Stress and Study

All of us are exposed to many stresses on a daily basis. The stress response has an important role in preserving the homeostasis of our cells and our entire being. This leads to our continued survival and improved functioning in certain areas of the body. This happens easily when the stress is within the capacity of our ability to cope and is only experienced over short periods of time. But, when that stress is overwhelming, or happens over a long period of time. The stress response can cause more adverse effects.

For students, Conflicts with parents and friends, the pressures of exams, assignments and deadlines are just a few psychological stresses that may be experienced on a daily basis. But, it’s not just psychological stress that we need to be aware of. The stress of inadequate or toxic nutrition, not enough movement or an over exertion in physical activity, even time spent on a screen, particularly gaming or social media use, can create an increase in the bodies stress response. When these stressors accumulate or last for a long period of time, this can have adverse effects the ability to learn.

A bit more about how stress affects our performance here.

What does stress do to our ability to study?

Chronic stress can lead to atrophy of the brain mass and decrease its weight. These changes bring about differences in the response to stress, cognition and memory.

• Memory:
  • Adrenal steroids effect memory formation, leading to difficulty in learning new things.
  • High levels of stress hormones cause atrophy to the hippocampus, where the conversion of short term to long term memory is dependant .
  • Increased levels of plasma cortisol following prolonged stress leads to a reduction in memory.
• Good Comprehension:
  • Mild stress, at the right time may help to increase cognition.
  • Adverse effects from stress can occur when the stress surpasses an individuals threshold. These thresholds are different for each individual and depend on the type, timing, intensity, and duration of stress.
• Energy:
  • Energy comes from good nutrition. Stress can affect appetite as well as the direct impact of the functioning of the GI tract. Without proper digestion, the body can’t get all it needs.
  • Stress can disrupt sleep and lead to tiredness and fatigue.
  • Prolonged stress can lead to chronic fatigue.
• Focus:
  • Initially, Stress increases focus for a short period of time by pushing adrenaline into the bloodstream to heighten the senses.
  • chronic stress leads to high cortisol. This causes deterioration and premature ageing of brain cells, leading to brain fog.
• Motivation:
  • Lack of energy and resources can reduce motivation and lead to less than best decision making.

What can students do to reduce stress and improve their ability to study?

Stress is more than just the stuff going on in your mind. The body responds to toxins, EMFs, poor nutrition, over-exertion and other stressful factors with a biological stress response. Stress also accumulates. so, if you have poor nutrition, and you are chronically worried about a situation, it will have a compounding effect. The aim is to eliminate what stress you can and build resilience to the stress that you cannot eliminate.

7 things you can do to reduce stress and improve memory and learning.

1. Practice Gratitude: When we put our minds to the things we are grateful for and see all the good in our life. It can improve our sense of wellbeing. We feel more content and less stressed reducing the stress load we have on our system.
2. Take regular breaks from study. Include a relaxation or stress release element during the break to help reduce a build up of stress and improve concentration.
3. Exercise Regularly: Just enough to get the body moving and assist it to clear out toxins and release pent up energy and stress hormones.
4. Drink Pure Filtered Water: Some water can have heavy metals and toxins in the water that may add to the stress your body is under. Drinking water. I sell water filters here
5. Eat nutritious meals. Support your body by providing it with the variety of nutrients it needs to function under stress. reduce any further stress by avoiding foods that knowingly causes further stress to your system. eg. sugar, fast foods, foods of intolerance.
6. See a Kinesiologist. We are able to directly communicate with the body to identify factors that need to be eliminated, changed or added to improve the bodies ability to cope with the stress being experienced. You can book in to see me here.
7. Learn Stress Release Techniques. There are so many techniques available. breathing techniques, meditation, mindfulness and more. Be Your Potential does offer a Stress Release Made Easy workshop which you can have a look at here.

What a Kinesiologist can help you with.

• Mindset: Having your head in the right space can improve your outcomes greatly. A kinesiologist can quickly and effectively identify conscious AND subconscious thought patterns and belief systems that are impacting your ability to learn.
• Diet and nutrition: If there are foods causing a stressful immune response in your body, a kinesiologist can help to identify what these are so you can choose to eliminate these when you need to reduce stress. A kinesiologist can also help to identify any nutrition that might be missing and causing your body to be further stressed.
• Stress release techniques: A Kinesiologist is jam packed with tools to help release stress from different areas of the body. Our body stores emotions and memories, these can sometimes impact our stress levels also. We have some awesome tools to help release these stressful responses.
• Movement and flexibility: Having sore, tight muscles can impact your ability to feel comfortable and stay focused. a Kinesiologist can assist with reducing pain, improving muscle function, helping to clear out toxins and improving flexibility.
• Brain integration: Our brain integration is important when it comes to comprehension and functioning. particularly when different areas need to talk to each other. We need to be able to make sense of the information being received and commit that information to memory. A Kinesiologist is facilitate the reintegration of the brain pathways, so the right parts are communicating with each other, and the processes of learning comprehension and memory are working efficiently.
• and much more...

By the end of a kinesiology session your mind and body will feel much more relaxed and in balance. Your mind will be clear and focused. You will know what you personally need to do to keep your stress levels down and improve your learning, memory and comprehension.

Book a Kinesiology session today.

See what other Benefits of kinesiology you can experience

Need more reading?

This study by Canberra Kinesiology shows how PKP kinesiology is effective in reducing stress anxiety and depression in students after 3 Sessions.