Breathing exercises reduce test anxiety in middle school students

Breathing exercises reduce test anxiety in middle school students

A new study published in Personality and Individual Differences has found that a structured breathing exercise program helped lower test anxiety in eighth-grade students preparing for Turkey’s centralized high school placement exam. The findings suggest that incorporating breathing routines into school schedules may be a practical and low-cost way to support mental health during high-pressure academic periods. In many countries, high-stakes stan…

3 simple breathing exercises to create calm, focused classrooms

Standing at the front of a particularly challenging Year 4 classroom last year, I felt the familiar signs of overwhelm creeping in. Student voices escalated, transitions between activities became chaotic, and the post-lunch energy surge was threatening to derail our afternoon. Instead of raising my voice or attempting to regain control through traditional classroom management techniques, I paused. I placed my hand on my heart, gazed down briefly…