With GCSEs and A-Levels starting in less than two months, a student's mental health is an important consideration. Exams have been shown by researchers to cause depression, worry, stress, a lack of sleep, and a lack of food, which is a major drawback. But what can we do to improve our mental health and be more optimistic about our approaching exams?

The first thing we should do is get plenty of rest. As teenagers, we should get at least 8-10 hours of sleep every school night and eat a healthy balanced diet to help us sleep better. However, teenagers nowadays only get up to 6-7 hours of sleep, which can have a significant impact on how we perform on a daily basis and our results on big tests such as GSCE's and A-Levels. Sleep is worth about one-fourth of a student's grade in a class, which means that no matter how many hours you spend revising for a big test, if you don't get the necessary amount of sleep, you'll score poorly.

The next step in reducing the amount of stress and worry that exams cause for us students is to talk to family and friends and to have fun every now and then. It is critical that you communicate with your family, friends, or a teacher at school about how you are feeling during the exam period. This could aid you in a variety of ways, including reducing stress, revising, answering exam-related questions, and so on. Not only is that, but taking breaks between revision sessions also very crucial. Taking pauses can help you revise more effectively in the long run. After a while of reviewing the same topic, your mind begins to wander and think about other topics meaning that there would be no point in revising.

So, in the few months before our exams begin, make sure you get 8-10 hours of sleep and that you relax and have fun occasionally instead of revising 24/7.