Vertech Editorial
Your hands are shaking. Your stomach is in knots. The exam is in 20 minutes. Here is what to do right now.
Your palms are sweating. Your heart is racing. You can feel the anxiety rising in your chest and you have not even opened the exam yet. This is severe test anxiety, and it affects roughly 25-40% of college students to some degree.
The good news: there are specific techniques you can use in the last 20 minutes before an exam that genuinely work. Not vague “just relax” advice - actual neurological interventions that lower your stress response.
What to Do in the Last 20 Minutes
Physiological sigh (2 minutes) - breathe in through your nose in two quick inhales (short inhale, then a deeper inhale on top of it), then a long slow exhale through your mouth. Repeat 5 times. This is the fastest way to activate your parasympathetic nervous system.
Reframe the anxiety (1 minute) - tell yourself: “This feeling means I care about this exam. My body is preparing to perform.” Research from Harvard shows that reframing anxiety as excitement improves performance.
Write out your worries (5 minutes) - grab paper and write down every anxious thought: “I am going to fail,” “I do not know enough.” Studies show this expressive writing reduces anxiety by offloading worry from working memory.
Stop reviewing material - cramming in the last 10 minutes increases anxiety without improving recall. Put your notes away. What you know right now is what you know.
If Anxiety Hits During the Exam
✅ Do This
- Put your pen down and take 3 slow breaths
- Skip the hard question and find an easy one
- Remind yourself: “I studied. I am prepared. This feeling will pass.”
- Focus on only the current question, not the entire exam
❌ Avoid This
- Looking at the clock every 30 seconds
- Watching how fast other students are writing
- Thinking about what happens if you fail
- Trying to do the hardest question first to “get it over with”
If it is severe
If test anxiety consistently prevents you from performing at your level, talk to your campus counseling center. Many schools offer accommodations for documented test anxiety, including extended time or a separate testing room.
Practice exams under timed conditions using our Generalist Teacher prompt. The more you simulate real exam pressure, the less overwhelming the real thing feels. Also read our guide on how to study with ChatGPT.
