There is a myriad of thoughts that can trigger anxiety during tests. The fear of drawing blanks and the anxiety of not pleasing parents, or the thought that the other students in the class know more than you. Anxiety can strike without warning and may cause stomach pains, or chills that can shut down the mind. In college-going students, it can increase when they are studying.

Students who are anxious can get the same outcomes as students who are not anxious. However, their work is much higher and takes longer. The research, conducted using 1,021 students with 33 degrees, shows that the fields that have more anxiety-related students are those in the Social and Legal Sciences, Health Sciences, and technical degrees. Students aged between 23-26 years old are the most affected. As they age the feeling of social responsibility and pressure on the social sphere increases.

Anxiety refers to a state of mind where feelings of fear tension, uncertainty, and fear arise because of the anticipation of an actual as well as a fictitious threat. Continued anxiety can hinder students from reaching their objectives. Learning, taking the test, and passing are all hurdles.

The issue is that we stay clear of situations that can make us feel anxious. For instance, if we avoid taking an exam because we’re too anxious to be successful or we skip studying because we’re stressed and would rather put off studying until we feel comfortable.

• What are the signs to look for? There are indicators that can be easily observed such as intense nervousness from a physiological perspective (palpitations muscles tension or an increase in sweating) and accelerated thinking; anticipating the possibility of failures in the future; blockage (which could make the student not want to attend the classroom) or difficulty falling asleep stomach issues or an increase in anger.
• Anxiety can make it difficult to manage and store information.
• While there is no research that has shown a direct link between anxiety and less academic performance, what is obvious is that it hampers the organization and storage of information, as well as the ability to retrieve that information. Every university must have a room that can provide assistance to students suffering from anxiety in the course of their examinations. Engaging with a professional for 30 minutes prior to the exam will help students gain confidence and calm before going into the classroom.
• Anxiety doesn’t just impact academic performance, but can also lead to health issues. In the year 1986 Ohio State University researcher Janice Kiecolt Glasser reported on the activity of the so-called Natural Killers cells during exam periods for medical students. According to her research, it is believed that the weakening that affects the immune system, or the vulnerability of the organism to illness are just a few of the consequences.
• To prevent and manage this ailment There are a variety of strategies that could prove helpful, however, experts recommend seeking out a doctor to get an assessment and strategy of course of action.
• Don’t alter the pattern of sleep. Sleeping infrequently and in poor quality can affect your mental and physical health. It is important not to alter the timings of bedtime and waking up. Follow the normal sleeping schedule which is between 7 and 8 hours each day. Also, do not sleep for more than 30 minutes. In the evening, trying to process everything that has been sat in limbo is not an alternative. Fatigue can increase the likelihood of being afflicted by mental and anxiety.
• Schedule time for leisure: long hours of studying do not guarantee higher grades. If we don’t know how to relax and rest it is easy to fall victim to stress. To be relaxed and perform at the highest level it is essential to mix in time-outs which allow us to unwind and ease tensions. Being mindful of our requirements and balance is crucial and planning out our leisure time will allow us to maximize the value of our studying hours, knowing ahead that we can reap a reward.
• Control thoughts. It’s not the actual events that cause anxiety and fear, but the interpretation given to them. Negative thoughts, such as “I will never pass this subject”, “this career is too difficult for me”, “I am not good for engineering” or “I am a disaster” as well as others, are the ones that create false perceptions of reality which can worsen physical symptoms and can cause the person to be paralyzed. “It is very important to learn to identify these thoughts (which we all have to a greater or lesser extent) and to dismantle them with a positive response,” experts say. The student needs to tell him, “I’ve had similar experiences before and have emerged triumphant. I’ve prepared myself well and I will succeed.
• Relaxation exercises that address anxiety through relaxation techniques are recommended both during the study period and prior to the test. The student must be aware of the things that are happening to them. Paying attention to breathing, and gradually making it more pronounced and slow helps relax, unwind and begin studying under the best conditions. When taking a test anxiousness may make the student feel like he’s gone completely blank and ideas don’t come to him, however, it’s only a brief feeling. While you study for the exam you’ll be organizing your information and organizing the questions. In order to do this, it is important to sit down and take a long breath. The process of creating an outline of what content will be created can also help.

