Student Wellbeing

Some stress can be a 

'good thing'

At this time of year many students struggle with the thought of exams, SACs, and external pressures which lead to them feeling overwhelmed and under ‘stress’.

Students often seek help from the Student Wellbeing team to reduce stress without realising that it is actually beneficial to their success, so long as we understand the positives. Stress, as long as it is not too high, is greatly beneficial to our day to day functioning, learning and motivation. Many research articles indicate that stress, so long as it is not in abundance, is of great importance to how we function and achieve when completing complex and difficult tasks.

So, why is stress of benefit to students?  A healthy level of stress activates more areas of the brain during a difficult task or situation, which enables us to be in a heightened state of awareness during this period.  This causes our heart rate to increase thereby providing our brain with essential oxygen to perform at its optimal level during these complex tasks, which is a good thing!  

Our breathing should, therefore, also increase to match the increase in heart rate and in turn provide our lungs with an increase in oxygen.

So, if we decrease rather than increasing, our rate of breathing, this can sometimes cause students to experience panic attacks, nausea, a feeling of impending doom etc., as the brain would not be receiving the necessary supply of oxygen essential to its functioning during stress.

Our brain requires our heart rates and breathing to be higher in order to supply the brain with the necessary oxygen to function and reduce anxiety.

It is of great importance for this generation of students to understand that stress can actually help us to achieve, rather than fail, as many of them have grown up believing that stress is always bad and of detriment to their wellbeing.

In fact, surgeons have been educated and trained to understand that a small amount of stress is a good thing when operating on patients, as it keeps them at an optimal level of functioning for a longer period of time. The medical profession understand that surgeons are less likely to make critical errors when in a slightly heightened state of awareness, than when fully relaxed.

Therefore, stress, when understood as being helpful and beneficial for our functioning brain, is important to our success and performance on difficult and complex tasks. Slightly increasing our breathing rate during stress, and by telling ourselves that ‘stress is a good thing’ and that ‘stress is making me ready for this task’, can quickly reduce anxiety, and help to increase our success and reduce the chances of panic attacks. Panic attacks are usually brought on by the brain detecting a lack of oxygen in our system, which can also be remedied by increasing our rate of breathing, rather than decreasing it.

Learning to recognise that some level of stress ‘can be a good thing’ is the best way to make it work for you rather than against you.  However, any student who has prolonged feelings of stress or anxiety, even in situations that don’t warrant it, should seek support.

Rohan Lelliott

Wellbeing Coordinator / Teacher