How To Deal With Exam Stress: Top Tips for Students

Feeling stressed during exam season is extremely common. Just ask anyone who’s ever experienced it. Many students report feelings of anxiety and pressure, difficulty sleeping, or problems concentrating in the lead-up to exams. If you don’t, you’re in the minority!

A certain amount of stress can actually help you stay focused and motivated. But when stress starts to feel overwhelming, it can affect your confidence, revision, sleep, and overall wellbeing.

This guide gives you tips on how to deal with your exam stress, both during your revision and on the exam day. You can use it for practical advice to help you feel calmer, more organised, and more in control. There’s also guidance on when you might need to ask for extra help and support.

Key Takeaways

• Exam stress is common and does not mean you are failing or unprepared

• Small changes to sleep, revision habits, and routines can make a big difference

• Effective revision techniques and realistic planning can help reduce anxiety

• There are practical calming strategies you can use before and during exams

Understanding Exam Stress

Exam stress occurs when your body and brain respond to pressure or challenge. When exams feel important, your nervous system reacts by becoming more alert and focused.

This is sometimes called the “fight or flight” response. Your body releases stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, which prepare you to respond quickly.

A small amount of stress can be helpful. It can help you stay alert and motivated during your revision sessions or in the exams, ready to perform at your best. Many students find this helpful.

However, too much stress can start to have the opposite effect. It may make it harder for you to think clearly, remember information, sleep properly, or stay calm during exams.

Exam stress can affect students in different ways. You might notice:

• racing thoughts

• irritability or emotional overwhelm

• headaches or stomach aches

• difficulty sleeping

• trouble concentrating

• feeling panicky before exams

Why Do Students Experience Exam Stress?

According to the 2025 Save My Exams exam anxiety survey, 85% of students reported feeling anxious before exams, with 1 in 4 ranking their level of anxiety as severe.

There are many reasons why students feel so stressed about exams, including:

• fear of failure

• pressure to achieve high grades

• comparisons with other students

• workload and revision demands

• uncertainty about the future

• feeling unprepared

• poor time management or last-minute cramming

Leading mental health charity Young Minds (opens in a new tab) highlights that pressure comes from many sources: parents, teachers, family, friends or even yourself. You can care so deeply about doing well that you end up putting enormous pressure on yourself.

Social media can also increase these feelings. Seeing other students constantly posting about revision or grades can make it feel like everyone else is coping better than you, even when that is not true.

The Impact of Exam Stress

Short periods of stress are a normal part of life. But ongoing high stress levels can affect both your wellbeing and academic performance.

In the short term, exam stress can lead to:

• tiredness and exhaustion

• difficulty concentrating

• panic during exams

• lack of motivation

• disrupted sleep

• reduced confidence

Over time, unmanaged stress may also affect:

• mental health

• physical health

• relationships

• enjoyment of school and hobbies

If you’re in the middle of revision and you push yourself too hard for too long without a break for rest and recovery, it can even increase your risk of revision burnout. To avoid this, read the advice in our guide on how to avoid burnout as a student.

Warning Signs You're Experiencing Exam Stress

Sometimes exam stress builds up gradually, so it can help to recognise the warning signs early.

Physical signs can include:

• headaches

• muscle tension

• feeling sick or nauseous

• changes in appetite

• tiredness

• dizziness

• difficulty sleeping

Emotional signs can include:

• feeling overwhelmed

• irritability

• mood swings

• crying more easily

• feeling hopeless or stuck

• low confidence

Behavioural signs can include:

• avoiding revision completely

• procrastinating more than usual

• withdrawing from friends or family

• scrolling on your phone for long periods

• staying up very late revising

• panic cramming

Experiencing some of these signs does not mean something is “wrong” with you. They are signals that your stress levels may be getting too high and that you need more support or recovery time.

Practical Strategies To Manage Exam Stress

There is no single solution to exam stress. But equally, there is no need to treat it as something you just need to put up with.

Usually, the most effective approach is combining small habits and strategies that help you feel more balanced and in control. The techniques below are practical and realistic, designed to help you manage stress throughout the exam period.

Create a Realistic Revision Schedule

One of the biggest causes of exam stress is feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of content you need to revise. A clear revision plan can help make your workload feel more manageable.