About the Author: Daniel Howard

Daniel gives life to writing through the power of words. He is a blogger who spends most of his time writing articles for StudyCrumb’s blog. As an actual journalist, he writes essays that resonate with readers.

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There are times when we often think that ‘How I wish my child was not addicted to my phone’ or ‘How I wish my child would spend more time playing those board games like how we did.’. Children today are extremely inclined towards the electronic gadgets which are undoubtedly more attractive and colorful from either their toys or books. The vibrant multimedia in the games gives them a visual pleasure that takes their precious hours and gives them back strenuous eyes. No matter how much ever we try to keep them away from the phones, TV or the smart tabs, the more they are tempted to swipe those screen with their tiny fingers. Researchers have proved that mere 2 minutes of talking or activity with phone can cause severe damage to a child’s brain causing irreparable damage like tumors, disturbed brain activity and lack of average concentration during higher learning. The gadgets act like slow poison on the tender minds which restrain the production of Melatonin, the hormone that controls sleep/wake cycle or Circadian rhythm. World Health Organisation considers mobile phones as “Possible Human Carcinogen” which causes hazardous effects on health like brain tumor, Parkinson’s disease, heart and Alzheimer’s disease and even stroke.

When we parents wish to give our child just the best of the best, avoiding electronic gadgets could be seriously considered as a better option. But it all starts when we take help of our smart phones to feed the kids when they are babies, give them our phones to play games to shoo away their boredom and when we have some work to be completed and we consider the phone as a safe and better option for their pastime. The blame is definitely on the parents who unknowingly push their children into this dreadful pool of diversion.

Technology doesn’t always have bad effects. As the old folklore goes that “Too much Good can result in being bad” – anything or any practice must be well administered as to not exceeding its suggested limits. Phones and Tabs are one of the most cutting edge inventions of the century. These have eased many such difficulties which were beyond doable before. It is because of these smart gadgets, that we are leading a life of ease and amaze. So it is upto us to utilize these wonderful creations in a recommended limits to enjoy a life where science goes hand in hand with good health.

Here are some of the tips for all those parents of preschoolers to put these digital devices in to best use with their toddlers:

Search for alternatives:

Instead of gifting them with an E-Book reader, gift them your time to read out their favourite bedtime story. Take help of your parents i.e. the child’s grandparents to animate a fable or an old poem in an attractive way rather than always asking your child to let you finish your work. This method is much encouraging to the children to start becoming a book lover. Reading a hard copy of a book is much more satisfying than swiping away screens.

Attractive Activities:

Introduce your child to some really attractive children’s activity like building blocks, little mechanic kit or even a baking/kitchen set. These imaginary games will increase their creativity and helps in retention of knowledge in the long run. Fantasy games will gift your children with by-products of mental stress and digital addiction. But playing with skill toys with their friends teaches them the aspects of sharing, giving and understanding. The better interaction and a low key on being an introvert come as a bonus with these practices.

Make Rules:

It would be unfair to ask your child not to touch her tab at all when she sees all her friends talking about the latest games or some fun applications which are a buzz. The child may feel bit outdated when compared to the peers who wear a cap of Digital Swag and who are well informed about the latest digital trends. This is the time when you can ask your little one to make him/her understand the bad effects of these on their health. How can this be done? By making simple rules like ‘No using phone for more than 15 minutes’ or asking them to run in the ground for double the time they spend on tabs/phones. This will make them understand from a tender age and will definitely appreciate your concern one day.

