By Jens Dana
By closing time, only 19 students remain in the Economics 110 lab. While teaching assistants scramble to answer one student?s question, more hands keep popping up like the stuffed animals in Whack-a-mole.
Chris Esplin, a TA in the lab, said he?s noticed more students show up to the lab as testing time draws closer.
?A couple of weeks before finals there is a lag,? he said. ?Right before each test there?s a storm in here.?
More than 85 percent of college students admit to feeling increased stress and tension at exam time, according to a survey by The Princeton Review. Despite the unwanted level of discomfort, most professionals find that a little anxiety is good for test performance.
Kenneth Higbee, a BYU cognitive psychology professor, said the relationship between test anxiety and actual test performance has a positive relationship to a certain point.
?Up to a certain point, there is a positive relation between stress and test performance,? Higbee said. ?You have to have some minimal levels of concern to motivate you to do something about . But there is some kind of a cutoff point, where beyond that point, increasing anxiety interferes with test preparation and test performance.?
Some students handle the increased stressed by making choices that can negatively affect their performance. Higbee said cramming is a less effective way to learn during finals week because students only gain a superficial knowledge of the test material.
?You can just feel the knowledge running out your ears and piling on the floor around you,? he said. ?If you crammed, you?ve had that experience, and it?s just because you don?t know .?
In addition to cramming, the Princeton Review found 76 percent of college students increase their snacking during study time; 62 percent admit to drinking caffeinated drinks to increase focus and 37 percent report they do most of their studying between 9 p.m. and midnight.
Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a BYU psychology professor who studies the affects of stress on physical well being, said the lack of sleep while under stress can increase the likelihood of getting sick.
?It?s not the stress that causes the cold,? she said. ?It can suppress your immune system, leaving your body more vulnerable to viruses.?
Michael Buxton, a professor at the BYU Counseling and Career Center, said students with above-average health and minimum stress levels can function on two nights with only about five hours of sleep. However, he said students should recognize their limits.
?It?ll catch up to you,? he said. ?You can?t expect to do it five nights straight.?