8 Ways How To Reduce Teenage Exam Stress And Anxiety
Top tips on helping reduce student and teenage study and exam stress, hep your teen feel more calm, confident and relaxed when exam time and study time comes around.
Exam Stress And Anxiety From Exam Performance
Sadly Exam Stress And Anxiety Is A Big Problem For Many Students And Teenagers. Especially with such increase in mental health challenges in young people, especially chronic anxiety and depression.
Exam stress for many is actually stress anxiety, for some it is more anxiety performance. Most students and teenagers are suffering from both exam stress and exam anxiety, so it is important to approach both.Most of us when we hear the word exam get a feeling of panic.
But there is so many simple things your young adult or teenager can do to reduce exam stress and anxiety. With the right approach and the right tools you can help increase calm and confidence.
Top Tips To Reduce Teenage Exam Stress And Anxiety
Create A Suitable Study Space:
Make sure your child or teenager has a suitable comfortable space to study where they wont be disturbed or distracted. A space
that is ideal to encourage more calm and focus. For teenagers who lack focus or suffer from ADHD, the NYR Study Remedies roller ball is ideal to fit in a pocket, purse, or bag. Lemon essential oil improves focus and concentration.
Encourage A Balanced Study Routine:
Help or encourage your teenager to create a healthy and balanced study timetable. It is so important your teenagers prioritise their time effectively.
It can be so easy for them to want to avoid subjects they struggle with or are concerned over.
Reduce External Stressors:
Help take the pressure off your teenager by reducing external stressors as much as you can. If your child normally has a lot of household chores, a job, try reducing the level of those chores temporarily during study and exam time. So they are not overwhelmed, overstressed and over exhausted.
Boost Your Teens Confidence And Self-Worth:
Support your teenage by boosting their confidence, self-worth and self-esteem. Focus on their strengths, praise them, be kind to them reduce criticism and help them understand that their worth does not equate to their exam results.
Teenagers today are put under extreme pressure from all angles, especially peer and educational pressure. It is important to do what you can to encourage a healthier mindset, increased confidence, self-worth and self-esteem.
Encourage Time Out:
Make sure your teenager takes plenty of breaks between study time and exams. It is important they take time to switch off and have fun.
Reduce Technology Overload:
We use technology for so much in our lives that we forget how over-stimulating and energy-depleting it can be. Also, most computers and mobile devices such as iPads emit blu ray technology which can play havoc with our nervous system and sleep patterns. So ensure they spend time off computers, phones, facebook…
Teach Them How To Meditate And Relax:
Meditation and relaxation techniques can be really helpful at helping anxious teenagers switch off. Teenagers love my less than 5 Minute Meditation (included in the Exam Stress Kit) is the most popular tool I have taught for 20 years. Muscle relaxations are great at reducing anxiety, muscle tension and sleep challenges, all in my Exam Stress Toolkit For Teens And Students.
Encourage Deep Quality Sleep:
Good quality sleep can make a huge difference to our concentration, focus, and memory recall. Guided meditations designed to support sleep can be really helpful so can muscle relaxation techniques. Lavender oil is a great essential oil that can encourage a deep restful sleep. One product many clients and friends love is the NYR Organics Night Time aroma ball.
Want to support your child or teenager the right way?
My Exam Stress Toolkit is ideal for young adults, teenagers, student,s and parents who want to learn how to manage exam stress in a more natural and holistic way
Why Lavender Essential Oil Should Be In Every Home First Aid Kit
Lavender essential oil is one of the most widely known and used popular essential oils for the whole family’s health and wellbeing. Learn why lavender should be in every home first aid kit is widely used by families of the world, even kids and infants. Especially when Lavender is so versatile, in its therapeutic properties, extremely calm, soothing, and generally safe.
Why Your Lavender Essential Oil Should Be Pure And High-Grade Quality
Lavender essential oil is distilled from the lavender plant which grows in rural areas and gardens all over the world. But it is important when buying lavender oil to check it is 100% pure essential oil and of high-grade quality. If you want to use lavender essential oil for therapeutic use you want to know it has a high therapeutic level unfortunately not all brands of essential oils have the same quality. I personally buy from NYR Organics and dOTERRA and the reason why I am a consultant for both.