Aim to:

• break revision into smaller tasks

• focus on one topic at a time

• spread subjects across the week

• include breaks and rest time

• set realistic daily goals

Avoid creating revision timetables that expect you to study for 10 hours every day. Most students cannot sustain that for long, and it often increases stress rather than reducing it.

The Save My Exams study planner tool will help you to organise your revision into manageable chunks and reduce last-minute panic.

Our guides to creating a GCSE revision timetable and an A Level revision plan may also help you.

Use Effective Revision Techniques

Once you’ve organised what to study and when, the next thing to address is what you do with your revision time. 

Not all revision methods are equally helpful. Passive techniques, such as repeatedly rereading notes, can sometimes create the illusion of revision without actually helping.

Try to use active revision techniques, including:

• active recall

• mind mapping

• flashcards

• practice questions

• past papers

• spaced repetition

• teaching a topic to someone else

These methods take more effort, but they yield far better rewards. Actively testing your recall, understanding, and ability to apply what you’ve learned is the best route to feeling confident and exam-ready. And this, in turn, will reduce your stress levels.

The bonus benefit is that these methods also reduce the need for those super-stressful last-minute cramming sessions.

Visit the Save My Exams Learning Hub for a wealth of revision tips.

Practice Relaxation and Breathing Techniques

When you feel anxious, your breathing often becomes faster and shallower. This can make physical symptoms of stress feel worse.

Simple breathing exercises can help calm your nervous system quite quickly.

One useful technique is box breathing:

1. breathe in for 4 seconds

2. hold for 4 seconds

3. breathe out for 4 seconds

4. hold for 4 seconds

5. repeat several times

You can also try:

• progressive muscle relaxation, where you tense and relax different muscle groups

• mindfulness exercises

• guided meditation

• visualisation techniques

Any technique that grounds you in the present moment is useful in calming the body’s stress responses. However, these strategies are most effective when practised regularly, not only during moments of panic.

Download an app such as Calm (opens in a new tab), Headspace (opens in a new tab), or Portal (opens in a new tab) to help you learn guided breathing, mindfulness, and meditation exercises ahead of your exams.

Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

During exam season, it can be tempting to sacrifice sleep, meals, or exercise to fit in more revision.

However, your brain works best when your body is properly looked after.

Try to prioritise:

• regular sleep

• balanced meals

• hydration

• movement and exercise

• time outside

Sleep is especially important for memory and concentration. Staying up very late revising often makes learning less effective the next day.

Take Regular Breaks

Taking breaks is not lazy. Breaks help your brain recover and process information. Without them, concentration and productivity usually start to fall.

Many students find it helpful to:

• revise in focused blocks of 25–50 minutes (the Pomodoro technique)

• take short breaks between sessions

• step away from screens during breaks

• move around or get fresh air

Try not to spend every break doomscrolling on social media, as it doesn't always help your brain switch off properly.

Stay Connected With Friends and Family

Exam stress can sometimes make students isolate themselves. However, talking to people you trust can help reduce stress and make problems feel more manageable. Often, you’ll discover that other students are feeling very similar pressures.

Instead of trying to manage everything alone, try to:

• talk honestly about how you feel

• spend time with supportive people

• ask for help when you need it

• avoid comparing your revision constantly with friends

Challenge Negative Thoughts

Stress often increases negative thinking. You might catch yourself thinking negative thoughts, such as:

• “I’m going to fail”

• “Everyone else is coping better than me”

• “If I do badly, everything is ruined”

These thoughts can feel convincing during stressful periods, but they are often untrue and rarely helpful. You need to challenge them when they arise with more balanced thoughts. For example:

• “I’m struggling right now, but I can still improve”

• “One exam does not define my future”

• “Feeling stressed does not mean I will fail”

Ask yourself, if a friend were making negative statements, what would you say to them in response? Then treat yourself just as kindly as you would treat that friend.

Limit Social Media Consumption

This may feel impossible, but it is hugely important. 

Social media can quickly increase stress levels during exam season. Constant revision videos, grade discussions, countdowns, and productivity posts can make it feel like you should always be studying. This can lead to guilt, comparison, and overwhelm. And you shouldn’t let it cause you extra stress. 

While you don’t necessarily need to delete social media apps completely, try setting time limits for your use. Mute the most stressful accounts, and never open social media during revision sessions. Creating distance from the constant comparison can help you stay calmer and more focused.

