Have you ever sat for an exam thinking that you’re fully prepared but then encountered a question that you remember studying but can’t recall the answer? This frustrating experience is called “choking under pressure”—a psychological phenomenon where your performance declines precisely when it matters most.
For many years, choking under pressure was seen as simple anxiety weakening performance due to lack of intelligence or preparation. Today, modern neuroscience reveals choking as a neurochemical disruption. What happens in your brain when you choke and can it be prevented? This article tries to explain this phenomenon.
What happens in your brain when you choke?
When you choke, your brain undergoes a series of physiological changes that drains your performance. The brain contains a fear center called Amygdala. Under pressure, amygdala activates a fight-or-flight response in which stress hormones flood your system. This is an evolutionary response which was meant for physical threats in our ancestors. A 2018 Stanford study found that stress hormones can reduce Prefrontal Cortex—the area for working memory and reasoning—activity by up to 50 percent. This explains why you might forget the answers you knew perfectly under stressful conditions like an exam.
Why do some students choke while others thrive?
Research shows that students who consider tests as threats are more prone to choking. Those who see tests as a challenge opportunity show better results under pressure. Sometimes even after revising several times, you might have experienced choking. This can be explained by the “expertise reversal effect”. It shows that over-studying can sometimes backfire. At a point, over-studying can increase anxiety without improving recall which ultimately leads you to forget what you knew. Additionally, some people can naturally regulate stress hormones better than the others.
How can I prevent choking?
In order to prevent choking under pressure, you have to practice under pressure by simulating test conditions during your study sessions. You must not take your tests as a threat but instead as a challenge. Harvard research shows that replacing “I must not fail” with “I’m prepared to try my best” improves test performance by 22 percent. If your brain still panics despite practicing the above methods, breathe deeply, clench and release your fists three times. This calms your nervous system and lowers stress hormones.
Choking under pressure isn’t a sign of weakness—it’s a natural response to stress. By understanding the science behind this, students can improve their performance and learn to regain control of their brains even under stressful conditions.
Divya Prakash Sah
Kathmandu Model College, Bagbazar
