Why gargling helps against exam anxiety

Stress, palpitations and tears while studying, sleepless nights before exams, panic and blackouts despite good preparation and the constant fear of not making it: According to studies from German-speaking countries, around 20 per cent of all children and young people struggle with exam anxiety, and the figure is twice as high among students. In addition, exam anxiety is one of the most common reasons why vocational students drop out of their training.

A bad grade is not tragic. This sentence is well-intentioned, but usually doesn't help.

Although performance stress can severely affect young people's quality of life, they rarely receive any real help. They usually only hear encouraging words from their parents and teachers: there is no need to worry so much about a test, they just need to believe in themselves more. A bad grade is not tragic at all. They shouldn't be so hard on themselves. Or: Everything will be fine, they've always managed everything so far.

This is well-intentioned, but usually doesn't help. The following four immediate aids are more promising. These will help children and young people learn to cope better with test anxiety. In more severe cases or if the symptoms have been present for some time, psychotherapy or learning coaching should be considered.

4 tips for exam nerves

1. positively reinterpret physical anxiety symptoms

We are all a little more tense than usual in assessment situations, feel our heartbeat more consciously, breathe faster and more shallowly, and perhaps sweat or tremble. However, people who suffer from exam anxiety are particularly sensitive to these physical signs of stress and tend to think catastrophically: «Please not that! If my heart is pounding like this, I won't be able to concentrate!», «Help, my hands are shaking like crazy, nobody will be able to read this in the end!» or «My head is burning up, it's so embarrassing! I'm about to forget my text!».

In a bent position, tests are experienced as significantly more difficult than in an upright position.

In several studies conducted by the University of Rochester in New York, some of the students were informed in advance of exams that the physical symptoms of arousal during tests were normal. They are not detrimental to the brain's performance, but are activating and help our bodies to cope better with challenges.

A second group learnt that the best way to improve performance in stressful test situations is to ignore tension and not pay attention to negative thoughts. The young people in the first group, who reinterpreted their physical stress symptoms positively, felt less anxious in the subsequent maths test and released fewer stress hormones. Overall, they performed better and dropped out of school less frequently over the course of the school year.

2. pay attention to your posture

When we feel anxious, we instinctively tense our muscles, pull our head in and our shoulders to our ears and adopt a crouching posture. If we want to feel safer and more relaxed, the exact opposite would be helpful, as several studies have shown. In a study at San Francisco State University, students were asked to solve mental arithmetic problems. They solved half of the tasks in an upright sitting position and the other half in a bent sitting position. In the curved position, the test was experienced as significantly more difficult than in the upright position, especially by learners who are very anxious about maths and have frequent blackouts.

3. talk about yourself in the third person

As already described, people with performance anxiety are trapped in a merry-go-round of negative thoughts. How can we deal with this? Let's take another look at the research. In one study, young people had to give a presentation in front of an audience without being able to adequately prepare for it. The presentation was recorded on video and then evaluated: an absolute stress test!

If we address ourselves in the first person in our thoughts, we gain distance and become calmer.

Some of the test subjects were encouraged in advance to think about their feelings in the first person, for example: «How will I cope with this presentation?», «I'm really excited!». The second group should address themselves in their thoughts using their first name in the first person form and thus gain a little more distance: «Gell, Johanna, you're thinking a lot about what to expect here. You're pretty nervous right now.» During the subsequent presentation, those who had spoken to themselves in the first person not only felt calmer, they were also able to present their knowledge better. Afterwards, they brooded less about their mistakes and felt less ashamed.

4. better relaxation through vagus nerve stimulation

When we are flooded with fear, our sympathetic nervous system is activated. It puts us into «flight or fight» mode at lightning speed or makes us freeze. In order to calm ourselves down again, we have to activate its counterpart: the parasympathetic nervous system. At its centre is the so-called vagus nerve, our «calming and recovery nerve».

Humming, humming or gargling has a calming effect.

It runs from the brain stem in the head via the neck and chest into the abdominal cavity.

If we consciously activate the vagus nerve in stressful situations, we can better regulate our anxiety and the associated physical tension. Children and young people can do this by humming vigorously in the morning before a test, humming at the top of their lungs, belting out their favourite song or gargling water for a minute while brushing their teeth in the bathroom. Sounds strange, but it helps! If you like, you can place the palm of your hand on the centre of your chest under your collarbone and feel how your chest vibrates - this also activates the vagus nerve.