Putting Technology For Better Use:

Tabs/phones are not bad. Just that the duration of which has to be monitored as everything good in this world will have its own set of bad attached to it. Spend time with your child and help them understand all those better things for which a phone or a tab could be used. Like learning phonetic syllables through videos, talking to the grandparents who stay away with life like video calling, listening to songs and rhymes which are fun to learn etc. It all depends on how we serve the platter.

Watch Yourself:

Asking your son to stop playing Temple Run when you are continuously binge playing Candy Crush? How unfair! Kids, especially the preschoolers follow and imitate the elders at home. It is extremely wrong to scold your child when you yourself succumb to the fun and charm of the gadgets. It is always advisable to follow what you preach when it comes to bringing up children. You reap what you sow, you see what you show. Be an idol for your child who would look up to you as an example. Dictating the child something which you never follow will confuse the children and later leads to the clash of views. Spend quality time with your children. Give them wings of faith and creativity to fly high in their imaginative world.

Constant spending time with your little wonders will also help you push out that urge in them to spend time with their virtual mates. The more you spend time the less attention they crave from you. Indulge your kids in some other activities and keep them busy the whole day. Once they are back from their school take them out and enroll them in some fun yet healthy activities like dance, swimming or chess classes which will keep them occupied and busy to even think about touching your phone lying next to them.

Studies say that kids from age 2 to 6 are so high on their grasping ability, that the traits, knowledge and the skill they learn during this span will remain with them till a lifetime or hold a major chunk of responsibility in shaping up the person who they would once they are grown-ups. Early learning should include some positive elements like better language abilities, effective logical thinking and improving motor skills. These will happen only by a proper parenting and a valuable adult supervision which includes less electronic inclination.

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How many kids today are avid readers? How many students go sit in library for hours and spend time on binge reading a book? How many of us, yes we parents take our children to book clubs or book sharing forum which was pretty popular at our times? We could hardly find any kids who would ask Santa for a nice book for Christmas or it’s a rare sight where a toddler wishes that the tooth fairy would get a book which contains beautiful poems or stories. Digitization has captivated not just the economical status of the country but also has impacted this young generation. The excitement for “Ipad” has masked the “My Bad” situation for not being able to enjoy the flipping of pages and slipping into the island of thoughts where one would love to lose oneself.

Children today are more realistic and believe in what they see and they are the facts explorers. The fairy fantasy world is so old school now. Inspite of that the elements like animated superheroes and the supernatural characters attract them due to the magnetism they possess. The vibrant representation of these has uprooted the traditional formats of spending time productively in a day. Kids find happiness in singing with the digital assistant or seek solace in playing games on their Digi tabs which contains shooting criminal and vampires or running over the railway track and getting points by heroic sprint – risking lives. These are skill games which require lots of strategies and planning. But what’s on stake? Nah! Nothing much. It’s just their tiny brains and bright eyes which are getting hurt. Not there much on the losing side… Sounds disturbing? It’s we who are leading them to this century. Spending time with them might not have cost you this.

Lifestyle Changes – Edustoke

Schools today boast about the digital learning and the smart board boards which they flaunt to us when we go to have a look at the institution which might be the prospective school for our kids. Huge plasmas or projectors are kept where the concepts are explained the way that are easier to reach to the children. The concepts to be explained are digitally modified which is a great hit with the students at school because of which many schools have adapted this method in their academics. But what else would make the kids be attentive in the class? What are those things which will be like an “Out of the Box” activities which aides in better concept understanding or helps students concentrate effectively over the chapters being taught?

Here are 7 activities that can help our buddies at school to keep up a good pace in their learning:

1. Going the Indian way: Indian practices like meditation and yoga are the proven methods of improving the concentration and their concept retention. Going the old school way which were inculcated in the Gurukulas, where the students chanted Omkara and practised some breathing techniques, helped them grasp the elaborate Vedas and Vedantas with much ease. Devoting a small chunk of time to practise the same everyday in the class would definitely prove beneficial on the long run. Starting the class with a pranayama or ending a lecture with Omkara chanting will ease the built up stress on these young scholarly brains.

