Linking movement and stress amongst Year 12 female students BY ALEXANDRA WHITTINGHAM, YEAR 12, 2021 ABSTRACT This paper reveals the relationship between stress and
experienced by people who take on more responsibility
movement in order to discover if a Year 12 female student
and projects than they can handle (Fry & Dimitriu, 2021).
is experiencing stress through simple observations. It
Chronic stress is a prolonged and constant feeling of
was determined that there is a strong positive correlation
stress accounted by multiple factors, including poverty,
between a female Year 12 student’s stress score and
abuse, and trauma (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2021b).
their percentage of body movement in five minutes. This notion was founded in the study of the 22 participating students who sat a perceived stress questionnaire. Their subconscious body movements were then observed in order to determine if there was a relationship between the two variables. It was founded that the higher the level of stress experienced by the female students, the larger their stress score, therefore, presenting more subconscious body movement when being asked to sit down. The data collected was converted into a correlation table producing an overall R-value of 0.872153824 which is close to 1 confirming a strong positive relationship between the two variables, the stress score and the percentage of body movement. This conclusion is important as chronic stress experienced in early life can lead to students developing health issues in the future. Understanding the strong relationship between stress and movement gives one the skills to determine if a peer or stranger is experiencing high levels of stress, allowing for intervention before their levels reach a critical or detrimental point.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Following stress reactants is then a recovery process, where the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis is in charge of regulating body hormones in response to stressful situations (Smith & Vale, 2006). The Hypothalamus stimulates the pituitary gland to release adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) to signal the adrenal glands to produce steroid hormones glucocorticoids, made up of cortisol and adrenaline (Smith & Vale, 2006). This added cortisol regulated by HPA releases the feeling of being hyper-alert during stressful situations. Scientist Chiang proposed that school is a main source of stress among adolescents, from homework, unsatisfactory academic performance, and preparation for tests (Chiang, 1995). These stress reactants among students are a major problem in higher education, as the triggers result in cortisol levels spiking in bloodstreams. Although most students cortisol levels will drop back to normal over a couple of days, for others it may stay elevated as they remain fixated on the setback and have difficulty moving forward. These high cortisol levels increase blood sugar, metabolism, memory function and can provide a temporary boost in cognitive ability, assisting student
Stress is an integral part of human lives, positive or
motivation and decision-making skills allowing one to
negative, it can ultimately impact one’s ability to perform.
achieve their goals (Terada, 2018). However, when cortisol
Neuroendocrinologist Bruce McEwen states that “Stress is
levels remain too high they can impair brain functioning,
a word used to describe experiences that are challenging
supress the immune system and result in long-term
emotionally and physiologically” (McEwen, 2007) and
damage, such as rewiring the brain to become overly
is a prominent emotion in one’s everyday life. Stress is
reactive or too slow to react to threats (Mayo Clinic Staff,
made up of many forms and generally falls into one of
2021a). Therefore, continual stress can disrupt the normal
three categories: Acute stress, a short-term stress often
brain development through childhood and increase the
associated with moments of panic and dread like overdue
risk of disease in adulthood (National Scientific Council on
assignments, job interviews or having financial problems
the Developing Child, 2014).
(Mayo Clinic Staff, 2021b). Episodic acute stress, an accumulation of individual moments of acute stress often
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Pymble Ladies’ College
