Stress and the College Environment

1. Stress and the College Environment A proposed study on stress, and the link with blood pressure

2. Introduction • Our group will monitor the stress levels between students that are architecture majors and students that are Western majors. We will take the blood pressure of our test subjects and this will be the main factor in determining their level of stress. We will also ask the test subjects questions about their lifestyle, such as: how many hours of sleep they got the night before, what their diet consists of, if they smoke on a regular basis, etc. Our hypothesis: students that are architecture majors will have higher amounts of stress than students that are Western majors. Because of a significantly larger workload and the competitiveness of their program, architect students must exert themselves far more than the Western students. It would also stand to reason that architects students have less time for sleep and healthy eating, which would only add to their level of stress. This study affects our group personally; two of our own members follow the architect curriculum and very well might be carrying this stress with them. But there are also indirect concerns. Because architect students make up a large part of the population of the Western school, their moods can greatly affect the atmosphere of the campus. If architects students are in a  stressed-out, negative mood, it will create an collect unfriendly atmosphere.

3. Relevance • It has been documented  that there is a strong link between high blood pressure and stress. The National Institute on Aging states that “Blood pressure goes upon all people during periods of stress...” (NIA, 1994). College presents young people with unlimited possibilities for these stressful periods. Unrelenting professors, strict deadlines, all-nighters, competitions for grades, a diet consisting of alcohol and pizza, are just some of the factors in college that can produce stress in even the healthiest of students. The Counseling Center at the University of Florida states that “ Someone who is always feeling overwhelmed, eats poorly, and doesn’t get enough sleep... usually has a limited ability to cope with stressful events.” (UF, 2001). The following qualities can be applied to many, if not all, architect students. If it is found that these students are exhibiting extremely high levels of stress, the program might be in need of a change. There is nothing wrong with challenging students; in fact, it is academically healthy. But it it possible that architect students are being pushed too hard. This could have serious detrimental effects on their mental and physical health. Our study will provide some insight into the working and living conditions of architect students.

4. Materials and Methods • Our experimental design is to take blood pressure of 20 first-year architecture/design and 20 first-year Western majors biweekly. Our group will take these readings between 7p.m. and midnight. We will also conduct a survey to accompany the blood pressure results. The survey will consist of questions concerning amount of sleep, homework load, consistency of diet, use of substances such as alcohol/cigarettes, exercise, and a self-evaluation of stress level. These surveys will use a numerical rating system (1-5) that will allow us to easily interpret their health and habits. For example, subjects with the lowest total have the healthiest habits and vice versa. We will evaluate the results by entering the data in Stat-View or Excel. By -graphing the results and interpreting a p-value, our group can decide if there is a correlation between blood pressure/stress and work load/sleep. This should prove, statistically, if there is a relation between the factors. Our materials will include four blood pressure cuffs for our testing, 20 first-year architecture and design students, and 20 first-year Western students. This seems to be the most accurate method for measuring the level among students. We could also measure pulse and see if it factors into the stress level of the students. Our group also discussed measuring the blood pressure of architecture and design students while they are working in studio. There could be a difference in the amount of stress of students depending on their location.

5. How will we involve our class? • We hope that we will be able to have our Lab Teaching day around the middle of our study. By doing so, we have a few different options that we have yet to decide (based upon when our scheduled class day is) that we will have our classmates participate in. Although the first reaction may be to take our classmates blood pressure in class, we cannot do so because our class meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which are not our chosen bi-weekly ‘testing’ days. Secondly, a majority (if not all) of our classmates will already be participating in our lab by allowing us to take their blood pressure bi-weekly. One of our ideas that involves the class is to make another subjective questionnaire that is similar to the one we will give our subjects at the beginning and end of our testing, except that the class questionnaire will be less of rating things on numerical values, and instead ask more detailed, and personal questions which entail lengthier responses. Such questions may include specific habits or changes that they have noticed over their time at Miami thus far. For example, do they notice that they sleep less and drink more caffeine?

6. This questionnaire is indirectly related to our project, because by using this questionnaire only in our class, we are getting a small percentage of our subjects, however it enables us to make note of different correlations that we can refer to in our finalized papers. If timing is right, we may also make the class look over our first 4 weeks of data and analyze it. This would have to be right around the week of November 5-9 so that we would have our first half of our data entered into Stat-View. We can easily break the class down into smaller groups and have them analyze different parts of our results. One group can try to identify a correlation (if any) between the number of hours of sleep vs.. major vs.. blood pressure or how females and males rate their stress differently.Another option that we can have the class do is to help us organize the first set of questionnaires that our test subjects needed to fill out. By doing this,they are saving us a lot of time by grouping how many people rated things on the different scales we set up. All of these options enable us to use our classmates to aid us with our research and data collection. While some may be more beneficial to others, all will work in helping us organize our data and thoughts, and assist us in preferences of our work.

7. October Timeline

8. November Timeline Dec

9. Sample Data Sheet

10. SubjectiveQuestionnaire • How often to you consume alcoholic beverages • 1--------2---------3----------4---------------5 • 2. How often do you smoke cigarettes • 1--------2---------3----------4---------------5 • 3. How often do you exercise (20 mins or more • 1--------2---------3----------4---------------5 • 4. How many meals do you eat daily? • 1--------2---------3----------4---------------5 • 5. How many snacks do you eat • 1--------2---------3----------4---------------5 • 7. How often do you skip a meal • 1--------2---------3----------4---------------5 • 8. Do you take vitamins or supplements daily • if yes what kind___________________ Contn’d on next frame

11. Overall how do you feel about your work load(chose 1)I can’t do this anymore, I’m going to move to Antarctica and never see a college again I can do it but am barely functioningI’m satisfied/comfortable with the workload given meI wish I had a little more work to keep me busyWork? I don’t have any work.In general, do you wish you were more cautious of your decisions of time management, eating exercise, smoking and/or drinking Yes I Think I am Doing Fine NO