Have you ever experienced walking into a classroom where you are about to take a test you studied hard for, or walking into the most important game of the season and feeling that surge of an adrenaline rush? The feeling should be familiar: sweat rushing down your face, a feeling of tightness in your stomach, and a myriad of thoughts rushing through your mind going a mile a minute. These are all effects of stress, but what really happens in the brain during stress, and how can it be managed? 

Forty percent of high school students experience depression due to the pressure and expectations of school and extracurriculars—often amplified by pressure to “perform” from parents, peers and, even, themselves—as proven in a study administered by the Center of Disease Control. Such expectations can cause stress, a universally experienced response to a fearful, worrying circumstance. The brains of students and athletes are detrimentally impacted the most from this phenomenon, which explains why so many high school students constantly struggle with their physical and mental health.

What is Stress?

Stress is a reaction that starts off in the brain. The eyes and ears interpret a situation, and send the information to the amygdala, which controls emotions, decision making, and memory. This part of the brain is what creates the feeling of “fight or flight” and sends distress signals to the hypothalamus whenever it senses a threat. The hypothalamus then begins the physical effects of stress by releasing corticotropin and cortisol hormones. Such hormones cause the heart to pump more blood, cause sleeping issues, elevated heart rates, and subsequent rapid breathing to become more alert to the dire situation; the body then reacts by tightening organs to save up energy.

At the same time, the body releases a hormone called cortisol, more commonly known as the “stress hormone” which can actually be helpful in the moment of stress, but harmful in the long term. It provides the body with more energy, enabling it to have better focus and awareness. However, if the level of cortisol is perpetually high, it can cause despondency, illness, and fatigue later in life. 

How Stress Relates to Students and Athletes 

In a 2023 study by PubMed, it was found that 91% of high school students and/or athletes experience school or sport related stress. The majority of this stress is caused by homework, test taking, balancing a student-athlete schedule, and just overload of responsibilities. Stress can make it harder to focus and engage in the circumstance, which can ultimately impact one’s grades and/or athletic performance. As these stressful threats to the brain occur many times during the school year, there is no time for the body to recover from the immense stress being faced. The nonstop stress causes a never ending high amount of cortisol in the body. As previously stated, this can lead to depression, sickness, and exhaustion— proving why so many high school students struggle with mental health and experience more negative feelings. 

Coping Strategies

Many methods claim to handle stress, but are they all scientifically proven? One of the most simple yet effective coping strategies is breathing. This is proven to work because it calms the brain down and allows the heart rate to slow. Additionally, a strategy to deal with stress includes weekly exercise and/or meditation. Exercise and meditation together release endorphins that lower cortisol levels, hormones that make the body feel good, and mental rest and respite amidst busy and hectic schedules. Finally, the most important way to cope with stress is sleep. While it seems easier to stay up, worrying about a test or game, it is actually more beneficial to rest rather than prepare all night for something the next day. This is because sleep helps the brain process information better (i.e. recover), ensuring you have enough energy for whatever is happening the next day, and reducing the amount of stress in the brain. So, it is crucial to get enough sleep, especially before “game day”–in the classroom or on the court or field.  

Conclusion 

Ultimately, stress is a common, natural response from the brain that happens to protect and prepare the body from a threatening event. Stress is also just a normal part of life, but its constant presence if not managed well can lead to serious problems later in life. Students and athletes constantly face stressful situations, which lead to both physical and mental health issues. Learning about what stress does on the brain, the effects it has on the body, and the ways to handle it can help to effectively lessen the amount of high schoolers that unfortunately face the adverse impacts of stress.