{"id":114,"date":"2015-12-02T16:03:59","date_gmt":"2015-12-03T00:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/?p=114"},"modified":"2018-12-16T15:50:10","modified_gmt":"2018-12-16T23:50:10","slug":"praxis-study-guide-part-4-beating-test-stress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/praxis-study-guide-part-4-beating-test-stress\/","title":{"rendered":"Praxis Study Guide, Part 4: Beating Test Stress"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article is the fourth in a series of five study tips to get you ready for taking the Praxis Core tests.<\/p>\n

1) Mental Math<\/a>
\n2) Read<\/a>
\n3) Learn from your Mistakes<\/a>
\n4) Beating Test Stress
\n5) Using a Study Schedule<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Your Brain<\/h2>\n

I will begin by teaching you a bit about the human brain, which regrettably does not come with an owner’s manual.\u00a0 Some parts of our nervous system (speech, voluntary muscle movements, etc.) are under our control.\u00a0 The part not under our conscious control is called the Autonomic Nervous System<\/a>.\u00a0 This controls the digestion of our food, the action of the immune system, kidney function, the release of hormones\u2014all the stuff that happen on “automatic pilot” without our having to think about it or do anything.<\/p>\n

The Autonomic NS has two complementary components: (1) the Sympathetic Nervous System<\/a>: this revs the body up in excitement and stress; its full arousal activates the fight-or-flight system.\u00a0 (2) the Parasympathetic Nervous System<\/a>: sometimes called the “relaxation response,” the “rest and digest” system, or the “feed and breed” system.\u00a0 To understand their relationship, it’s helpful to understand them in an evolutionary context.<\/p>\n

The SNS’s primary purpose was to keep us alive in the face of an immediate physical threat: a tiger about to eat us, an avalanche coming down hill toward us, etc.\u00a0 It’s for those moments when high-energy physical activity is needed.\u00a0 The SNS makes the breath rapid and shallow.\u00a0 It elevates heart rate, releases cortisol (i.e. stress-juice), and directs energy and blood flow to the outer musculature.\u00a0 It temporarily suspends digestion and immune function, because these in-the-background functions don’t matter in the face of an immediate physical threat. \u00a0The SNS also shuts down higher-order thinking, creativity, intuition, etc.; in the face of an immediate physical threat, thinking becomes very concrete and practical.\u00a0 The feeling tone of high SNS arousal is fear, panic, anxiety, and stress.<\/p>\n

The PNS is designed to keep us alive and well when there’s no immediate threat, which presumably is most of the time.\u00a0 Heart rate slows, and breathing becomes deep and slow.\u00a0 Muscles relax, and both digestion and immune function and libido are enhanced.\u00a0 Thinking becomes more relaxed and spacious, and capacities such as imagination and creativity can open.\u00a0 The feeling tone of the PNS is warm & fuzzy.<\/p>\n

Now, just think: of these two, where would you like to spend the majority of your life?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Stress<\/h2>\n

Now, we can talk about stress in a modern context.\u00a0 Stress is the inappropriate activation of the Sympathetic Nervous System to something that is not an immediate physical threat<\/strong>.\u00a0 Imagine someone who works at a job.\u00a0 This person has been late to work before, and has been reprimanded for doing so. \u00a0This same person is now on the way to work, and absolutely stuck in a horrific traffic jam.\u00a0 Traffic is crawling along at around 5 mph, and there is no foreseeable end in sight.\u00a0 Now, this person understandably might worry about what his boss is going to say when he arrives late again.\u00a0 It’s as if the mind, that incredible pattern-matching machine, immediate imagines worst-case-scenario long-term consequences: “I will be late” = “My boss will yell at me” = “I will get fired” = “I never will get another job” = “I will die hungry in a gutter with no friends.”\u00a0 Something in the mind’s pattern-matching machinery detects a threat, so it fires up the full SNS and its fight-or-flight system.\u00a0 That person’s heart starts pounding, his muscles tense up, his breathing becomes rapid and shallow, his digestion turns off, and his thinking become rigid and constrained.\u00a0 He is all ready to fight, or flee from, a tiger, but there’s no tiger.\u00a0 There’s just the traffic jam in which he’s stuck, which is annoying but, by itself, offers no physical threat.\u00a0 In other words, the SNS has been activated under circumstances in which its effects are neither helpful nor relevant.\u00a0 This is stress.<\/p>\n

