.
EXERCISES
Exam Stress (by Dav Panesar)
5 Minutes Mindfulness (by Dav Panesar)
Symran (by Dav Panesar)
