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How mindfulness can help students deal with exam stress

How mindfulness can help students deal with exam stress

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What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a very simple form of meditation that focuses your full attention on the breath as it flows in and out of your body. Focusing on each breath allows you to observe your thoughts as they arise in your mind and, little by little, allows you to let go of them.

Although mindfulness has its roots in eastern philosophy, many acknowledge the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn from the Medical Centre at the University of Massachusetts as being the founder of the modern mindfulness movement. Jon Kabat-Zinn defines mindfulness as:

"paying attention, on purpose in the present moment non judgmentally."

There are a few different mindfulness techniques but we’ve found that two in particular can really help with exam stress.

7/11 breathing exercise

This method involves counting breathing, focusing your mind and attention on your breath and nothing else.

Breathe in through your nose for a count of seven.
Breathe out through your nose for a count of eleven.

Focus on each breath and you’ll become aware of the mind’s tendency to jump from one thing to another. The simple discipline of concentration brings us back to the present moment and all the richness of experience that it contains.

Beditation

Beditation is essentially: meditation whilst lying down. Meditation might sound slightly new-age, but it’s thousands of years old. It is a simple yet powerful technique that allows your mind to become calm and peaceful. And we think that’s not a bad state to be in when you’re studying or in the exam room.

So how is mindfulness meant to work?

Imagine there are two modes of attention: thinking and sensing. Our attention often gets drawn to what’s wrong, what’s threatening. Our attention scans for problems - it’s a basic survival technique. This triggers the thinking part as you attempt to solve the problem. Now there is nothing wrong with this, but the mind needs a balance and there is a time to think and a time to relax and sense.

By moving your attention to the present moment and into the sensing mode you will instantly become more relaxed. The 7/11 breathing and meditation techniques are just ways of helping you do this. Research is showing that there are huge benefits of spending some time in the sensing mode and not in the thinking mode.

If you need help getting started Headspace, Calm and The Mindfulness App are some of the best free mindfulness apps available for android and iPhone.

How can mindfulness and meditation help students with exam stress?

Stress is often created by intrusive thoughts such as: “what might happen if I fail?”, “what happens if I am not good enough?”, or “I can’t answer this question”. These are all examples of the thinking state of attention.

Stress is a perfectly natural reaction. It is the result of being faced with a challenge that seems impossible to overcome. But in an exam it is not helpful, often cutting off your ability to think straight and sometimes paralysing your actions.

By using the 7/11 breathing technique before the exam, helps you feel more relaxed. Using it during the exam can stop a panic attack taking over, and it can be helpful even after the exam when you begin to wonder what you should have done but didn’t.

Meditation can help both in the short and long term. Our mental health and intellectual skills are shaped by what we do with our attention, where we place our awareness. And our intellectual skills are vital not just in the exam but also whilst studying.

Is it all in my head?

Brain-imaging studies show that mindfulness meditation can reliably and profoundly alter the structure and function of the brain. It can produce greater blood-flow to, and a thickening of, the cerebral cortex in areas associated with attention and emotions.

As well its impact on specific problems, mindfulness has been shown to have a very positive effect on intellectual skills, improving sustained attention, visual special memory, working memory and concentration.

Watch a short video that explains ways that mindfulness may help in exams. 

Best of luck in your exams, and we hope this has helped.

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Blog

Exam Tips

How mindfulness can help students deal with exam stress

How mindfulness can help students deal with exam stress

coping-with-exam-stress

Share

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a very simple form of meditation that focuses your full attention on the breath as it flows in and out of your body. Focusing on each breath allows you to observe your thoughts as they arise in your mind and, little by little, allows you to let go of them.

Although mindfulness has its roots in eastern philosophy, many acknowledge the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn from the Medical Centre at the University of Massachusetts as being the founder of the modern mindfulness movement. Jon Kabat-Zinn defines mindfulness as:

"paying attention, on purpose in the present moment non judgmentally."

There are a few different mindfulness techniques but we’ve found that two in particular can really help with exam stress.

7/11 breathing exercise

This method involves counting breathing, focusing your mind and attention on your breath and nothing else.

Breathe in through your nose for a count of seven.
Breathe out through your nose for a count of eleven.

Focus on each breath and you’ll become aware of the mind’s tendency to jump from one thing to another. The simple discipline of concentration brings us back to the present moment and all the richness of experience that it contains.

Beditation

Beditation is essentially: meditation whilst lying down. Meditation might sound slightly new-age, but it’s thousands of years old. It is a simple yet powerful technique that allows your mind to become calm and peaceful. And we think that’s not a bad state to be in when you’re studying or in the exam room.

So how is mindfulness meant to work?

Imagine there are two modes of attention: thinking and sensing. Our attention often gets drawn to what’s wrong, what’s threatening. Our attention scans for problems - it’s a basic survival technique. This triggers the thinking part as you attempt to solve the problem. Now there is nothing wrong with this, but the mind needs a balance and there is a time to think and a time to relax and sense.

By moving your attention to the present moment and into the sensing mode you will instantly become more relaxed. The 7/11 breathing and meditation techniques are just ways of helping you do this. Research is showing that there are huge benefits of spending some time in the sensing mode and not in the thinking mode.

If you need help getting started Headspace, Calm and The Mindfulness App are some of the best free mindfulness apps available for android and iPhone.

How can mindfulness and meditation help students with exam stress?

Stress is often created by intrusive thoughts such as: “what might happen if I fail?”, “what happens if I am not good enough?”, or “I can’t answer this question”. These are all examples of the thinking state of attention.

Stress is a perfectly natural reaction. It is the result of being faced with a challenge that seems impossible to overcome. But in an exam it is not helpful, often cutting off your ability to think straight and sometimes paralysing your actions.

By using the 7/11 breathing technique before the exam, helps you feel more relaxed. Using it during the exam can stop a panic attack taking over, and it can be helpful even after the exam when you begin to wonder what you should have done but didn’t.

Meditation can help both in the short and long term. Our mental health and intellectual skills are shaped by what we do with our attention, where we place our awareness. And our intellectual skills are vital not just in the exam but also whilst studying.

Is it all in my head?

Brain-imaging studies show that mindfulness meditation can reliably and profoundly alter the structure and function of the brain. It can produce greater blood-flow to, and a thickening of, the cerebral cortex in areas associated with attention and emotions.

As well its impact on specific problems, mindfulness has been shown to have a very positive effect on intellectual skills, improving sustained attention, visual special memory, working memory and concentration.

Watch a short video that explains ways that mindfulness may help in exams. 

Best of luck in your exams, and we hope this has helped.

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How mindfulness can help students deal with exam stress

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