Person stressed about the DCAS Sanitation Exam

How To Cope With Pre-Exam Stress?

Almost everyone has experienced pre-exam stress at some point in their life. Some people claim it motivates them to prepare better, but as we’ll see, it does enough harm to negate any good that may come from it. Stress is even worse for exams that require cognitive skills, such as the NYC Sanitation Exam, expected to come late this year.

In this article, we take an in-depth look at pre-exam stress. We discuss the biological origin and purpose of stress, explain how it affects your ability to prepare for an exam, and discuss some science-backed ways to reduce pre-exam stress.

So without any further ado, let’s jump right into it.

Person preparing for Suffolk Police Exam late at nightWhat Causes Exam Stress?

Back in the old days, when humans used to live in caves and hunt wild animals for food, our anxieties looked very different. We didn’t have to worry about mortgages or retirement plans for when we turned 60. Our greatest fears were tigers behind the bushes and snakes behind the rocks.

Our bodies developed a response to deal with such dangers called the fight or flight response. Once triggered, this response made a number of changes in the body, preparing us for a brawl or a run.

Today, we rarely ever find ourselves in situations where we need to get our bodies immediately ready to fight or flee. However, this security offered by civilization is relatively new. We haven’t had enough time to evolve to the new conditions, and we’re stuck with this outdated defense mechanism.

How Exam Stress Affects Your Exam Performance

The fight or flight response is controlled by a hormone called cortisol. You might have heard it being referred to as “the stress hormone.” This is because when the fight or flight response is triggered in a situation where we don’t need it, we experience it as stress. One of the first things cortisol does is lowering activity in your prefrontal cortex (the rational brain) and give more control to the amygdala (the emotional brain).

The reason is simple: the amygdala is faster than the prefrontal cortex. When you’re taking down a mammoth or being chased by a saber-toothed cat, you don’t have the time to carefully plan which way to run or where to throw your spear. In such situations, you need your animal instincts more than your sophisticated thoughts. Cortisol also increases glucose levels and insulin, making more energy available for your muscles.

Once immensely useful for our survival, these effects of cortisol are obsolete in today’s world. They instead make things harder. You don’t need instincts to prepare for the Suffolk Police Exam; you need higher-order brain functions such as problem-solving. There’s a reason you can’t think straight under stress; your thinking brain is being inhibited by cortisol. The high levels of glucose and insulin give your muscles energy but having no use of it only makes you agitated.

These were the intended effects of cortisol. The hormone is also associated with numerous side effects. These include an increased risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, muscle weakness, and other conditions. This may disqualify you from the medical FDNY Exam and possibly other exams.

Ways to Lower Exam Stress

Now that we understand how stress works, and why we’re better off without it for exam preparation, let’s look at some ways to deal with pre-exam stress.

Person performing aerobic exerciseRegular Exercise

One way to lower cortisol levels is exercise. Exercise uses up the glucose released by cortisol and eases agitation. During exercise, your brain produces endorphins which have been shown to lower cortisol levels.

However, exercise goes beyond this. After a fight or flight response, your body becomes more vulnerable to being triggered again. This is what’s going on when you feel “on edge.” The result is a vicious cycle that keeps on going. Exercise intercepts this cycle and decreases the likelihood of another stress response.

Meditation and Breathing Exercises 

One of the identifying symptoms of a stress response is an increased heart rate. The heart rate increases to supply enough oxygen to your muscles for the fight or flight ahead. However, when trying to prepare for the Suffolk Police Exam, an increased heart rate isn’t very helpful. Breathing exercises are a quick and easy way to lower your heart rate and soothe your stress.

We naturally tend to ruminate about the past or worry about the future. When you’re trying to prepare for DCAS exams, you need to be able to focus on the task at hand. Meditation has been long known to increase focus and limit distracting thoughts. If you can find time to meditate, even for 20 minutes every day, you’ll be less likely to go down the rabbit hole of stress-causing thoughts.

Person making coffeeLimiting Caffeine

Most of us rely on caffeine to give us a boost of energy in the morning—and then in the evening. An average coffee drinker in America drinks about three cups of coffee a day. Some of us even chug down up to six cups without thinking about what it might be doing.

Caffeine in coffee primarily works by blocking the adenosine receptors in the brain. This prevents adenosine from sending a “tiredness” signal to the brain and makes us feel energetic. However, caffeine also works through various other pathways to cause many side effects. One of these pathways involves cortisol, which is likely responsible for the restlessness and anxiety you feel when on caffeine. Limiting your caffeine intake can do wonders for your stress levels.

Proper Preparation

You’re probably stressed because you think you’re not prepared enough for your DCAS exam or don’t know how to prepare properly. We can help.

At Civil Service Success, we help candidates prepare for civil service exams in NYC with our preparation classes. Currently, we’re registering candidates for our NYC Sanitation Exam Prep Classes. We also offer classes that prepare you for Nassau Police Exam and NYC Firefighter Exam.

Are you tired of worrying about your DCAS exam? Register for preparation classes now!

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