The Importance Of

Stress Education Within

Our School Systems
 My essential
question
How does stress effect students,
and what are some
tools/mechanisms to manage it?
 Why I chose
this question/
topic for my
capstone
I chose this question because it follows
my career aspirations, and is something
that I wish I had learnt earlier and still
had more knowledge on. After almost
finishing my final year of high school,
I endured a lot of stressful situation,
and when I received more in-depth
 Causes of stress
Stress is not only caused by one
thing/activity, but it also typically
originates from multiple things
that continue to be a presence
within your life. Some of the
major events that cause stress
originate with friends, school,
sports, and home life.
Stress can and does affect every and anyone. Stress most
commonly effects youth around the ages of twelve-twenty-
two. This is typically when major changes within people’s
lives occur as well as school and future-planning. The added
time consumption of chores, work, school, and sports can
lead to being overwhelmed. The feeling of having so many
 Stress in school
systems
Stress commonly occurs when you’re
overwhelmed or rushed for time. This
commonly occurs amongst students. Whether
it be a test, project, or presentation, majority of
students experience some type of stress over
the course of their schooling. Stress can be as
helpful as it is harmful. This is why education
around stress within school systems is so
important, learning how to use and handle
stress can create a better learning environment.
The effect that stress has on your
health
 Fight or
Flight
Stress is the body’s natural defense
against forms of danger or distress.
This response is also known as your
“fight or flight” response. When this
response is enacted, your body
produces larger quantities of the
chemicals, cortisol, epinephrine, and
norepinephrine. These result in
physical reactions such as, increased
blood pressure, heightened muscle
preparedness, sweating, and alertness.
These factors aim to improve the
person’s ability to respond to the
threat at hand.
Stress response
system
Your body’s stress response system when facing chronic
stress, begins with overworking the adrenal glands. At
first, your adrenals produce more cortisol to meet the
growing demand. This marks the beginning stages of
Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS), which come with their
specific symptoms of stress. However, after chronic stress
then your adrenals become exhausted, and their cortisol
output drops. This marks the more advanced stages of
AFS. Some of the symptoms of AFS include: fatigue,
weight gain, insomnia, brain fog, anxiety, mild depression,
PMS, infertility, low libido, hair loss, dry skin, estrogen
dominance, lowered immunity, sugar and salt cravings,
heart palpitations, and a low stress tolerance.
 Physical symptoms of stress include:

Symptoms • Aches and pains High blood pressure

• Chest pain or a feeling like your heart is racing Muscle
tension or jaw clenching
of stress • Exhaustion or trouble sleeping
digestive problems
Stomach or

• Headaches, dizziness or shaking Weakened

immune system
 Covid-19
The effects it has on mental
health
 Covid-19 has left majority of the population in a lot of stress, whether that
How Covid-19 be by the fear of the illness, lack of socialization, people or themselves
affected, or just the sudden changes. This pandemic has caused a lot of

effects students changes within our lives and has left us with very little time to adjust, this
is quite tolling on the brain and mental health as a whole.
 How online learning
affects students

