STRESS

Andrea DeJesus

Morgan Jeffries

Brandie Wigginton

4/29/99

Stress is a big part of people’s everyday life. Many things make people stressed and the most common are school, sports, and work. As a three part experiment Brandie Wiggington, Andrea DeJesus, and Morgan Jeffries chose to look at these three causes. We used surveys and quantitative measures (blood pressure, pulse, and Galvonic Skin Response) to determine the causes and different levels of stress in these three environments.

Brandie chose to look at the ways stress has an effect on students here at Bellarmine and particularly those that reside in the Kennedy/Newman dormitory. The week before finals she asked several students to answer the questions on our survey. She also asked those that had to take a test that week to put their name at the bottom of the survey for future questioning.

Those that had tests were later contacted and asked if they would be willing to participate in our research project. The day before the participant’s test she met with each one of them and took their blood pressure, pulse and Galvanic Skin Response measurement. The data was recorded and it was arranged that the two would meet after the participant’s test to do the measurements again. Although she attained measurements from several students, it was decided that only five would be focused on for simplicity of this project. Her results for the pulse rate as seen below in the pulse data sheet (on the left) and the pulse graph (on the right) show that stress will increase one’s heart rate.

In general, the results of the GSR were high which was due to the stress factors present in each participant’s life. The cardiac output results as also seen below also show that stress increases the liter of amount of blood pumped out by the heart each minute.

Before going to retest the blood pressure, pulse rate and GSR Brandie, hypothesized that all information would decrease by some because of the absence of stress present in the student’s life. Her guess was right and all the results did decrease as seen in the above graphs and charts. As for the GSR readings, the majority of them decreased and those that did not were due to other school-related factors.

In order to reduce school-related stress, students should try and reduce the number of commitments, no matter how attractive they might be. Exercising has been proven to reduce stress level. This way students can express their frustrations with homework, tests, and certain over-working professors by hitting that tennis ball as hard as they can, or by running at fast pace. Eating healthier is also very effective at reducing stress. By eating more nutritious foods, the body’s immune system will not be lowered and the body is also more able to cope with stress.

Another large contributor to stress is sporting events. Whether a person is just watching a game or actually competing, stress is well known among all athletes and the spectators. Andrea decided to look at the effects of stress among track athletes. She asked several of her teammates, both men and women, to fill out a survey regarding the amount of stress they experience at the meets, what physical symptoms they notice, and how they handle stress. She then took their blood pressure, heart rate, and Galvanic Skin Response measurements approximately fifteen minutes before their scheduled race, and then after the entire meet was over. Andrea hypothesized that each of the measurements would decrease after their races were over. Her prediction was correct. Andrea’s measurements are recorded on the graphs below.

And below are the results from the cardiac output measurements.

Before their races, the Galvanic Skin Response test indicated by emitting a high pitched sound that all of the athletes’ pore sizes were large and therefore they were experiencing a high amount of stress. Once the track meet was over, the Galvanic Skin Response showed that each runner was much calmer, and the tone coming from the test was lower.

According to their surveys, the high expectations from their coaches and parents contributed most to their high level of stress. They felt pressured to run their fastest race and if they did not succeed, they felt as though they let someone down, including themselves.

There are some simple ways to reduce the amount of stress at athletic events. First of all, if friends and family are watching, the athlete must remind themselves they were liked or loved before they took up the sport and will always be liked or loved even if they do not win or meet the goals that were set. Second, if there is money involved, realize that there will probably be other opportunities and that the quality of the performance is much more important that the reward. If an athlete tries his or her best, then that is all that matters. And lastly, if this is a competition where the possibility of being selected for a higher level team exists, then athletes must remind themselves that there may be other chances to impress the judges. If for some reason the athlete does not believe that he or she performed at their highest level, then they must realize that it is not the end of the world. It is not the coaches, or parents, or spectators who are most disappointed with an athlete’s performance, it is the athlete themselves. He or she must hold their head up high and set new goals for the next competition.

As the third part of the experiment, Morgan looked at stress in the work place. She recognized that stress isalso be a big part of the work environment. In order to measure stress she took the pulse, blood pressure, and Galvonic Skin Response both during a rush and then after the rush had been over for approximately two hours. Her hypothesis was that the pulse rates, blood pressures, and Galvonic Skin Response measurements would all decrease after the rush. Her hypothesis was correct for the pulse rates and blood pressures, but for the most part the Galvonic Skin Response measurements stayed the same, some even increased.

A survey showed that the most common cause of stress was having too much to do at one time. The ways people relieved this stress were smoking, taking a break, or just taking deep breaths.

The results from the experiment are shown below. (Note blood pressure is shown in graph as Cardiac Output.)

In conclusion, stress is always going to accompany everyone wherever they go in life. However, the amount of stressed experienced can be reduced by learning to deal with stress in a healthy way. Nowadays, there are several programs and classes specifically designed to teach people how to handle stress. Visit the websites listed below for more information about stress and how to deal with it in a more positive way.

http://www.mindtools.com/stressq/html

http://www.trauma-pages.com/pamstr/htm