The only way I could get an “A” on every exam is if Chico State offered a section about drawing blanks.

Studies show that 90 percent of taking an exam is psychological and the rest relies on how well you studied. Tests measure your ability to perform in the moment more than anything else.

The hours leading up to a test involve understanding ideas and solving problems, which makes your brain think. However, when it comes down to the wire, it’s better to turn off your brain and your anxiety with it.

Volumes have been written about the power of not thinking. Seriously. Google the words “the power of not thinking” and you’ll see pages upon pages of articles, blogs and books describing this phenomenon.

Kurt Vonnegut once wrote a novel called “Galapagos,” a story narrated by an evolved human species with streamlined craniums and smaller brains a million years after 1986. And while the book is wholly science fiction, it points out how over thinking can lead to odd decisions, whether they concern personal relationships, political choices or flat-out paranoia.

Research shows the body releases adrenaline when under stress. This increases heart rate, sweating and rapid breathing. It can be a good thing for some, but it could cause others to concentrate poorly, “blank out,” become confused and have poor organization, according to psychologist Kendra Cherry.

Similar to other types of anxiety, test anxiety is a vicious cycle: If a person increasingly focuses on what can go wrong, anxiety becomes stronger. And when a person has a head full of distracting thoughts and fears, it can make that person do worse on the test.

This means students who over study for exams are potentially laying a trap for themselves, baiting a hook of nonsensical worries then casting it into their own mouth.

I’ve been there. Once, after studying feverishly for a few weeks to get a good grade, I found myself  on exam day before the test was passed out.

There I was, totally prepared to answer every question, but something took hold and it was as though I was trying to decipher questions in a foreign language.

Then I realized I was in Spanish class and those questions were in a different language.

I didn’t fail, but I did score lower than I should’ve because I choked. Hard.

Tests do provide some insight as to how well students grasp what’s taught in class, so I’m not advocating wiping out tests or even changing the way they’re given. How else can teachers grade if they don’t know whether their students understand and remember material?

If you find yourself confronted with test anxiety, build yourself a routine of techniques to clear your mind and set yourself at ease. Try meditating, exercising or having some sort of fun that gets your mind in the zone. Even eating healthier food helps.

Or at least it should. I don’t know, maybe I’m over thinking the problem.

Paul Smeltzer can be reached at [email protected].