Students of this and last year have been tasked with

managing their own learning in many
provinces/states. This extreme change has been
exhausting for many people. Even the students who
have in-person learning are struggling. The school
system has changed drastically, there is little to no
socialization allowed, and any graduation or social
gatherings have been prohibited. School focuses a
lot on socialization and daily interactions with
peers, when that is taken away, it can be quite
alarming and a difficult shift.
Common unhelpful Some common unhelpful methods of managing stress are
methods of managing procrastination, repression, over-working, binge-eating, and over-
sleeping. Although these may seem to be helpful in the moment, they
stress push you into more negative stress, and will cause more harm than good.
 Some ways of coping with stress positively are,
exercising, meditation, journaling, creating
Helpful ways of timelines/deadlines for tasks, listening to music, art,
cleaning your work-space, talking to someone, or just
coping with getting some fresh air. These tasks can be accomplished
stress during breaks from whatever stressful tasks you’re
doing, or even before you start. Setting your day up
with productive tasks can set the theme for the day and
help you stay on task.
 Over the past three weeks I have been doing a self-experiment on
My self- what stress relieving methods have worked for me and what did
not. I journaled this experience, which will be on the following
experiment slides.
Date Methods Feelings/stress level Notes
June 1st -exercise: 2 mile run -Very stressful -both methods were quite
-cleaning -had accept one of my helpful
admissions offers
June 2nd -exercise: 1hr workout outside -A little stressful -both methods were helpful
-read 2 chapters -working through 3 classes-not
feeling very prepared
June 3rd -Used essential oils -Stressful -did not notice much of a
-listening to music -A test coming up and I am not difference from the oils, or
-meditate feeling very prepared. I feel that meditating.
I am running out of time -enjoyed the music method
June 4th -exercise: 1hr workout, half -Stressful -very helpful and well
outside, half inside -Test day needed after the test
-read 1 chapter
-cleaned
June 5th -exercise: went for a walk~1hr -A little stress -the only method that did not
-listened to music -Worrying about the results and help was the oils
-used essential oils workload from other classes. -the walk was needed for
Other than that no extra stress. some fresh air
June 6th -baking - No stress -baking was not helpful and
-cleaning caused more stress
-cleaning was very helpful
June 7th -journaled -Stressful -journaling is not for me so
-exercised: 1hr outside -test results coming back. far
June 10th -exercise: 1hr workout outside -stressful -both were useful,
-read 2 chapters -capstone, French, and a test and helped a bit
coming up soon
June 11th -baking -stressful -baking not very
-cleaning -lots of math review to do/work helpful, the cleaning
on was quite needed
June 12th -Yoga -stressful -Yoga was surprisingly
-read 2 chapters -lots of math review to do/work not horrible
on
June 13th -exercised: went for a run-30mins -stressful -The short workout
-deep breathing/meditation - Lots of math review to work on was great for the busy
schedule today
June 14th -exercise: run - Super stressful -both were good but
-cleaning - Test, capstone, and my all of quite time consuming,
my French due soon caused a little stress,
June 15th -listened to music -stressful -helpful and not very
-meditated -exam, capstone and all the time consuming
course material is due
June 16th -read 3 chapters -stressful -helpful but time
-exercised: weightlifting -exam and capstone coming up consuming, next time
read less
June 17th -went for a walk -stressful -helpful but journaling
-journaled -Exam tomorrow and capstone is not for me
soon
Least useful
After my experiment I found that
“stress-baking”, essential oils, journaling
and meditation were not helpful for
myself. The baking, although fun, took
up a lot of time with the actual
preparation and then the clean-up
afterwards. The oils only made my room
smell nice, they didn’t do anything else.
The meditation and journaling just did
not suite me, I did not feel any less
stressed and it only took up more time.
 Most useful
I found that exercise was one
of the most useful methods
for me, along with cleaning,
reading, and listening to
music. With the cleaning, I
find it very relaxing to have a
clean and organized work-
space which enabled me to
get more work done and not
worry about having to tidy up
Try conducting
your own
experiment
Now while I have found the ”right”
methods for me, they will not be the same
for everyone. The best way to find
something that works for you is to try it.
Finding the
right method
When finding the right method,
you might also want to consider
what you’re stressed about or
dealing with. That can help you
guide your search or narrow
down some options if you do not
have time to try a whole list of
them.
 When it comes to stress, there are two types;
positive and negative. The negative side of
Negative stress is what can contribute to procrastination,
overwhelming thoughts, any of the negative
stress symptoms that were listed before. This side of
stress is what people typically associate with
 Positive
stress
Positive stress is
something that needs to
be focused more on.
While stress is usually
not welcomed, positive
stress pushes you
towards growth and
accomplishment. This
 mindset that this overwhelming feeling can be
conquered and used to your advantage can be
quite useful in school. Having that small push
How stress can
to keep you going or motivated can be very
help within school useful. Looking at stress as a tool instead of
something you want to avoid is important. It
can help with studying and other tasks in your
education.
What I hope is taken away
from the presentation is that
stress doesn’t have to be
harmful if you can
understand it. Also, how you
deal with stress is completely
individualized and different
for each person.
• Resources:
• https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/18792/
• https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/16-ways-relieve-stress-anxiety#2.-Consider-supplements
• https://www.verywellmind.com/tips-to-reduce-stress-3145195
• https://www.conovercompany.com/teaching-stress-management/
• https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-04-07-teachers-are-anxious-and-overwhelmed-they-need-sel-now-mo
re-than-ever
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/how-much-does-stress-affect-learning/2011/06/0
8/AGJCtrNH_blog.html
• https://www.guide2research.com/research/student-stress-statistics#2
• https://www.edcan.ca/articles/teen-stress-in-our-schools/
• https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4054&context=etd
• https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/science-research-data/youth-findings-health-b
ehaviour-school-aged-children-study.html
• https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02673843.2019.1596823
• Photos:
• https://www.health.qld.gov.au/news-events/news/how-to-reduce-stress-right-now
• https://kidshelpline.com.au/teens/issues/looking-after-yourself
• https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2016/08/09/stress-management-can-help-more-stud
ents-succeed-college-essay
• https://www.acc.edu.au/blog/time-management-skills-student-learning/
• https://www.edumed.org/resources/medical-health-student-guide-to-stress/
• https://medium.com/@aniteialina/good-stress-eustress-and-its-positive-effects-13f5354ccb1
1
• https://hubpages.com/health/10-Tips-to-Handle-Negative-Stress
• https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-51818397
• https://www.responsesource.com/blog/how-to-meet-deadlines-at-work/
• https://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vector/paediatrician-medicare-health-examination