The Use Of Lavender in The Pharmaceutical Industry
Lavender is widely used in the pharmaceutical, skincare, and holistic industry. It is often used in burns treatments and a lavender-oil preparation in gel capsule known as Silexan is used to reduce anxiety. It is also used in a variety of ways in mainstream medicine. One clinical study demonstrated the benefits of Lavender in helping reduce blood pressure and pulse in those undergoing a Coronary Angiography.
I began studying aromatherapy over 25 years ago and found it fascinating how much you can treat with essential oil Ins. I loved the fact that aromatherapy gave families a more holistic and safer option than many over the counter prescriptions. Very quickly my family and friends began to replace their medicine cabinet and first aid kit with essential oils, especially pure lavender.
It can be sedating for most people, the reason why it is so widely used in sleep therapy products, especially bedtime sprays and nighttime oil and bath blends. And some parents find it helpful for ADHD
Antimicrobial:
Lavender has been shown in some situations to help reduce microbial activity
Analgesic and Anti-inflammatory:
This explains why lavender can be useful for bumps, bruises, burns, sport, and other muscular injuries.
Generally, lavender essential oil is used as an aid to reduce anxiety, bumps, bruises, bites, burns, eczema, emotional lability, exhaustion, fear, hot flushes, hyperactivity,insomnia, low mood, panic attacks, PMT, restlessness, stings, stress, sunburn swollen joints, tantrums, temperatures, worry…
How to Use Pure Lavender Essential Oil
Bath:Add one-two drops of pure essential lavender oil to your child’s bath, 2- 3 drops for older kids 12+.
Massage Blend: Blend one drop of lavender oil with 15ml of carrier oil or unscented pure massage oil and apply to the skin. Infants and toddlers love baby massage it is a great way to encourage healthier bonding and as long it’s done gently for about 5-10 minutes it can help them relax or fall asleep. Use 2-3 drops of essential oils for 7-12 years. Most suitable for children over 2 years.
Spritzer:Add a few drops of lavender oil to water in a large spray bottle, this can be used to help children cool down or calm down. So great for holidays
Compress: Add a drop of lavender to a wet compress for bums, bruises, bites, headaches or a high temperature.
Aromatherapy Diffuser: Diffuse lavender oil to help your child off to sleep. it can also help reduce some type of bacterial infections.
Soothe Your Nervous System And Inner Child With Ylang Ylang
NOISE Sensitivity – Why Noise Can Be A Child’s Biggest Stressor
Why Noise Sensitivity Could Be One Of Your Child’s Biggest Cause Of Stress, Anxiety And Depression
So What Is Noise Sensitivity?
Noise sensitivity is reduced tolerance to sound. It is exacberated by fatigue, infection, medications, medical conditions, stress and other stimuli. It causes different changes to brain function . In-fact it is shown that some noise sensitivity shows an increase in grey matter volume
There are different kinds of noise sensitivity.
Hyperascius is an intolerance or even pain to different types of sound, it often occurs with tinnitus. It is extremely common in children, though many children out grow it.
Hypersensitive hearing of specific frequencies is seen in many children with autism. Some frequencies such as those above 70 decibels can be unbearable.
Misophonia is a strong reaction to specific sounds, the individual is triggered by specific sounds. There is often a strong emotional correlation to the specific sounds.Misophonia is viewed as a neurological condition it can be a symptom seen in adhd, aspergers, autism
Phonophobia (also called ligyrophobia or sonophobia) is viewed as a sub-category of misophonia. It is an emotional or anxiety disorder which is triggered by a fear of particularly loud sounds. And is often triggered by the discomfort and environmental conditioning of living with hyperacusius
Recruitment is linked to sensorineural hearing loss, the individual often has extreme hearing loss. But when someone for example shouts they suddenly hear and it can be very uncomfortable.
Many assume noise sensitivity is a psychological condition but it is main causes are a neurological reaction.
Some children do get less sound sensitive, some adults or those with specific medical conditions like untreated chronic lymes can develop increased sound sensitivity.
Some children with autism are oversensitive others are undersensitive.
Causes of noise sensitivity
According to the Brain Injury Society those with noise sensitivity “may have a history of Lyme’s disease, Meniere’s disease, TMJ, serious head injury, frequent migraines, Bell’s Palsy, facial nerve dysfunction, excessive ear irrigation or surgery. Hyperacusis can later develop as a result of damage sustained to the hearing apparatus, or inner ear, or the condition may be acquired as a result of damage to the brain or the neurological system during a head trauma event.”