Many people in the modern world have high stress lives, and they compound it by pursuing SNS-stimulating pleasure activities (e.g. TV, action movies, video games) and by eating SNS-enhancing foods (e.g. high-fructose corn syrup). \u00a0This leads to chronic muscle tension, poor digestion, sexual dysfunction, heart problems, and other health issues.\u00a0 Approximately 90% of heart disease<\/a> is entirely avoidable, but for decades, it has been the #1 killer of Americans: despite all the modern amenities, modern Americans are dying of broken hearts.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The breath<\/h2>\n

We can’t consciously control our heart rate or our digestion, but the one thing we can control is our breath.\u00a0 In fact, deep slow breathing is in many ways the “on-switch” for the PNS.\u00a0 Technically, the long slow exhale is what most stimulates the PNS.\u00a0 This connection between the breath and the PNS is one of the reasons all meditation practices involve deep breathing, and why yoga teachers are always saying “breathe.”\u00a0 If we practice deep breathing, then we are practicing activating the PNS, with all its good effect.\u00a0 The important thing, though, is that we have to practice.<\/p>\n

If you can develop a meditation practice or a yoga practice or a taijiquan<\/a> practice, that would be wonderful.\u00a0 Short of that, practice deep breathing whenever and wherever you can.\u00a0 At the start to get the feel of it, breathe in on a count of 10, and breathe out on a count of 20\u2014as your breath gets deeper, you can increase those numbers!\u00a0 Make sure your big in-breath fills both your belly and your chest: on the in-breath, your belly should expand, your chest should expand and rise, and your shoulders should move slightly away from each other.\u00a0 Breathing this “big” may feel funny at first, but you will adapt to it with practice.\u00a0 If you practice this, say, for 10 minutes at the start of your day, then you may be on your way to developing a meditation practice!<\/p>\n

Certainly you can practice deep breathing in all the “in between” moments of your day: waiting in line, riding in an elevator, doing dishes, in the shower, walking, even sitting in traffic.\u00a0 You can also practice deep breathing in classes and meetings, any place where you primary job is simply to listen.\u00a0 As you practice, notice the changes to your body, the changes in your mind, and the changes in your emotions.\u00a0 At first, the shifts may be subtle, hardly perceptible, but as you continue to practice and get skilled at activating your PNS, the effects will be quite palpable.<\/p>\n

If you can remember to remain present with slow deep breaths as you study for the Praxis, you will remain relatively relaxed and be able to learn and remember more deeply.\u00a0 If you can remember to breathe deeply during the Praxis, your brain will get plenty of oxygen and your mind will be perceptive and able to make important connections.\u00a0 If you can remember to breathe deeply as a teacher when your classroom is starting to go kerflooey, you can take care of yourself and provide a very important example to your students.\u00a0 If you teach your student to value deep breathing, you will have given them an invaluable gift.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Summary<\/h2>\n

A habit of practicing deep breathing will help you on the Praxis, and it is likely to help you at many points in professional life, as well as ensure long-term health and well-being. Not bad, for a test prep tip!<\/p>\n

Keep your eyes open for Study Guide Tip #5.\u00a0 And keep breathing deeply.<\/p>\n

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He was also featured as \"member of the month\" for over two years at <a href=\"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/2012\/09\/mike-mcgarrys-gmat-experience\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GMAT Club<\/a>. Mike holds an A.B. in Physics (graduating <em>magna cum laude<\/em>) and an M.T.S. in Religions of the World, both from Harvard. Beyond standardized testing, Mike has over 20 years of both private and public high school teaching experience specializing in math and physics. In his free time, Mike likes smashing foosballs into orbit, and despite having no obvious cranial deficiency, he insists on rooting for the NY Mets. 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