Exam stress can be a big problem for some students, often resulting in a fear of failure that defeats them even before they put pen to paper. I have made myself sick over school and Uni exams most of my life. There is nothing worse than getting in there and not knowing anything because fear takes over you and you cannot concentrate. There are a few different things I’ve personally done, and my friends have done to help us get through inevitable exams.

Tip 1 Have all necessary material with you

You can't borrow items such as pens, pencils, rulers or special equipment while in an examination.

Tip 2 Have a relaxing night before your exams

Have an early night, and try to have a healthy breakfast.

Tip 3 Read the entire paper.

Where you have choices, decide which ones you plan to answer.

Tip 4 Plan your time.

Spend some time drafting a plan for the questions you choose to answer. Make sure you use effective time management and don't spend to long on just one answer.

Tip 5 Jot down ideas as they come to you.

While you are answering one question, information about another may suddenly occur to you. Jot it down somewhere because when you come to that question perhaps an hour later, you may have forgotten it.

Tip 6 Don't leave any questions unanswered.

If you are short of time, use note form. Remember, you can only be marked on the answers you give.

Tip 7 Never leave the room early.

If you have time at the end, go over your work, add information (eg in the margin). You can't return if you suddenly remember a fact after you have left.

Tip 8 Do not spend too long on multiple choice questions.

With multiple choice questions it is best to cover the answers and work out your own before looking at the choices on paper. If you can't answer the question come back to it later - have a guess.

Tip 9 Never omit an entire question.

No matter how well you answer other questions, you must leave time for all questions - a perfect answer can still only earn a certain number of marks. If you write nothing, you can't receive any marks and you have lost all your marks for a particular question. Write something - it may at least give you a few points.

Tip 10 Maintain a stable energy level.

Eating foods such as chocolate bars before an exam might give you an energy boost to begin with but your blood sugar levels will drop within an hour and your energy will plunge dramatically, making it hard for you to concentrate. Make sure you eat a good breakfast before you go to school or if it's after lunch make sure you've packed a good health lunch.

There are great audio books available to help you with exam stress and stop mind freeze during exams. All you have to do is listen to them a few times before your exams, and then you will breeze through them.

These are clinically proven techniques, which can put an end to pre-exam nervousness and anxiety, the kind that shuts down your brain so that you just panic and go totally blank in the head.

These audio tapes enable you to learn how to take control of your stress using simple relaxation techniques, including diaphragmatic breathing and repetition of key mind triggers to get yourself feeling brilliantly calm and confident.

If you listen to this regularly for about a month before you need to sit your exams, and you'll feel relaxed, clear-headed and able to show how knowledgeable you really are.

These audio tapes can also help to develop and improve social behaviour, improve communication and cognitive skills, and importantly, boosting self-confidence, is an integral part of every audio program.

At the same time as calming and relaxing, it’s also interesting and enjoyable.

SleepTime audios are available to download online, onto your iPod or MP3 player, and you can listen to them every time you have an exam to make sure your ready to be your best!

Exams are a time when stress levels are higher than usual. Stress can be positive, helping you to stay motivated and focused but too much stress can make you feel overwhelmed, confused, exhausted and edgy. It's important to try and keep things in perspective and find ways of reducing stress if things seem to be getting on top of you. A great audio book available is called Test Taking and Relaxing. This book allows for enhanced concentration, attitude, emotional issues, ease in answering questions, written work, tests preparation, planning test preparation, working through procrastination, & taking responsibility for outcomes.

Some other things to be conscious of are your study habits. Many people feel overwhelmed at exam time because your having to revise a lot of information in a short space of time and not understanding course material can be an even bigger stress.

Watching your favourite TV show or going to the movies are also good ways to take a break from studying.

Remember that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. Exams have a beginning and an end, and the stress that goes along with them should end with the exam. Once the paper's in, there's nothing more you can do to (legally) influence the outcome - which means it's now time to chill and enjoy your break.