I have lived with noise sensitivity for at least 28 years. But over the last few years the hyperacusis became very extreme and was accompanied by serious light and sound vibration. It got worse after surviving sepsis and approx 30 years diagnosis of m.e. But I have to say according to a test in germany it may be chronic lymes ( I had strange bites at 14 years old) and I was mercury poisoned.
As somone who has taught stress management to parents and kids for 18 years. I have worked with many children who have hyper sound sensitivity issues. But until recently And I had no ideal how disabling, painful, uncomfortable and exhausting hyperascisus could be.
Many people say it can be torterous and I understand why they decribe it this way. I had to move from my previous home because of how the noise started to affect me. It was changed into a main through road for local traffic. And most people could never imagine how dramatically this impacted my daily life and health. On many occasions I nearly passed out, lost my balance and had violent non-epileptic type seizures all times triggered by noise. Now yes mine would appear to be caused by long-term bacterial and viral infection.
But I would urge you to try and comprehend how uncomfortable or painful noise may be for your child. Particularly if you have a very young child or a child who struggles to communicate what they are experiencing.
I am a stress management expert, with highly extensive and advanced techniques and tools to help me remain calm and relaxed in any situation. And although thank goodness I am lucky to have these tools this does not take away how much this disorder can impact your child’s mental, emotional and physical wellbeing.
So How Can You Support your Sound Sensitive Child?
1.Understand your child’s type of sound sensitivity, their triggers and symptoms.
2. Educate your child’s school and teachers on your child’s specific noise sensitivity challenges, the level of sensitivity and key triggers.
3. Prior warning of alarming and noisey sounds can prepare your child’s central nervous system. So work together with teachers, family and friends to work out cues that prepare your child for noise isssues like alarms.
4. Plan and prepare ahead- when you can choose specific times of day, places and areas of a room where your child will be less exposed to too much or particular noises. I know of a situation where a child’s mental wellbeing became seriously distressed and depressed due to the noise of the internet router next to her in her classroom.
5. Minimise the impact when you can: although it may not be a good ideal to completely eliminate your child from all noises. Noises that are extremely uncomfortable, painful or disabling can be reduced by ear muffs, ear plugs and sound cancellation ear phones.
6. Teach your child how to set healthy boundaries– an important part of growing a strong resilient child is teaching them healthy boundaries. A noise sensitive child has usually a very sensitive central nervous system. Noise is one of modern day living’s biggest stressor. So to keep your child physically, mentally and emotionally healthy. It is vital your child can learn how to say NO to noises, games and situations that are di-stressing.
7. White Noise – Some children who are noise sensitive find white noise or fans can soften out the sharp shock of other loud noises.
8. Take Breaks & Rest – regular rest breaks from noisey environments, too many people, parties or events helps keep a child’s nervous system in check.
9. Calm And Patience: It is important that the child and parent learn hows to be calm and patient around sound sensitivity issues. Meditation is an extremely powerful tool that can help the individual cope more resiliently with the challenges. Anything that will calm the central nervous system and help reduce the stress response will help the sound sensitive child.
10. Holistic aids; Deficiencies are sometimes viewed as an issue in sound sensitivity. Many people reduce their sensitivity with supplements of magnesium. Magnesium helps inhibit glutamate which can be a major cause of tinnitus. Magnesium also protects the ears from damage to noise sensitivity. Artificial sweeteners such as aspartame often in many children’s foods, sweets, yoghurts and drinks are reputed to be neurotoxic. So elimination may be helpful.
Top tips how to calm down an overstimulated hyperactive child or child with ADHD. Understanding hyperactivity and children and how to deal with in the most calm and effective way.
What is Hyperactivity?
Hyperactivity is a state of mental, emotional and physical over-activity. Kids with Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder can be in a perpetual state of stress due to their hyper-sensitivity. A hyperactive child is more easily triggered by internal and external anxiety and stressors.”While hyperactivity is most commonly associated with ADHD, individuals might also have difficulty with a brain or nervous system disorder, emotional disorder, or hyperthyroidism.” SpecialNeeds.com
Symptoms Of A Hyperactive Child
Behaviours and symptoms of a hyperactive child can be extremely varied. But common symptoms of hyperactivity include fidgeting, poor focus and concentration. As well as impulsiveness, irritability and aggressiveness, emotional outbursts and overwhelm. A hyperactive child maybe something you have to deal with more than just, daily or weekly. Especially with so much technology and information overload, so many kids parties and event.This can be stressful and exhaustion for you the parent, caregiver or educator. So it is important to manage or reduce the risks of hyperactivity and overstimulation as much as possible.
