Written by Ahmed Ahmed
What is stress?
Stress is a natural reaction in humans, especially when they are confronted with new challenges or alterations in their everyday activities, and stress reactions enable humans to cope with these stresses. In a life-threatening situation, our body enters ‘fight-or-flight' mode, which heightens our senses and allows us to flee the situation; for example, in a stressful situation, our body enters ‘fight-or-flight' mode, which heightens our senses and allows us to flee the situation. Although these stress responses have advantages, frequent occurrences can lead to chronic stress, which can have negative consequences for our mental and physical health.
Stress within the education system:
Due to the stress factors that come with academia (grades, peers, bullying, expectation, etc), secondary schools and higher education systems are known to be hotbeds of student stress, contributing to the degradation of students' mental and physical well-being, which in turn affects their overall academic performance.
The effect of stress on students:
A study done by Pascoe et al. (2020) has looked into different effects that academic stress has on students, as listed below:
Stress and mental health
According to a study conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), students who reported high levels of academic stress have lower mental health. Furthermore, studies have shown that higher stress levels are associated with a lower quality of life, resulting in lower mental wellness, and may also contribute to depression and anxiety, decreasing academic achievement even further.
Stress and substance use
Many studies have revealed that students with higher stress levels are more likely to use substances like drugs and alcohol to cope with their pressures. Students who have more social support are less likely to use substances.
Stress and sleep
Getting enough sleep is critical, especially for kids; according to the study, over 90% of high school students do not receive enough sleep. Stress has been found in studies to disrupt sleep and induce recurrent tiredness.
Stress and physical health
Due to lengthy hours of studying in one spot, physical health might be severely harmed during times of high academic stress. Many non-communicable diseases can be caused by a lack of physical activity among students.
Stress and achievement
According to the OECD, anxiety and stress cause kids to perform worse in academic tasks than students who have lower stress levels. Poor performance, according to studies, leads to an increase in stress, trapping students in a vicious cycle that can be difficult to overcome.
Stress and dropout rates
Chronic stress can cause a variety of physical, mental, social, and academic issues. It may also have an impact on dropout rates and motivation. Individuals who have dropped out of school have poorer educational qualifications and a lower quality of life than those who have completed their studies.
If you feel that your mental health is deteriorating, please consider contacting your institution’s Mental Health Advisors or Guidance Counsellors.
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