If you’ve experienced the appalling symptoms of a shaky leg, rapid heart rate, and sweaty palms during an assessment, chances are you have test anxiety. Test anxiety is when students feel especially distressed during an exam or evaluation. As stated by Healthline and the Loma Linda University School of Medicine, students may feel nervous, anxious, or stressed, causing symptoms such as those mentioned before, and even headaches, fatigue, a dry mouth, nausea, shortness of breath, or those that may impair test performance (low motivation and concentration, negative thoughts, clouded judgment, and difficulty sleeping). While the reason behind test anxiety may differ for everyone, some triggers are feeling unprepared for the assessment, pressure from internal or external sources, underlying anxiety, or mindsets such as perfectionism and fear of failure. 

If you have test anxiety, there’s a strong likelihood that it doesn’t just go away, because forcing yourself not to stress is easier said than done. However,  you may find comfort in knowing that you are not alone. According to the National Library of Medicine, “approximately 25–40% of US students suffer from test anxiety.”  So, how can you become a fearless test taker and overcome this nerve-inducing monster? Many strategies may help your test anxiety; here are 10 of them. 

1. Don’t Procrastinate
   1. In case your test anxiety is caused by fear of not doing well or the feeling that you haven’t prepared enough, it is crucial to study beforehand instead of cramming. Cramming for a test—especially the night before—may raise your stress levels because you will feel like you are in a time crunch. If you spread out your studying and give yourself adequate time to prepare, you may feel more relaxed and confident. 
2. Get to Class a Smidge Earlier
   1. Your heart may especially be racing if you slip into class right as the late bell chimes, and you immediately have to sit down to prepare for the test. Even worse, if you are late to class and walk in as your classmates are taking the test, you may feel like you have less time to complete it. Showing up to class even a minute earlier may allow you to mentally and physically prepare yourself by getting your pencils out, sitting down and deep breathing, or taking a short mental break. 
3. Vent
   1. Talking to your friends, family members, or a trusted staff member may help your test anxiety. Talking to your fellow peers and classmates may especially be beneficial because they’re in the same boat as you! Being able to share your overwhelming feelings may relieve the weight off your shoulders, and knowing that someone shares the same fears as you may make you feel less alone.
4. Try Your Best to Tune Out Everyone Else
   1. Maybe you’re in the middle of a timed essay and hear the person in front of you typing up a storm on their Chromebook. Ignore them. Everyone works at different paces, and if you compare your work to theirs, it will only make you feel more pressured and stressed. 
5. Redirect Focus 
   1. This method may not work for everyone, especially if your test has no time to spare. However, if you feel that you have a few extra minutes to spend, redirecting focus during the test for a few moments may help reset and replenish your brain activity. Sometimes, your brain just has to “sit on it.” Whether you stare outside the window at the trees or thin air, taking a few seconds may assist you if you’re stuck on a portion of the exam. 
6. Meditate or Practice Yoga
   1. Meditation and yoga have been scientifically proven to decrease stress levels (American Psychological Association). You could take as little as three minutes a day to do deep breathing exercises or follow YouTube tutorials to practice mindfulness. Deep breaths signal your body to slow down and calm down, which will help counter symptoms like a racing heart rate or shallow breathing. If you meditate the night or morning before an assessment or even take deep breaths during an exam, you may feel more tranquil. 
7. Get Enough Sleep
   1. Instead of staying up until 5:00 a.m. to squeeze in the last chapters of your history textbook into your brain, Colgate Professional encourages that you should try to get at least eight hours of sleep (according to). While it may be that the last time you got eight hours of sleep was when you were ten years old, you should still try your best to get around eight hours of sleep, and certainly not less than five. Waking up fatigued will only increase stress and anxiety levels and even worsen your mood, concentration, and patience. 
8. Treat Yourself
   1. Perhaps your test is the period after lunch, and you end up spending lunch worrying about and studying for the test. While this may help some students re-jog their memory, it could increase stress. To calm yourself down before a test, it may be beneficial to take your mind off the test. Maybe treat yourself to a Starbucks drink or talk with your friends about anything that is not test-related. Giving yourself a distraction or reason to be joyful may ease your worries instead of feeding into them. 
9. Practice Positive Self-talk
   1. The truth is that many students strongly value academic validation to the degree of induced stress. Instead of thinking negative thoughts like, “If I don’t get at least an A- on this test, I’m not smart,” or “If I fail this, my GPA will drop,” try to think positively. Tell yourself, “It’s just one test. If I don’t do well on it, I can just prepare better next time,” or “At least the test is over. There’s nothing I can do about the grade now that I’ve taken it.” Moreover, if you chat with another student about your test anxiety, perhaps you may be able to support and promote positive thoughts to each other. 
10. Fidget With Anything
    1. Fidgeting with an object may be a way to release stress from your body. For example, there are anxiety rings made especially for fidgeting and relieving anxiety. If you feel like you may need to release stress and anxiety throughout the test, it may be helpful to keep a fidget item on you, which could be a piece of jewelry or even the keychain on your lanyard. 

Overall, there are many ways to manage the menacing test anxiety that creeps up on you. Some additional methods may be rubbing lavender oil on yourself, drinking ice water, or going to the bathroom before the test. It’s all about finding and trying different methods that work for you. Remember that test grades don’t define who you are as a student or person and that you are stronger than your worries!