For a good portion of students, a primary cause for anxiety is school — more particularly, tests. Tests, essentially evaluations of your knowledge, often take a significant amount of composure, and with it, stress. With an assortment of STAAR tests and AP exams starting tomorrow, students are in definite need of some ways to prepare.

Unsurprising as it is, a good way to prepare for testing is eating well. It has always been said by parents and nutritionists to eat more protein-filled foods before school — particularly eggs, oatmeal or yogurt — and the same applies here. In addition, complex carbohydrates — fruits and vegetables — can give energy crucial for testing, and school in general. As simple as it is, eating strategically can help raise your metabolism, and in the process, aid your testing performance overall.

Requiring even less work, it is also recommended to get a decent amount of sleep the night before. Studies have shown a link between sleep and higher testing grades, and conclude that seven hours or more can significantly boost performance. Though it’s an uncomplicated effort, getting a healthy amount of sleep can be important to your testing performance.

Without change to diet or sleep, a common way to mentally prepare before and even during a test are positive affirmations. Telling yourself “I studied hard,” and “I know this subject,” can boost your confidence, and hence, your ability to score well. Maintaining confidence is paramount in school, especially in a testing environment, and positive affirmations are a great way to do so.

When a test is coming up, it is always important to study the material and refresh yourself beforehand — but this should not be left for the day of the test. Try and get any and all preparation done the day before or sooner — and try your best to relax the day of the exam. Studying is important prior to the test, but staying calm and feeling confident is most pivotal the day of. 

As crucial as these exams can be, it’s understandable that students often stress about them. But learning to prepare yourself through changes and affirmations beforehand is a way to boost your performance and relieve some of the anxiety they cause.