Fighting Exam Stress With Healthy Nutrition

April 25, 2011

Examinations tend to put a lot of pressure on students. The intense competition in a class room may be good to stimulate students and make them work harder, but often it goes to a point where the child begins to suffer from stress related to the examination. Stress causes a number of problems with exam students. Students often are not able to concentrate while studying because of stress. They also tend to be extremely nervous because of this and can end up suffering when it comes to the time of the exam.

Stress has been known to cause students to black out during their exams. In this case, black out refers to a student suddenly forgetting what he or she has studied which further exacerbates the problem of stress. You can fight exam stress by not pressurizing your child and by talking with them and making sure that they are calm.

You can also fight it by changing the way they eat.

Some types of food and drink tend to hype you up by adding too many stimulants to your bloodstream. A typical example of this is coffee. Coffee contains caffeine which stimulates the body.

Students may use this to stay awake and study long hours. However, this can adversely affect the student by compounding stress. Caffeine intake has been directly linked to high stress levels.

Children also tend to eat things that aren’t necessarily good for them when they are stressed, just as adults would do. By cutting out excessive sugar intake, you will be doing your child a favor. Parents also tend to indulge their children when they are nervous about exams. You maybe inadvertently letting your child get stuffed with food that is heavy and will make him or her uncomfortable.

During exam time, try and maintain a routine at home. Make sure your child eats a healthy breakfast with enough dietary fiber, whole grain breads and some milk. During day time meals, you should prefer vegetables over meat. Leafy vegetables are good for digestion and are full of vitamins and minerals that will help the body. If your child is maintaining a balanced diet, there are less chances of digestive distress. A balanced diet will also ensure that hormone and chemical levels in the blood are relatively stable. All these can help your child perform better. A balanced diet should be mixed with exercise and a set routine of meals. All these will help reduce exam stress.