2. Its Quiz time! : Conducting a quick quiz on the chapters learnt in the previous classes will keep the students on their toes. Be it a group activity or an individual one, oral quizzes can extract more excitement from them. This is a best format of revision. Keep conducting the quiz every week to keep them away of getting exempted by a reward. Reward can be either a star on their collar or giving chocolates or even the luxury of borrowing 3 books from the library. Being innovative is the key.

3. Promoting group activity: The peer group relationship is one of the strongest kinds of relationship the children hold during their school days. Things which are not even shared by the parents are revealed in their comfort zone which is to their friends group. Making a group project or teaming them up for a group discussion is a very promising learning activity. The team spirit brings out better result in place of individual attempt. Assigning a project for a group every week that shall be responsible in explaining some chapters or enacting a Shakespearean play which is a part of the English syllabus – evokes ample interest from the class.

4. Say what you say, mean what you mean: Curtailing ambiguities, making a meaningful hour. A Q&A session after each class in a unique way like “Listing out 10 points of today’s class”, “Preparing something like a Minutes of the Meeting about today’s purpose of a discussion” so on. An interactive approach including the students gives prominence on giving them the prime importance by applauding for any unique ideas and knowledge sharing in case of a negative response, builds their confidence and in turn is a thumbs up when it comes to you gaining their trust. A humble eye to eye contact or even making some positive affirmations together on making classes better will act like the building blocks of a constructive learning environment.

5. Your own rules, your own texts: Studying should all be about fun induced learning. Not bound to any particular pattern or a particular template of teaching. The understanding of the concept and application of the same must be held as the prime focus and not mere scribbling something called “Notes”. Reference sake jotting down and then reinventing and rekindling the skilful person in you should hold more value in a development aided learning environment. Bring out those artists and writers; bring out the debater in them. Unveil the actors who could recite the William Wordsworth’s poems with ease like how they easily enact a soliloquy. Unleash their talent in innumerable ways that give them a satisfaction that they are in the safe, kind hands. This is also an activity that promotes individuality and independent attributes.

PTM – The Do’s and the Dont’s – Edustoke

6. Tell me your dreams: “The virtuous man contents himself with dreaming that which the wicked man does in actual life.” ― Sigmund Freud. The Interpretation of Dreams. Dreaming is an amazing experience for children. They dream in colours so unknown which is yet to decipher. Their dreams carry so many of their wishes, demands, sorrow and the cruel saga which are all hidden in the sub-conscious corner of their tender minds. Things or actions which cannot be expressed to this real, practical world will attain its totality over their dreams. Studies show that those children who are asked about their dreams find their way out of any mental dilemma they are going through. A weekly activity about talking about their dreams, the ambitions, their goals and all those they desire to achieve will boast their efficiency in learning. A better retention of concepts and recalling them on a regular basis increases memory and results in a complete, satisfying learning procedure.

7. Up together down together, leave your seats! : A mundane math class, a boring biology lecture… languages sing me a lullaby, chemistry makes me cry! Why be regular when you can do so much better?! Standing at one place and blurting out all those which you had prepared for the class will just fetch you the children’s physical attendance. But are they really with you? The point is to make it an effective classroom environment where there is any kind of learning happening. So first- Loosen up, pull your socks down and be at ease. Walk down to their temperament. It’s not easy to be a student. A perspective that mere textbook teaching is enough- can bring you no gain. Step in to their shoes and try to adapt a tone which is pleasing, one with them. Affectionate versus authoritative in simple language. Sailing the ship with a firm grip – being strict and stiff with the rules is natural but being sensible and crisp with the content will attain more likes. Try to utilize the classroom space by roaming around so that their drooping eyes pay attention to the direction you are moving. Make them stand up and sit down every time you utter a particular word like “OK” or “Did you understand?” This way they try to focus on what you talk and you then can focus on what you have to make them listen to.

Mirror mirror on the wall. What does a best school need at all?!

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