Here is 7 Tips To Calm Down A Hyperactive Child
Be Calm, Firm But Caring
A hyperactive child is a child in a highly over stimulated, emotional or stressed state. So it is important to approach the situation in a calm confident yet firm and caring way.The last thing you want is your anxiety, stress or emotional frustration fuelling the situation.
Most parents and caregivers have anxiety and stress so it is important to mange your own anxiety,stress and triggers in a healthy way.The more relaxed and calm you are, the easier it is set clear caring boundaries with your child. For toddlers a firm and strong stop hand signal can give a clear message.
Especially done at eye to eye level, not hovering down or pointing a finger. Which can trigger more fear or emotional frustration.
Remove Your Hyperactive Child From Their Stressors
Removing your hyperactive child to a more calming environment or activity with is more grounding like a walk in the nature can be extremely helpful.
Or simply removing or distracting them from any sort of stimulant internally or externally will help encourage your child’s mind, body and emotions off the stress response and back into a calm and balanced state.
We are all more easily stressed by noises, lights, smells, other people’s energy and emotions when we are hyper-alert.
Redirect Your Hyperactive Child To Release Excessive Energy
Encouraging a hyperactive child to use their bursts of energy in a far more focused and healthy way can help. That is why short bursts of directed exercise like doing a short sprint can be helpful. Young children can learn to shake their body like a deer does, after it freezes during a stressful event.
Any activity with a certain amount of heavy lifting can also be helpful as it requires a certain amount of focus.
Although because hyperactivity is usually triggered by sensory, stimulus or information overload followed by emotional melt downs and exhaustion. It is important not to push a hyperactive child into too much physical activity that is going to burn them out. The main reason no 4 and 7 are so important.
When a child can manage their own emotions and stress they feel more calm, confident and in control. They are less frustrated and overwhelmed. Children can learn how to relax properly with breathing or relaxation techniques. Many younger kids find blowing bubbles deeply calming. A child’s ability to switch off and relax is vital to get deep restful sleep.
Teach a child the right type of meditation skill and you give them a friend for life. Meditation gives your child an empowering self-help tool for life. My meditation and mindfulness program for kids teaches both parent and child how to meditate in a fun and practical manner for the whole family.
Lavender essential oil is a really safe and effective oil for most ages of children when used the right way. Making up a lavender aroma ball like these by NYR Remedies To Roll can be deeply calming, soothing and relaxing.
Lavender bath salts or Pure Lavender oil can be added to the bath to be used as a sleep aid especially when deep quality sleep is so important for the hyperactive or ADDHD child. Make sure you don’t use products with synthetic fragrances or perfumes, pure essentials especially organic essential oils are natural and toxin free.
Eliminate Stimulants i.e. sugar, artificial sweeteners, colourings especially energy drinks seriously over-stimulate the mind, body and emotions. Even foods your child is slightly intolerant to, can be too stimulating.
The reality is most foods in our supermarkets are full of refined sugars or man made ingredients, pesticides or preservatives which play havoc with our body our sugar levels and nervous system. When possible a fresh raw organic diet as much as possible can help nurture your child’s mind, body and emotions.
Benefits Of Meditation And Mindfulness For Children
So What Are The Healthy Benefits Of Meditation And Mindfulness For Children?
Well sadly more and more children are suffering from anxiety, stress, depression and over-stimulation that is why mindfulness for children is now so popular. Society places a lot of pressure not just on adults but children and teenagers.
More and more children are becoming addicted to technology, sugar and other unhealthy habits from a very young age. Unhealthy patterns that could seriously impact on the quality and potential of their adult life. Meditation and mindfulness can support a child in many ways, in-fact in many ways meditation can be your child’s best friend.
Why meditation and mindfulness for children is extremely powerful
Meditation And Mindfulness Can Reduce Anxiety, Stress And Depression– Sadly more and more children are over-stimulated, over-anxious and depressed. Meditation and mindful activities encourage the body off the stress response into the calm response. A reason why mindfulness for children has became the latest skill in many schools.
