Can exam stress be good for you?

It's that time of year again, when thousands of students prepare to take their end of term University exams.The assumption is that students coast through their University degrees, party and then recover rather than go to lectures and just do the bare minimum of work and just make the deadline in time. Although at times this is true, there's no getting away from the impending doom of exams.

The pressure felt by students to perform well in these exams is immense. They've spent thousands of pounds to be where they are, and now they have to prove that it was all worth it. There was even a report of attempted suicide at the beginning of March, with a student threatening to jump off St.Augustine's House library in Canterbury. See the story by clicking HERE 

Leaving work to the very end of deadlines and this clashing with revision can really leave students pulling their hair out.


However, there could be a positive side to all this. A report out this week by The Daily Mail has stated that: "Last-minute exam stress can actually help students to form stronger memories".


Research from the report states: "Hormones produced under stress cause changes to our brain cells that can help memories to be stored more efficiently.

"Stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline alter the way genes inside neurons function, enhancing their learning ability, researchers have discovered".

Researchers have found that the ability for students to learn increases when under the pressure and stress of a deadline and their brains become much more receptive. 

'We often find that unpleasant memories are the ones that stay with us for the rest of our lives more than pleasant memories".

Billy Monk on FaceBook said: "I think it's true that you remember more when you leave it to the last minute. Then its more fresh in your mind for the exam. But I know I definitely forget it straight after so don't agree with the strong memories comment."

Chloe Coleman said: "This isn't going to make me leave all my revision to the last minute. I used to and I had so many sleepless nights thinking about it all. It almost made me ill. I try to be much more organised with it all now. Really don't think its healthy to do this.

Professor George Turnbull discusses exam pressure: