You can get rid of the stress you are trying to cope with during the exam with a small breathing exercise

With just a few days left until the 2024 Higher Education Institutions Exam (YKS), the exam anxiety among university candidates is increasing. Clinical Psychologist Dr. Esra Gül Koçyiğit, who shares tips with students on how to deal with stress and anxiety during the exam, especially successful ones, also provided general advice for the last week. Koçyiğit explained an exercise that can be easily done during the exam: ‘If they get very excited during the exam, they should sit in a comfortable position, put their hands on their knees, and cover their mouths. They should breathe in through the nose counting to 4, hold their breath counting to 8, then count to 8 again and exhale slowly.’ The 2024 Higher Education Institutions Exam (2024-YKS) will take place on June 8 with the 1st Session Basic Proficiency Test (TYT), on June 9 with the 2nd Session Area Proficiency Tests (AYT), and the 3rd Session Foreign Language Test (YDT). As the exam approaches, the stress, anxiety, and excitement among students are increasing. Coping with exam anxiety is crucial to enhance success. Dr. Esra Gül Koçyiğit, Assistant Professor at the Psychology Department of Altınbaş University, provided recommendations for both university candidates and families in the last week before the exam, stating that ‘Exam anxiety is a negative emotion that hinders students from using the knowledge they have acquired, thus reducing success.’ She emphasized the importance of exercises such as breathing and muscle relaxation exercises among the ways to cope with exam anxiety. Dr. Koçyiğit suggested, ‘They should do muscle relaxation exercises for 10 minutes every day.’ Among the symptoms of exam anxiety, Dr. Koçyiğit highlighted sweating, trembling, abdominal and headaches, impaired concentration, and inability to remember previously learned information. She stated, ‘The most basic thing to do for this is exercises. Breathing and muscle relaxation exercises can be done. Just before the exam, students can ensure both physical and mental relaxation by doing muscle relaxation exercises for 10 minutes every day. They should also do breathing exercises. This can be considered as a very practical exercise that can be applied to create a unity of mind, body, emotion, and spirit, providing significant benefits.’ Koçyiğit mentioned that students can do breathing exercises to calm themselves in situations where they may lose control or feel worse during the exam. She advised, ‘If they get very excited during the exam, they should do breathing exercises. They should sit in a comfortable position, put their hands on their knees, and cover their mouths. They should breathe in through the nose counting to 4, hold their breath counting to 8, then count to 8 again and exhale slowly. If they are doing this for the first time, I recommend not doing it more than 3 times. Because doing too many breathing exercises can cause dizziness. Therefore, it is beneficial for them to do this 3 times before the exam starts.’ Emphasizing the importance of physical activities, Dr. Koçyiğit stated, ‘They can do short daily walks without exerting and straining the body. Swimming can also be an option. However, they should stay away from activities that may cause physical injury. The small exercises they do will improve their sleep quality. Thus, with the secretion of endorphins, students will adopt a better emotional state.’ Dr. Koçyiğit also suggested for this period, where negative thoughts intensify, that ‘Negative thoughts generally come to mind during this period. Instead of saying ‘I can’t do it, I can’t succeed, the exam will be too difficult, everyone will do better than me,’ they should say ‘I will try to do my best,’ instead of ‘I shouldn’t be nervous at all,’ they should say ‘I can be a little nervous.’ Therefore, if they create alternative sentences and do not focus on those negative thoughts, they can cope with exam anxiety.’ Dr. Koçyiğit pointed out that one of the things causing anxiety is actually insufficient sleep quality, stating, ‘Especially in the last week, students need to pay close attention to their sleep. Thus, they can better cope with exam anxiety. Waking up and going to bed at the same time, establishing a regular sleep pattern is important. I especially recommend this; they should wake up according to the time they will wake up on the exam day. They should also pay attention to their diet. They should stay away from sugar and carbohydrates a little. To avoid negative outcomes, they shouldn’t eat foods they have never tried before on the exam day.’ Lastly, mentioning that the exam affects not only students but also their families, Dr. Koçyiğit made the following recommendations to families: ‘Families need to control their anxiety as well. If they have difficulty in controlling it, they should definitely seek professional support. Parents need to pay attention to their words. They may use expressions as if they are very calm, but they may reflect their anxieties to their children through body language. They should be careful about this. They can offer unconditional acceptance to their children. That is, they should always share with their children that they love them, regardless of whether they are successful or not, and that they will not lose any value. Avoiding comparison with other children is also very important.’