Techniques To Use During the Exam

Even if you prepare well, it is still possible to feel stressed during an exam itself. Have some strategies that you know will calm you just enough to refocus.

Grounding Techniques

If you start to panic during an exam, don’t fight it. Try to focus on calming your body first. Grounding techniques can help bring your attention back to the present moment, helping the panic to pass more quickly.

One simple method is the 5-4-3-2-1 technique:

• name 5 things you can see

• name 4 things you can feel

• name 3 things you can hear

• name 2 things you can smell

• name 1 thing you can taste

You can also:

• place both feet firmly on the floor

• slowly relax your shoulders

• take several slow breaths

• focus only on the next question, not the whole paper

Time Management in the Exam Room

Feeling rushed during an exam can increase your stress levels very rapidly. At the start of each paper, take a moment to plan exactly how to divide your time.

Before answering anything:

• check how many questions there are

• calculate roughly how much time to spend on each section

• leave a few minutes at the end to check your answers

If you get stuck on a question:

• move on temporarily

• return later if you have time

• avoid spending too long panicking over one section

Your subject teachers will doubtless have talked you through all of this, and you’ve probably rehearsed it in mock exams, too. So there shouldn’t be any nasty surprises on the day. Remember this, and as far as possible, try to take a calm, steady approach.

When To Seek Additional Support

Sometimes exam stress becomes too difficult to manage alone.

You should consider seeking extra support if stress is:

• affecting your daily life

• stopping you from sleeping properly

• causing panic attacks

• making you feel constantly overwhelmed

• affecting your mental health significantly

Talking to someone early can really help.

You could speak to:

• a parent or carer

• a teacher or tutor

• a school counsellor

• your GP

• a mental health support service

Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. It is a sensible and positive step when stress becomes too much to manage on your own. 

If you’re a parent seeking strategies, our guide on how to help your child with exam stress may offer some useful advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Can I Stop Panicking Before an Exam?

Try to focus on calming your body first rather than forcing yourself to “stop worrying”.

Slow breathing, grounding exercises, good preparation, and avoiding last-minute cramming can all help reduce panic before exams.

It can also help to arrive early, avoid stressful conversations with other students, and remind yourself that feeling nervous is normal.

What Should I Do If I Feel Anxious During an Exam?

Pause for a moment and focus on slowing your breathing.

Grounding techniques, relaxing your muscles, and focusing on one question at a time can help you regain control.

Remember that anxiety during exams is common and usually passes within a few minutes.

Can Exam Stress Affect My Results?

Yes. High stress levels can make concentration, memory, and clear thinking more difficult.

However, managing stress effectively can help improve both confidence and performance.

Small habits such as getting enough sleep, taking regular breaks, and planning realistic revision time can make a significant difference.

What Should I Do the Night Before an Exam?

Avoid trying to learn huge amounts of new information late at night.

Instead, focus on reviewing key information and preparing your equipment for the next day. Eat a good, healthy meal, relax a little before bed, and get a good night’s sleep so you’re rested and ready for the day ahead.

Explore our complete guide on what to do the night before an exam for further advice.

Final Thoughts

Constance Mantle, CEO at SaveMyExams, says: “It’s important for students to know they’re not alone, and there’s no shame in finding things difficult. The problem doesn’t lie with them—it lies in the environment they’re being asked to thrive in.”

Exam stress is a normal part of this critical time in your life as a student. You didn’t cause it, and you can’t do anything about it, other than trying your best to make sure it doesn’t take over your revision, your exams, or your overall wellbeing.

There are many practical ways to manage your stress levels, from planning ahead to practising breathing exercises. The most important thing is to find what works for you. Be kind to yourself. You’re coping with something genuinely challenging, and you don’t have to handle it perfectly to get through it.

And if you’re struggling, ask for support. Reaching out early can make a huge difference.

To make your revision as stress-free as possible, check out Save My Exams’ range of teacher-written exam revision resources. And for further support with exam stress, download our free exam anxiety relief kit (opens in a new tab).  

References:

• Young Minds | How To Deal With Exam Stress (opens in a new tab)

• Calm (opens in a new tab)

• Headspace (opens in a new tab)

• Portal (opens in a new tab)