Tips to Triumph over Testing Torture!

Pardon the alliteration in the title, but testing is the bane of most student's existence. Even with test prep, it is stressful, and you have to wake up early on a weekend after a long week at school. Sadly, even with the "new" SAT on the horizon, testing is going to be a part of high school life for the foreseeable future. So whether you are taking the AP, SAT, ACT, SAT subject tests or PSAT, here are some tried and true tips to help you get through it.

• Sleep
  Getting a good night's sleep the night before a test is a no-brainer. But did you know that getting a full 8 hours of sleep two nights before is even more important? Your quality of sleep on both Thursday night and Friday night before a Saturday test is critical... it is almost like putting sleep in the bank, so that in case you don't sleep well on Friday, you have enough to make sure you can adequately function on the rest of the previous night’s sleep. The quality of the sleep and the regularity (same time to bed, and same time getting up) also helps you feel more awake on the morning of the test.
• Food
  Make sure you have plenty to eat and drink before and during the test. Pack lots of fluids and granola bars and high protein snacks to keep you going. Stay away from caffeine if it makes you jittery. The same goes for sugar, so you avoid the energy high and then crash that can happen. Students who take tests without snacking show a noticeable drop in their scores as the test goes on... Forget the diet, just keep yourself going for all 3.5 hours!
• Gum, mints or hard candy
  Studies have shown that sucking on mints or Jolly Rancher candies, or chewing gum can increase concentration during a test. Don't believe me? Click here. (http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/gum-chewing-may-improve-concentrati-13-03-26/) If one is distracting, or you tend to crunch (which could annoy other test takers) switch to something else. And remember: unwrap before the test begins!
• Visualize success
  Five minutes before the test begins, close your eyes and visualize yourself taking the tests and achieving your goals. Meditation can help you focus, feel more confident, and will help you maintain a positive outlook rather than feeling shaken when you don't know the answer to a question. Check this out: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/03/how-meditation-might-boost-your-test-scores/

Good luck with your testing... Once the Test Torture is out of the way, you can move on to the next stage of your college admission process. Whew!