Student stress affects schoolwork

By Koren Temple

College students may start to question whether the four years they spend cramming for midterms, taking unpaid internships or losing sleep is worth it.

According to The National College Health Assessment, a non-profit research effort that collects the health data of nationwide universities every two years, 40.2 percent of Santa Clara students reported stress affected their individual academic performance within the last 12 months.

The 2004 survey, which assessed the overall well-being of 47,202 undergraduates nationwide, reported 32.4 percent of students viewed stress as the number one impediment to academic performance -- more so than the common cold, depression, death of a family member, sexual assault or eating disorders.

Once considered the nation's number one health epidemic, prolonged stress can lead to ulcers, heart disease, stroke, major depression and to a shorter life span.

"I think in general students are under an extreme amount of stress in college," says Health Educator Jeanne Zeamba of the on-campus Wellness Center, which collected 812 surveys last spring through a random sample.

With 80 percent of college campuses seeing significant increases in serious psychological problems, including severe stress, depression, anxiety and panic attacks, The New York Times reported last year, Zeamba maintains that the university is in overall good health.

"Most of the stressors for students (on this campus) are a result of the multiple tasks, multiple demands, and multiple deadlines they have; their bodies go into a state of hyper-arousal, so everything is like go, go, go," she says.

Academic performance

Zeamba believes that because Santa Clara is an academically-rigorous campus where there is a lot of competition, and highly achieving students, there is more pressure to perform well.

Junior Aroba Hafeez agrees.

"At a school like Santa Clara, you're paying so much to be here so it's crucial that you earn good grades so you don't waste your money," says the 19-year-old combined sciences major who often loses sleep to study. "And there are so many things you have to take care of on your own because no one will tell you what to do, which requires a lot of self-discipline, and that can be hard."

Hafeez, who wants to be a doctor, says the results of the survey reflect the attitudes of college students. She says that stress can lead to bad grades because students get stuck in a cycle of losing sleep and their bodies have to perform at a faster pace.

According to a study published in the Research for Higher Education for 2000, students who are stressed are more likely to receive lower grades.

For Hafeez, she pointed out that her grades have been the lowest during the quarters when she was more stressed.

Junior Maria Garcia agrees.

"Usually you're able to control the grades you get, but if you're stressed, you don't have that much control because you the lack time management and organizational skills and those are essential to good grades," said the 20-year old biology major, who recalled only getting an hour of sleep last Friday.

Zeamba says the multiple demands in life -- such as being a good student, working part time, making a career choice, relationships, friendships and parents -- can lead to stress.

She says that the human body is naturally hard-wired to deal with stressful situations as a survival mechanism: "The adrenaline kicks in, the heart beats faster, the mind works faster, and the appetite decreases. It's kind of an intense state because you are ready to run, literally."

Students feel pressure and stress, she says, because their bodies aren't meant to handle the altered condition they're in for a long time. "It's just for survival, so when we have that state of mind and body for an extended period of time, it can really do damage to our system," she added.

Zeamba points out that some of the stressful symptoms include irritability, nervousness, fatigue, tight muscles and forgetfulness. She says stress is a physical, mental and emotional problem because it affects all functions of the body.

Garcia says that when she's stressed she is always tired and can become irritated at her roommate. She also says she's more likely to become sick after stressful weeks, when she stays up all night to study.

Academic advisor Laura Fujieda also sees a lot of stressed students in the Drahman advising center, a campus learning resource committed to helping students improve their academics and their adjustments to university life.

"Most students come in because they typically need an exception to policy or are on academic probation. And when a student's on academic probation they have two quarters to shape up, or face disqualification from the university," says the advisor whose worked for the center for five years.

Fujieda says there is more pressure to do better because students need to raise their grade point average, and she says that some students just aren't prepared for the level of work here.

Hafeez says her combined science courses stress her out because they are hard and seem impossible to get good grades in.

"Sometimes I notice because I've spent so much time and energy with my major classes, I miss out on studying for my liberal art classes," she says. "And then at the last minute I have to study harder for those too."

Even though Garcia and Hafeez say that the efforts to get good grades can lead to stress, they admit there are other factors as well.

"I think living with other people in the dorms can be really stressful because everybody has their own things to do, and your roommate can sometimes stress you out- like when you're trying to study and the TV is going," Garcia says. She says the only place quiet enough on campus is the library, but it can still be distracting because it's so small.

Job market stress

With a growing 5.4 percent unemployment rate, Garcia worries about her future and possible debt.

"I wanted to go to medical school, but now I'm unsure and it gets more stressful cause it's coming to the end of my sophomore year and soon I'll be a junior and it's like- oh wait, half my college career is over and I still don't even know what I want to do," she says. Garcia wonders what she will do everyday.

Economics professor Deborah Garvey said in an e-mail that college graduates are facing the big issue of employment. She said the economy is not adding jobs fast enough to keep up with the growth of the labor force, which is leaving three percent of college graduates unemployed.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, about 42 percent of surveyed employers plan to hire fewer new graduates than they did last year. Overall, the association is predicting a 3.6 percent decline in opportunities for the class of 2003, ABC News reported in May 2003.

Even with a degree behind their belt, the unemployment rate is only 1.9 percent higher for high-school graduates, which have college students scrambling for jobs.

"I don't see any evidence to convince me that job growth is suddenly going to pick up in the near future," added Garvey.

àFujieda agrees that students are stressed about their future, as well as grades. She says the Drahman center tries to direct students to the best resources available to deal with stress.

She also says there is tutoring offered, a learning resource facilitator available to teach students to become better note takers, and she says students can meet with counselors.

Zeamba also says there are resources that students can take advantage of on campus to relieve stress. She says there are educational brochures, outreach programs, health and wellness workshops, awareness events, massages and a nutritionist available for students.

She points out though, that students can de-stress on their own time with exercise, shopping and even with manicures. She says that they should just figure out a more structured schedule, where they make time to eat, sleep, and to exercise regularly.

"There's time to study, and there's time not to study and students should incorporate what they love to do in their schedule so that they feel balanced," she says. "Negative forms of stress come out of a result of not being balanced. So when you do too much of one thing, your body feels deprived."

Zeamba says that these activities are essential to relieving stress, but if a student gets to the point of depression, where he or she is lacking sleep, and are lonely, then it's a good idea to get some professional help from a counselor, or a psychologist, so that anti-depressant medication and or sleeping pills can be prescribed.

So with the potential health effects, gloomy unemployment rate that isn't much higher that high-school graduates, and relentless work, is college worth it?

Hafeez says that the stress college students endure is a testament of their hard work and she thinks it is something to be proud of.

"College is worth all the stress at the end of the day because it will eventually lead to whatever you want to do in the future, and it's going to help me get to where I want to go, which is -- I don't know -- but whatever it is, I'll be there someday," Garcia says.

"And really, college doesn't last forever; it's only four years of your life."

*ààContact Koren Temple at (408) 551-1918 or ktemple@scu.edu.