With only a few days left until the 2026 National College Entrance Examination in China, a wave of “pre-exam oxygen fever” is quietly heating up in many places. On social media platforms, promotions like “high-pressure oxygen is a brainpower charging treasure” and “oxygen enhances memory” keep emerging, with many parents spending hundreds of yuan to bring their children into high-pressure oxygen cabins, hoping to boost alertness and improve sleep during the final sprint phase.
At the same time, several doctors are cautioning that high-pressure oxygen is a medical device and not a “brain-boosting tool” for academic performance enhancement. Behind this surge lies the unrelieved academic anxiety among the families of examinees.
The 2026 National College Entrance Examination is scheduled to take place from June 7th to 8th. The unified cultural exams for the 2026 Senior High School Entrance Examination across the country are concentrated from late June to early July.
As the exams draw near, many parents are seeking various “secrets to score higher,” with high-pressure oxygen cabins becoming one of the most popular pre-exam options recently. On social media platforms in China, there is a frequent appearance of copywriting that promotes “oxygen inhalation before exams for a clear mind” and labeling high-pressure oxygen as a “brainpower charging treasure,” sparking a consumption boom for pre-exam oxygen inhalation.
Short video platforms are rife with testimonials touting its efficacy: one session of oxygen inhalation eliminates brain fatigue, improves concentration, enhances memory, and when done consistently for several days before exams, doubles the efficiency in studying, thus giving high-pressure oxygen the label of a “brainpower charging treasure.”
An article by a verified Weibo influencer “Give me a steel bar” mentioned that less than a week before the 2026 National College Entrance Examination, the newly operational high-pressure oxygen cabin at the People’s Hospital in Yongfeng County, Ji’an, Jiangxi unexpectedly became a “hot spot” for internet check-ins. Originally serving patients, this equipment received over 30 middle and high school examinees within 10 days, charging 96 yuan for a 90-minute session.
Reported by “Minsheng Weekly,” during the final push before exams, staying up late to review, high mental stress, and sleeplessness have become a norm for many students. The demand for high-pressure oxygen cabins at rehabilitation departments and private healthcare institutions has surged, with high school seniors being the primary clientele. Many training institutions and health stores have capitalized on the pre-exam brain-enhancing package, offering single sessions of high-pressure oxygen experiences ranging from a hundred to several hundred yuan.
In Yongfeng County People’s Hospital in Ji’an, many students preparing for the exams are learning the process of using high-pressure oxygen for treatment.
A parent, Ms. Wang, mentioned that due to the high study pressure and declining memory of her child, she brought him to experience the high-pressure oxygen cabin to help boost his memory and alleviate study pressure.
Student Xiao Yang expressed feeling extremely fatigued recently and sometimes unable to fall asleep at night. He found the high-pressure oxygen experience to be quiet and comfortable. After the session, he felt relaxed and hoped the treatment could help him get a good night’s sleep.
According to the hospital, the high-pressure oxygen cabin is a new device introduced this year and was put into operation on May 23rd. Each 90-minute oxygen inhalation session costs 96 yuan. In less than 10 days, apart from regular patients, it has already served over 30 examinees. The popularity of oxygen cabins among parents and examinees caught the hospital off guard.
Within parental circles, anxiety fuels the consumption craze. Many parents witness their children enduring long nights, feeling dizzy and drowsy. With endorsements from influencers, they adopt an attitude of “spending for peace of mind, usefulness beats lack of harm,” and group reservations for high-pressure oxygen services grow. Some students incorporate daily oxygen inhalation into their routine for three to four consecutive days, considering it a regular pre-exam health practice.
Another verified Weibo influencer, “Murong Qinyu,” pointed out that oxygen, originally a lifesaver, has now transformed into a superstition for exams. With a hundred yuan per hour spent on inhaling a placebo and exhaling parental anxiety, doctors are helpless, children are numb, and the oxygen tank is the busiest. Understandably, as the countdown to the exams begins, children’s dark circles deepen more than the sea of questions. However, oxygen cannot replace sleep, just like supplements cannot substitute breakfast. The real lack of oxygen is not in the lungs but in the brain blocked by the three words “must win.”
Clinical healthcare workers note that the number of parental inquiries about pre-exam oxygen inhalation has surged by over sixty percent in the past half month, with the vast majority of examinees having no organic oxygen deficiency diseases, but seeking to improve their mental state due to exam fatigue. Businesses capitalize on the pre-exam anxiety of examinees and parents, exaggerating the health benefits of high-pressure oxygen while downplaying medical risks, contributing to the surge in oxygen inhalation popularity.
It was reported that high-pressure oxygen cabins were initially designed as medical equipment for clinical treatments of conditions like carbon monoxide poisoning, brain injuries, and hypoxic brain diseases, not as health devices for healthy individuals. The crowded use of high-pressure oxygen by healthy students contradicts its intended medical purpose.
Doctors warn that high-pressure oxygen therapy is not a “cure-all brain booster.” For students with high energy levels and good sleep, maintaining a regular schedule, breathing fresh air, and engaging in appropriate exercise are the best stress-relief methods. Only when a child shows significant fatigue, dizziness, difficulty concentrating, or other problems due to excessive mental exertion should high-pressure oxygen therapy be considered after a professional evaluation. Before treatment, patients must undergo various medical tests, and in some cases, its use is strictly prohibited.
Dr. Wu Peixue, a chief psychiatrist at the Yongfeng County People’s Hospital in Ji’an, Jiangxi, also advises examinees and parents not to “blindly trust” the so-called “memory-boosting” effects of high-pressure oxygen cabins. In daily life, there are numerous methods to help students alleviate fatigue and manage stress scientifically.