Stressed-out students: How much stress is too much?

This School is a world full of academic rigor and intense pressure, both of which cause great stress. Though most paint it in a negative light, some research suggests that stress may have impressive (and little-known) benefits. While excessive stress is harmful, a healthy amount of stress can play a role in motivation and increasing productivity. Hans Selie, MD (1907-1982) coined the word Eustress, which refers to a “good” type of stress that positively affects performance and health. Eustress is the type of stress felt in the minutes before riding on a terrifying roller coaster, while driving to a competitive sports competition, or during the presentation of a school project. The Journal of Health Psychology writes that medium stress levels improve the brain’s strength and resistance when it meets stress down the line. This is called “stress inoculation,” a phenomenon that suggests that manageable exposure to stress 2can prepare the brain to handle future stress more effectively. Moreover, the process of stress inoculation doesn’t have to happen in a lab: based on Selye’s theories, the stress students at this school experience every day, if it isn’t a ridiculous amount, could be beneficial in the long run. 

However, there is a fine line between helpful stress, eustress, and harmful stress, called distress. The American Journal of Public Health draws attention to the difference between both types of stress, writing that “while acute, short-term stress leads to improvements in cognitive function and immune response, chronic stress has the opposite effect.”  The point is managing stress properly is the way to enjoy its positive impacts while minimizing its negative impacts. Habits to prioritize to help with all of this are getting enough sleep, exercising, socializing, reducing screen time, and maintaining a healthy diet. A study in the Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health found that people who engage in daily “mindfulness practices” have lower levels of stress and a better ability to deal with stressful situations. Furthermore, setting goals that are realistically attainable, maintaining a healthy work-life balance (or, in a student at the School’s case, keeping a healthy school-life balance), and asking for help when needed from friends and family cawn also play a role in reducing chronic levels of stress. Dr. Jake Bateman, a psychologist who studies stress, notes, “Recognizing when to take a break and giving yourself permission to do so is quite critical in preventing stress from tipping over into the harmful zone.”  While stress has almost always been seen as inherently negative, it has become clear that not all stress is the same: by practicing healthy habits, anyone can maintain healthy stress levels, and prevent their stress levels from dipping into chronic stress.