With the College Scholastic Ability Test for the 2026 academic year set for the 13th, test-takers are seeking hypertension drugs to calm their nerves. Experts said the drugs can instead cause side effects such as dizziness or headaches and advised students to make their daily routines more regular. Other drugs sought for studying were also flagged for having greater side effects.
A representative drug that test-takers seek is Indenol. Indenol was originally developed as a hypertension treatment and later became covered by health insurance for easing anxiety symptoms. Its main ingredient, propranolol, blocks sympathetic nerve activity distributed near the heart and blood vessels, lowering blood pressure and stabilizing heart rate. Students with very severe anxiety are known to receive a prescription from internal medicine or psychiatry and take it 1 to 2 hours before the test.
Cho Ah-rang, a psychiatry professor at Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, said, "Indenol is a medication to be taken in small amounts only after consulting medical staff, and only when the usual level of anxiety is so severe that even entering the test room feels burdensome and taking the test is not possible," adding, "If you take it without symptoms, you may instead feel dizzy or your body may feel slack."
If a healthy test-taker takes Indenol, side effects such as drowsiness, headache, and low blood pressure can occur. In particular, people with asthma can even experience bronchial spasms. According to data submitted by the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA) to Rep. Choi Bo-yoon's office of the Health and Welfare Committee in the National Assembly, from 2020 through August this year, about 1.32 million prescriptions for Indenol were written for those under 19. Adverse reactions reported to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety totaled 1,175 from 2020 through June this year.
Some test-takers also seek attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications for studying. Psychotropic drugs containing methylphenidate are representative. Methylphenidate stimulates the central nervous system to increase concentration, but it has recently been prescribed more often after being repackaged as a study aid.
According to the National Health Insurance Service, prescriptions for methylphenidate increased from about 490,000 in 2007 to 2.59 million last year. The number of patients prescribed the drug rose from 80,000 to 330,000 over the same period. Teenagers made up the largest share by age, and prescriptions were concentrated in Seoul's Daechi-dong, where many cram schools are clustered.
Professor Cho said, "If you take the drug without having ADHD, you may instead experience symptoms such as restlessness or anxiety." For people with heart problems, methylphenidate carries a risk of causing stroke or myocardial infarction.
Experts advise that to reduce anxiety and improve concentration, it is more important to check your lifestyle than to rely on drugs. Test-takers should go to bed regularly at a set time and wake up 2 hours before the test starts. That is because the brain becomes fully awake and active only after about 2 hours have passed since getting up.