Stress on Western Campus Nathaniel Gay, Michelle Geller, Mica Scott, Heather Storer

Who’s More Stressed: Architecture/Design or Western?

Architecture/Design Students make up over half the population of this year’s freshmen class on Western Campus. Architecture/Design Students carry a heavier workload than Western Students. Their collective mood has a large impact on the atmosphere of the campus.

Hypothesis *Students that are Architecture/Design will have higher levels of stress than students that are Western, and will therefore exhibit higher blood pressure readings. *Because of the workload and competitiveness of their program, Architecture/Design students exert themselves more than Western students.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN We choose 40 students -20 Architecture/Design -20 Western Readings took place on Sundays and Wednesdays, between the hours of 7 pm and Midnight. We took their blood pressure and surveyed them on factors that could affect stress and blood pressure.

“Blood pressure goes up in all people in periods of stress.” -National Institute of Aging, 1994

“Someone who is always feeling overwhelmed, eats poorly, and doesn’t get enough sleep… usually has a limited ability to cope with stressful events.” -Counseling Center, University of Florida

The Circulatory System

The blood travels from the body into the right atrium then the right ventricle From the right ventricle it travels into the pulmonary artery where it is carried to the lungs In the lungs, the blood loses carbon dioxide and gains oxygen The Heart- Right Side

The Heart- Left Side From the lungs, the blood is transported into the left atrium by the pulmonary veins. Next, the blood is carried to the left ventricle Finally, the blood is sent through the aorta to the rest of the body

Hypertension is so dangerous that it can damage nearly every part of the body because of its effects on the circulatory organs.

What is Blood Pressure? Blood pressure is the pressure exerted on the walls of the arteries.

Maximum and Minimum States When the ventricles of the heart contract, the heart is in a state of systole. Blood pressure is at a maximum. When the ventricles of the heart relax, the heart is in a state of diastole. Blood pressure is at a minimum.

Sphygmomanometer Blood pressure is taken by a device known as sphygmomanometer The pressure is measure in Millimeters of Mercury (mmHg)

How to Take a Blood Pressure *The cuff is inflated until the blood flow is stopped in the surface artery of the arm *The pressure is slowly released until the blood flow is audible, then a pressure reading is taken *This is the systolic pressure

*The pressure of the cuff is continually lowered until the blood is flowing constantly *Another pressure reading is taken *This is known as the diastolic pressure

What do the numbers mean? *A blood pressure is read with the systolic number on top and the diastolic number on the bottom. *The average adult blood pressure is 120/80

What is hypertension? A person with a blood pressure of 140/90 is considered hypertensive Affects 1 in every 4 adults, nearly 43 million Americans Increases the chances of getting heart or kidney disease, congestive heart failure, stroke, and ruptured aortic aneurysm.

Factors Which Affect Blood Pressure * Anxiety * Stress * Smoking * Alcohol Consumption * Pain * Eating Habits * Heredity

Monitoring Blood Pressure Keep an accurate record of your blood pressure over an extended period of time. The record will enable your PCP to give you accurate assessments, monitoring and diagnosis if necessary.

*Monitoring blood pressure on a regular basis at home can alleviate hypertension. *In a doctor’s office, a person’s blood pressure can go up points higher than their average. *Blood pressure monitoring at home represents the most accurate readings because you are in a comfortable, relaxed environment.

Detection Treatment increases five year survival from near zero to seventy five percent with early detection. All adults 18 years and older should be screened for hypertension every one to two years.

Class Involvement

Conclusion If one is looking at the data that we gathered there is no significant difference in the level of stress between Architecture /Design majors and western majors. The only scientifically significant results that we had were between the diastolic and major, and dorm and sleep. The results from the Stress Vulnerability Survey showed no significant difference between majors, stress vulnerability, and dorm whatsoever ever.

RESULTS