HealthTip: Write Your Stress Away

As students, many of us get stressed when tests, mid-terms, or finals are around the corner. Some of us have trouble sleeping, some of us have stomach problems, while others deal with their stress by just feeling stressed and not accomplishing much (kind of like myself when I get a bit too carried away).
A new study suggests a simple technique that could decrease anxiety and improve test scores. The study found that when students spent 10 minutes writing about their test anxiety and fears just before a test, many participant scores increased. The biggest improvements were seen in students who were the most stressed before testing. It is common that students who are chronically anxious may perform below their classmates. This may be because worries may compromise important thinking and reasoning skills that we could otherwise use when we're at our best. In the article, one of the doctors mentioned that "when you're worrying and you don't put that worry into words, it has an impact and makes it harder to focus and to pull knowledge from your memory to do well on the test." Similar techniques have been used with teens who have trouble sleeping at night. Writing down concerns before bed may help people clear their heads and fall asleep.
So if you've been having some exam related anxiety, this may be something you'd like to try. And don't rule yourself out if you're not a student! This activity may also be beneficial to you because we all get stressed, but you'll never know unless you try!

Information Source:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_107655.html