The widespread use of online education all over the world inevitably leads to problems of self-regulation, since the effective development of online education is impossible without mastering the skills to control and correct one's activities. Conscious self-regulation is of particular importance for managing the learning process. The article aims at studying the mental mechanisms of self-regulation of students' states in the course of the educational process. The study revealed the typical characteristics of psychological states at lectures, seminars and exams, showed the specifics of the states, depending on the forms of education. We have shown that the effectiveness of self-regulation of students’ mental states significantly affects the productivity of passing exams. Among the mental states of highly effective students, such cognitive states as interest, thoughtfulness and concentration are particularly important. The regulatory properties of the personality (adequacy, awareness, independence and assertiveness) ensure high efficiency of self-regulation. In addition, students with high self-regulation efficiency are more likely to turn to regulatory means. The study confirmed the original hypothesis about the central role of the characteristics of consciousness in the regulation of mental states. For students, regardless of the conditions of the educational activity (lecture, seminar, exam), we identified four leading factors that represent the characteristics of the mental states. The study of self-regulation of cognitive states will be useful for general and educational psychology. It can also find an application in the management of students' cognitive activity.

self-regulation, learning, mental states, consciousness