Situations that evoke a significant amount of stress and anxiety in us such as sitting for final exams tend to signal our brain that we are in “danger”, as if we were in front of a bear or wolf. As a result, our brain sets in motion a series of physiological reactions that can help us prepare to keep away from that “danger” through the fight, flight, or freeze response by Shutting down areas of our brain (prefrontal cortex) that we use to focus and retain information because we do not need these to survive danger and Increasing our heart rate and breathing pace (hyperventilating) to pump more blood to our arm and leg muscles so that we can fight our way out of danger, run from danger, or freeze to be “undetected” during a dangerous situation Consequently, as explained above, when feeling significantly anxious and stressed before taking an exam, it is often quite challenging to focus, think clearly, and retrieve information that we studied, which then decreases our ability to perform on a test optimally in addition to experiencing physical symptoms such as rapid heart rate, hyperventilation, and sweaty palms.

→ Engaging in coping strategies that can help “calm” and “ground” ourselves will greatly help mitigate the surge of stress and anxiety that often comes with sitting for a final exam and thus prevent our brain from thinking that we are in “danger”. As a result, our “calm” and “regulated” brain will allow us to get better access to the skills we need to best succeed in an exam such as focus, memory, organization, and planning (executive functioning skills). Coping strategies such as meditation and deep breathing are great tools to achieve a state of calmness and “quiet” our brain. Using meditation apps such as Headspace and Calm can be quite useful. Quick Deep Breathing that you can do a few minutes before your final exam: Close your eyes or stare at the ground while sitting comfortably with hands on your lap Breathe in through your nose in 4 counts Breathe out through your mouth in 4 counts Repeat Step 3 and 4 at least 4 times while visualizing a place/location that usually brings you joy and calm

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvflhGzINJ4; www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF4H0oAiDSQ&t=62s

Good luck to all with your finals, you got this!