Looking after your wellbeing during the exam and assessment period

Here we have a summary of tips from our Student Wellbeing Advisor for the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Cat Atkinson.

Look after the basics: 

- Sleep: Going to bed and getting up at the same time allows our bodies to repair and regulate. Having a regular sleep routine can help us get to sleep, stay asleep and wake feeling rested and refreshed, which is going to help you perform academically. Take a look at these tips about how you could improve your sleep. 

- Food and mood: Eating regularly throughout the day keeps blood sugar levels stable, and can make a difference to your mood and your ability to manage stress. Carbohydrates are our primary source of energy and help us to function. You can read more about feeding your brain here (scroll down and download the pdf)

 - Keep moving: Our body needs regular movement and this can also help with sleep. There may be a temptation to skip a walk, for example, because that could be time you could use to study, but it's getting out in the fresh air and doing some exercise that is helping you to prepare to study and take care of yourself.

 - Staying connected: Ensure that you're still spending meaningful time with friends and/or family. Don't abandon these good habits. Taking time out to relax allows you to come back to your work feeling rested and refreshed.

 Experiencing emotional blocks to productivity 

- Perhaps you've been feeling nervous while studying for your exam and realise you've read the same paragraph multiple times. Writing an essay and feel like the words are not flowing? Fearing an exam and thinking you're going to fail? 

- These are all examples of emotional hijacking - where the emotional part of the brain takes over the thinking part of the brain. You can listen to this 5 minute video from Dr Gareth Hughes who explains why this happens and how we can use 7/11 breathing to overcome it. 

Other things to keep in mind 

- Keep it in perspective. Yes, your exams are important, but you are so much more than your exam results.

 - Get organised. Establish a study routine. Consider breaking your work down into smaller, more manageable chunks. Look at the 301 Academic Skills Centre resources such as SMART goal setting and the pomodoro technique. 

- Keep talking. If you're feeling stressed or worried, talk to friends or family. This can help to get clarity with your thoughts and consider other practical approaches. 

In addition here are some suggestions to help with your study and revision techniques

Like listening to podcasts? Google LM notebook can turn your text into a human-like audio podcast

Anki is an app where you can make flashcards and have reminders to use them, wherever you are with your phone

Put content into Gemini (The university preferred Chat GP service) and ask it to generate.

·         Exam questions

·         Lyrics for well-known tunes

·         Summaries for flash cards

·         Mind maps.

·         Make mind maps large with colour to help as a visual aide.

·         Record information and listen back to it.

·         Explain difficult content to e.g. parents, friends or favourite plushie!

Other activities which could help with supporting regulation are Binaural beats and many free tracks can be found on Spotify who do playlists for calming and others for focus.

There are many more hints and tips for managing the exam season on the Wellbeing website called Wellbeing during exams and assessments including previous webinar recordings and blogs.

Best Wishes,

The Wellbeing Team