The Body-Mind Connection of Stress

Description:
In this activity, students will fill out their own "physical reactions to stress" inventory and graph the class results. Then they will work in pairs to learn more about the body mechanisms that cause physiological stress symptoms, such as a fast heartbeat, cold hands, and dry mouth, or even longer-lasting symptoms such as a headache and sleeplessness. Finally, students will discuss their own reactions to stress and understand that many physiological stress reactions are part of the body's normal functioning. Students will also look at ways of dealing with stress.

Objectives:
Students will:

• Analyze their own physical responses to stress
• Describe the "fight or flight" response to stress
• Explore the physical reactions of the human body under stress, including the effect of hormones
• Draw conclusions about what happens to their own bodies when under stress
• Describe the wide range of normal responses to stress
• Construct a bar graph

Relevant Standards:
This activity fulfills science and health education standards.

BAM! Body and Mind Resources:

• Feelin' Frazzled...? — 10 suggestions for relieving short-term stress.
• Got Butterflies? Find Out Why. — An interactive feature that teaches what short-term and long-term stress do to the body and how to cope with them.