The ticking clock, scribbling pens, and mounting pressure—exams can be overwhelming. A little stress can help you focus, but too much can hold you back. Here are practical strategies to conquer exam anxiety and stay in control.
How to cope with stress about your AAT exams
The power of routine
Feeling overwhelmed? Start with a revision study plan.
A set routine helps at any age. Creating (and following!) a study plan provides structure, predictability, and control over your day.
Feel free to take a look at our study schedule template that you can print out and fill in.
Practice makes perfect
Train hard, fight easy.
Mock exams have been a long-favoured technique used by schools all over the world. And on the surface of it they make a lot of sense even before you get into the question of 'why do they work?'.
It's common sense to assume that the more experience of exam-style questions you have, the more ready you are for the actual exam.
What is more surprising, however, is the claim in a research study that 'tests enhance later retention more than additional study of the material, even when tests are given without feedback.'
So, even when a student doesn't get the results and feedback that shows how they have performed in their mock exam - the experience of taking a test is more beneficial at promoting knowledge retention than studying the material again.
In a way, that makes sense. Answering questions means that you are interrogating your own knowledge. You are forced to analyse what you have learned and by writing the answers you are structuring that knowledge- whereas re-reading the material is a passive activity that doesn't force you to think about it.
And if you were to take it a stage further and try to answer some exam-style questions from our AAT question banks under exam conditions - you're aclimatising to the situation, you're getting used to making the most of the time available, and all of this should help make the exam itself feel a bit less scary.
Better meal-planning
If you're not far from that all-important exam it can be tempting to throw good dietary habits out of the window. But while Uber-eatsing another takeaway may save a bit of time to help you cram in another revision session it's not going to help your mental health. In fact, several studies have linked consumption of ultra-processed foods with depression and anxiety.
Take time to plan meals ahead. For instance, batch-cook a pot of veggie soup or chicken stir-fry, then freeze portions for quick reheating during study breaks. Keep snacks like nuts, hummus, or whole-grain crackers on hand to fuel your brain.
Get better sleep
According to the NHS, 'a healthy adult needs around 7 to 9 hours of sleep'. Burning the midnight oil with a late-night study session may seem like evidence that you're working hard to prepare for your exam, but if it's at the expense of being well-rested - that's a mistake.
Sleep deprivation can impair memory, mood, and cognitive function. In fact, according to the US Department of Health: 'If you haven’t slept, your ability to learn new things could drop by up to 40%'.
But when you're dealing with any kind of worry or stress, getting that 8 hours of shut-eye is often easier said than done.
So what can you do to improve your chances of getting a good night's rest? Get into a good sleep routine.
How to get a good sleep routine
1. Ditch the doomscrolling
You've finally jumped into bed. But first, you have one final TikTok video (or two - or 10!), and a quick look at Instagram, and then a brief check on Facebook and before you know it you've just lost an hour - and worse still, you're still wired!
The National Sleep Foundation's 2022 'Sleep in America Poll' reported that people who had screentime right before bed reported poorer sleep quality and a shorter sleep duration.
Why? One reason could be the light from the screen because when the lights are off, our body produces a sleep-inducing hormone. And the fast-paced short-form content you'll find on TikTok is engaging by design. If it didn't get your attention then their algorithms wouldn't promote it.
As part of your sleep routine you need to wind down, so putting the phone away an hour before you sleep is a good idea.
2. Cut the caffeine, slash the sugar, scrap the spice
One of the first things I do on a morning is make a coffee. The burr of the machine as it grinds the coffee beans, the crema floating on the surface of the freshly poured espresso - I love it!
But on the evening it's best to avoid coffee, tea, and sugary drinks—they can interfere with sleep and worsen anxiety.
And that's not all. Blood sugar spikes from sugary foods can lead to energy crashes later, and spicy foods can raise your body temperature making for a restless night's sleep.
3. Consistent sleep pattern
Another example of how a predictable routine can help you. Get into the habit of a set bedtime - even at weekends because the consistency helps to train your body to follow the schedule.
Going to sleep every night at the same time, and rising at the same time each morning may be even more beneficial for your overall health - if a study published in the journal, Sleep, is to be believed.
60,000 people participated in the study and those who had a firmly established sleep schedule had a lower all-cause mortality risk than those who reported more erratic sleep patterns.
Now that's a tip that can help us for a lot longer than our short-term exam-stresses.
4. Take a bath
If you're struggling to relax - a 30-minute soak in a warm bath is a great way to unwind. And the rapid cooling of your body when you get out is a signal to your brain that it's time to sleep.
Conclusion
Eat well, sleep well, practice, and plan—and you'll be ready to face exams with confidence. Remember, small changes now lead to big results later!
