Stress and Health - Comprehensive Notes

Concept 16: Stress and Health

Overview

  • Stress can be a motivator but also lead to health problems.
  • Understanding personal stress sources and responses is key.

Concept Overview

  • Sources of Stress
  • Stress in Society
  • Stress Effects on Health and Wellness
  • Using Self-Management Skills

Stress Facts

  • About 75% of adults report moderate to high stress in the past month.
  • Stress is linked to 50-70% of all illnesses.

Important Definitions

  • Stress: A nonspecific response of the body to any demand made on it to maintain physiological equilibrium/balance.
  • Stressors: Things that place a greater than routine demand on the body or evoke a stress reaction.
  • Stress can be both positive and negative.

Stress Management

  • The first step is recognizing causes and symptoms.

Common Stressors

  • Table 1: Ten Common Stressors
    • College Students
      1. Troubling thoughts about the future
      2. Not getting enough sleep
      3. Wasting time
      4. Inconsiderate smokers
      5. Physical appearance
      6. Too many things to do
      7. Misplacing or losing things
      8. Not enough time to do the things you need to do
      9. Concerns about meeting high standards
      10. Being lonely
    • Middle-Aged Adults
      1. Concerns about weight
      2. Health of a family member
      3. Rising prices of common goods
      4. Home maintenance (interior)
      5. Too many things to do
      6. Misplacing or losing things
      7. Yard work or outside home maintenance
      8. Property, investments, or taxes
      9. Crime
      10. Physical appearance

Major Stressors

  • Create emotional turmoil or require tremendous amounts of adjustment.
    • Examples:
      • Personal crises: major health problems, death in the family, divorce, financial problems
      • Job/school-related pressures: grades, term papers, presentations
      • Major age-related transitions: college, marriage, career, retirement

Minor Stressors

  • Shorter-term or less severe stressors.
    • Examples:
      • Traffic hassles
      • Peer/work relations
      • Time pressures
      • Family squabbles

Stress in Contemporary Society

  • Americans experience high levels of stress.
  • College students face unique challenges and stressors.
  • COVID-19 and remote learning.
  • Experiences of discrimination cause significant stress.
  • Social media and technology keep people connected but also create stress.

Stress in College

  • College is often a person’s first experience of real independence.
  • It often presents special stressors:
    • Less structured environment
    • Work and school conflicts and pressures
    • New relationships
  • Examples of stressors students face daily.

Health Problems with Excessive Stress

  • Heart disease and stroke
  • Impaired immune system
  • Insomnia
  • Gastrointestinal problems, such as ulcers
  • Accelerated aging

Stress Promotes Negative Behaviors

  • Direct effects:
    • Raises/increases blood pressure
    • Impairs/reduces immune system
  • Indirect effects:
    • Less positive behavior (exercise, healthy diet, quality sleep)
    • More negative behavior (drinking, smoking, unhealthy diet)

Negative Effects

  • Physiological
    • Fatigue
    • Headaches, indigestion, insomnia, etc.
  • Cognitive
    • Impaired/reduction in concentration and attention
  • Emotional
    • Anxiety and apprehension/Fear
  • Behavioral
    • Nail-biting
    • Altered eating and sleeping habits
    • Smoking, alcohol, drug use
    • Less physical activity

Stress Target Zone

  • Hypostress (Too little)
  • Eustress (Optimal)
  • Distress (Too much)

Managing Stressors

  • Assess common sources of stress and evaluate your responses.
  • Learn how to balance your attitudes to moderate stress.
  • Work on increasing your optimism and self-confidence.
  • Learn and practice stress-management techniques
    • Deep breathing
    • Meditation
    • Physical activity

Stress-Management Strategies

  • Effective stress-management techniques can help reduce the impact of stress in your health and well-being.
    • Physical Activity
    • Sleep well
    • Time management
    • Social: enhances interactions with friends
    • Emotional: reduces stress
    • Maximize Leisure Experiences

Physical Activity and Stress Management

  • Physical activity can provide many benefits directly related to stress management.
  • Helps you adapt to stressful situations
  • Aids in muscle tension relief
  • Reduces reactivity to stress
  • Can reduce anxiety and depression
  • Can buffer the effects of stress on obesity and health
  • Can help protect against the effects of stress on memory
  • Can reduce the negative impact on cellular aging

Time Use

  • Figure 1: Time use on an average weekday for full-time university and college students.

Summary

  • You may not be able to smooth out the surf, but you can learn to ride the waves!