All of us have felt stressed at some point, whether it is exam related or not. When we are stressed, our thought patterns are less rational and trying to see a way out sometimes feels impossible. If we recognise this and try some of the following relaxation techniques it can help us re-ground ourselves. Small amounts of stress can help give us that extra push but prolonged stress is bad for productivity and our health.
Grounding Exercises
Grounding exercises help to reduce anxiety by focusing your brain on a specific task that is unrelated to your work.
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Grab a book (not an academic one!) or a sheet of paper and count how many letters there are on the page.
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Count how many things of one colour that you can see in a room.
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54321 exercise. You need to find:
Listen to something
Music can be incredibly useful to help you relax. Whilst faster music can make you feel more alert and concentrate better and upbeat music can make you feel more optimistic and positive about life, a slower tempo can quiet your mind and relax your muscles. You can try the following:
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White noise, brown noise, pink noise
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Sounds in nature e.g. rain, thunder
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Light jazz
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Classical music
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Flute music
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A podcast
How do you choose what is best for you? This rests with you! You must first like what you are listening to, and it also must relax you. Try out a few different things before you settle on something that relaxes you. Forcing yourself to listen to something that irritates you can actually create tension rather than reduce it, even if it may relax someone else.
Suggested easy listening:
Breathing
Use your breath as a tool. It’s the only thing we have with us, and you can take it to the exam. Breathe in for six and out for six, focusing only on your breath until you feel yourself start to calm down. Factor this into your day whilst you are studying.??
Study Breaks
Studies show that pausing to relax and reboot is essential for achieving productivity, success and a positive outlook on the future. This is very true for students huddled in front of a computer! Whilst many believe that cramming before an exam and studying all night may help, the reality is that not taking regular breaks leads to a significant decrease in academic performance and in some cases serious health concerns like anxiety, insomnia and depression.
Benefits of study breaks:
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Improves memory
Short, repeated sessions of learning with breaks increase your concentration and help you to study better.
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Serves as energy boosts
If we are studying non-stop it is common that we may feel drained of energy. Taking a break allows your body to recover.
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Reduces stress
Constant worrying can lead to chronic stress which has a physical and mental impact. Taking breaks helps to relieve these stress levels.
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Improves your health
Rest has been shown to have positive impacts on your immune system. It reduces inflammation and decreases the risk of heart disease.
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Boosts performance and creativity
New creative approaches to problems often arise when doing something different. Next time you’re stuck, try to take a break and do something different. Hopefully when you’re back to studying you may be refreshed and better understand.
Things to do on your study breaks
Research shows that taking a purposeful study break (between 5 and 60 minutes) can refresh your brain, body and increases your energy, productivity, and ability to focus.
Please keep in mind that social media doesn’t count as a purposeful break (see the research).?Instead, find activities that give your mind a break and allow you to breathe deeply, laugh, move your body, be creative, or “zone out” on purpose. These kinds of activities will help you re-energize and re-focus.
15-minute mindful revision breaks
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Find a YouTube video that makes you smile?– animal videos often do the trick!
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Make a hot drink, but don’t take it back to your desk with you. Drink it away from your work space and turn it into a short mindfulness exercise - notice how the mug feels warm in your hands, but cools down gently, and the way the liquid feels when you take a sip. Try to bring your mind back to it if you find yourself going back into revision-mode before your break is over!
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Do something creative, like drawing, colouring or printing off funny pictures to stick on your noticeboard. You could even try to learn a new skill - I’ve been learning to crochet by reading blogs online.
Ideas for one-hour revision breaks
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Have a shower with a shower gel or soap that smells really good. You could try a lavender-scented shower gel or moisturiser, a smell many people find calming, so that the smell lingers for a while.
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Do something involving nature. Go for a walk, sit in the garden or buy a plant.
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Connect with other humans. Find somebody who also needs a break and have a chat with them – you might be able to help each other get through the exam period. It’s easy to feel isolated when you’re doing exams, so make time to connect with your friends.
Eating and drinking
Although it may sound obvious, you need to make sure you’re drinking enough water and eating regular meals. It may be tempting to eat at your desk to maximise study time but longer term you will work more effectively if you use meal times as a break to get away from your study space. Skipping meals or eating fast food rather than preparing a meal, or topping up with sugary foods such as fizzy drinks and chocolate in the long term does not help boost your energy.
Our brains need energy, and if we think more we need to fuel them well. Try not to drink too much coffee as increased heart rate is a typical response to anxiety and stress, which is also caused by caffeine intake.
Try to make some of the following changes that can help you look after your diet:
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Make time in your weekly planning to buy, prepare and eat something nutritious each day
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Batch cooking and storing in the freezer means you will have something enjoyable to eat on the days that you are too tired to cook
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If you are studying away from home you can prepare snacks or meals to bring with you?. This could be a sandwich, a piece of fruit or some nuts, and it saves you time shopping or eating out
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If you live in shared accommodation, you might want to take it in turns to prepare and cook the evening meal for everyone once or twice a week which means you get time off from cooking to do something relaxing.