Meditation and Mindfulness Calms The Monkey Mind– Children have an amazing ability to think quickly and grasp new tasks and activities, look at the way even young toddlers quickly grasp how to use your mobile phone or their own mini ipad. But the biggest challenge with children today, is focus and over stimulation one of the biggest causes of anxiety, stress and other mental health challenges. Mindful activites and meditation techniques loosen the attachment to the monkey mind. And in many ways relaxes and resets the child’s mind and body into a more natural state of being.
Mindful Activities And Meditation Creates Confidence– Lack of self-esteem, self-worth and confidence are all triggered and caused by our mental beliefs, by over-thinking. When a child learns to let go of these self-destructive tendencies they become more calm and confident. Your child recognises they are enough, they are not their thoughts. When we access a place of deep peace regularly we are more at peace with ourselves. I have witnessed many children with various disabilities and challenges completely change in attitude, confidence and ability through learning meditation. You would be surprised how powerful these skills can be when encouraged in a child’s daily life and way of being.
Mindfulness And Meditation For Emotional Wellbeing–We all have to go through different life challenges and emotional pain, but how we approach and go through is what makes us struggle or suffer. The powerful aspect of the right mindful and meditation tools is that they can teach your child to accept their pain, accept their emotions without judgement. When we allow our pain to arise and flow in acceptance, we reduce reaction, fear, destruction and denial. All of the things that create the biggest unhappiness in life. An emotionally healthy child is a happy child, a child who creates happier and healthier communication skills and positive relationships.
Daily Meditation And Mindfulness Encourages Healthier Sleep Routines–When a child is more calm and peaceful throughout the day, it is much easier for their mental, emotional and physical body to switch off.Many people are so focused on tiring their children out, they fail to recognise their is a huge difference between physical tiredness and mental tiredness. Mental tiredness is often mental stimulation and one of the biggest reasons children and teenagers don’t want to go to bed. With so much information and technology overload, many kid’s natural circardian rythm is out of sync. Programs that include meditation and mindfulness for children can encourage the mental and physical body back into its natural circardian state.
As someone who has meditate for 30 years and taught meditation to all ages including children for over 15 years I have been very fortunate to witness the many benefits and blessings.
Healthy chocolate milk, is their really a healthy alternative? When we automatically think of a cool chocolately drink or chocolate desert for kids we think of chocolate, sugar and of course milk.
But for many children who are highly sensitive to sugar, dairy, preservatives and artificial flavours or colours, chocolate milk is not the wisest choice Your every day chocolate milk that can be bought in the shops is not just unhealthy, but can be too stimulating and play havoc with the gut. Often a challenged part of the body system of children with autism, aspergers, sensory issues and various health challenges.
So what sort of healthy chocolate milk recipe options are there?
Well two of the main things you can replace that can make a huge difference is the chocolate for raw healthy cacao not cocoa and almond milk instead of dairy. With a few extra healthy additional options you can make this taste really yummy.
It all depends on how sweet your child likes their milk and what they definitely don’t like. My own nieces and nephews love the recipe below, even one who doesn’t really like bananas was absolutely shocked there was a banana in this recipe and than it wasn’t technically real chocolate. But some people miss out the bananas and just use dates. It is totally up to you and your child.
Healthy Chocolate Milk Recipe
Actually Healthy Cacoa & Almond Milk Recipe
1 – 1 1/2 cup of almond milk – To Make Your Own Almond Milk Click Here
1 x Large Banana
1 – 2 tablespoons of Cacoa Powder
A few drops of vanilla essence
Optional ( 1- 2 teaspoons of peanut butter)
Optional ( 1/2 teaspoon honey, agave or date syrup*popular with the big kids)
A few ice cubes
Simply blend all above except ice into a smoothie maker or blender and serve with a straw
Healthy Hot Chocolate
Well Healthy Hot Cacoa Drink
Blend all of above ingredients (except ice) to a warm pan (except ice), for kids just slightly warm obviously adults can have a lot warmer.
Note:Best to add the chosen sweetener at end, just as its warming and ready to come off the boil or heat.
Other Options- Healthy Choco Ice Cream
Healthy Cacoa Ice Cream
A dairy free chocolate ice cream alternative.
All of above recipe, simply frozen, you can also add some cacao nibs, nuts or extra crunchy peanut butter pieces
Let me know how you get on, I would advise you to try these recipes yourself and experiment to your own tastes before getting it right for the kids.
These recipes are packed with nutrients and antioxidants, the main recipe is a great smoothie for on the go, for breakfast or for those afternoon sugar dips
