In addition to employing mental strategies in an effort to overcome test “fear,” six physical strategies exist which also help minimize the anxiousness on the test day and prior. Of course, if you take care of your body, your brain can function well, and you will end up performing the best of your ability.

Physical Strategies:

1. Be healthy each day so that you can perform well on the TOEFL exam day. If you go out partying the week of the exam, you may not be well-rested or feel fresh the morning of your test. Consequently, the results may be poorer than you expect. To avoid this, maintain good health while you are preparing. Developing healthy habits will be important at school too and throughout life.
2. Sleep enough every night as if you are tired before you take the exam, you will be unable to focus, and your performance will be lower than expected.
3. Keep up a regular exercise pattern so that mind and body are in sync. You will need to be in good shape physically to mentally perform at your best on exam ay. You can take a break to do a little exercise and stop studying for extremely long hours.
4. Eat nutritious food since your brain needs vitality to perform its best. This may include high protein intake and less sugars (sweets, desserts) and carbohydrates which drain the brain of vital thinking power since they use a lot in digestion. Have a healthy balance of fruit and vegetables as well.
5. Avoid smoking, drinking alcohol or coffee or caffeinated tea. These addicting behavioral mechanisms will only cause you shakiness and make your nerves run wild the day of the exam.
6. When you are in your study practice, take breaks so that your mind can retain more information. Do not prolong a break for many hours. It’s important to take a short break each hour during your study sessions to refresh the mind. One of the easiest breaks from sitting at a desk is to stand up and do some light stretches or yoga moves. Light movement around the room can stimulate blood circulation, which enhances the activity to the brain.