Sleep
It is recommended you get between 7 and 9 hours sleep a night. Staying up on a regular basis throughout the revision and assessment period can lead to poor concentration, difficulty in problem solving and an inability to retain information. If you are struggling to get this amount of sleep, try power naps during the day to help you feel more well rested.
When we are stressed sleep is often the first thing we lose. If we focus on it, we struggle more. You can try apps such as?Balance,?Headspace?or the?Get Sleepy?podcast. These all have free recordings to help you sleep. Whether you’re struggling to fall asleep, waking up during the night, or struggling with poor sleep quality, these can be a quick, proactive answer.?If you struggle getting to sleep, try stopping work an hour or two before bedtime as this gives you time to unwind. If there are stressful thoughts keeping you awake, try writing them down and spending some time thinking about what you can do to resolve them in the future. This can help you relax as your mind may recognsie there are things to help.
In terms of sleep environment, make sure you separate your bed from your study space. This helps disassociate your bed from being a space where you are awake.
For more information on sleep, take a look at Sleepio. Sleepio?is a digital sleep improvement programme to help those who suffer with insomnia, based on cognitive behavioural techniques (CBT). It's completely free and monitors progress over six sessions.
Check out Sleepio's bank of useful articles on sleep, including getting to sleep fast, concentration and fatigue levels, and the "pro-sleep" schedule.
On the day
Treat yourself how you would treat your friends. On the day you have an exam, be extra kind to yourself. You’ll be mentally drained. If you have the ability to revise for the rest of the day, that’s great. If you don’t, then that’s normal, give yourself a break for the rest of the day. No guilt attached. An extra few hours’ revision with a tired mind probably won’t make that all important difference for your next exam.??
Hobbies
As part of your down time, you may want to try out a new hobby. Take a look at our post on hobbies to try during exam season.
Spend time in nature
Things like walks to get fresh air are essential for keeping yourself, particularly your mind, stimulated. As you get used to long days of revision, try mixing up your revision space. Changing surroundings helps keep your mind interested.?If you are studying on campus, take a look at our post on green spaces within 15-minutes walk of all campuses, and give them a try!
Keep moving
It’s important to remain physically active where possible, especially during exam period. Going for a run, a cycle, or even working out at home can be a great way to start of the day and prepare your mind for studying. It can also be a good reset after a long session of revising. If you’d like to try something new or try out a class, head over to King’s Sport and look at their offer for this exam season. You can make use of the wide array of classes with professional coaches and who knows, maybe you’ll pick up a new hobby!
King’s Sport also offers a selection of classes to boost your mindfulness and wellbeing. They range from meditation to yoga and you can see how to access them here.
You can also get involved with one of our student societies and sports clubs to find new ways to de-stress.
Among others, King’s has an active Yoga Society, which runs regular classes. Yoga can be a great way to connect with your mind and body and refresh your brain. You can see the club’s contact details and class schedule here.
Another group that helps practicing mindfulness is the Meditation Society. This group strives to create space for students to take a break from studying to clear their minds. See the society’s page here.
Support available during the assessment period
If you are struggling, the hardest part is reaching out. If you do need support, there are a number of places where you can access support
Kings Counselling Online
King’s Counselling Online provides free and confidential, brief, solution-focused support for people who are experiencing low to moderate mental health and emotional wellbeing difficulties. This is aimed at helping you quickly access counselling support and experience improved wellbeing 24/7.
If you need urgent mental health support now, please go to?Crisis Support: Need help now’ guidance.
Student Services Online
You can get answers to commons questions and support topics. You can view helpful videos from Student Services here and book appointments with an advisor if you need to.
Personal Tutors
You can contact your personal tutor with questions regarding your academic progress, university experience or general welfare.
Mental Health Resources
King’s has created helpful resources to support students experiencing a change in their mental health affected by this period:
King’s College NHS Health Centre
The GP in Bush House has many services and resources you can take a look at to support you through exams. Look at their website here.
Faculty Wellbeing Advisors
The Faculty Wellbeing Advisors are part of the Student Wellbeing Team. They're here to support your wellbeing needs throughout your time at King's. The team works closely with your faculty, KCLSU and King’s support services to ensure you have what you need to succeed while studying at King’s.
KCLSU Advice
Free, confidential and impartial academic advice to students with issues affecting their studies.
Mental Health and Wellbeing Directory Guide
There are a lot of support services available outside of King’s that you might find helpful. We have put together a useful guide with resources that will help you. Have a look here.
Togetherall
An anonymous, free and 24/7 online service providing access to millions with anxiety, depression and other common mental health issues. Use your King’s email login and access the free service
Mind
The charity for mental health has put together ideas and information on how to look after your wellbeing.
Student Minds
The UK’s student mental health charity has put together this guidance on looking after your mental health and supporting others.
Young Minds
Young minds have a guide to looking after yourself whilst at university here.
Final Reminders
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Above all, remember that exams aren’t everything. There are many options that don’t rely on getting the top grades and in ten years’ time, most people won’t care or notice what grades you got when you were younger. You are not defined by your exam results?- you are so much more than the letters that appear on a sheet of paper.
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There is a reason you’re studying for a degree at one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Give yourself credit for the fact it can be really difficult and yet look at you – coping.?