Stress and the College
Environment
A proposed study on stress, and the
link with blood pressure
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.
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.
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.
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 biweekly. 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?
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.
October Timeline
1 Mon
2 Tues
8
9
14
16
22
23
29
30
3 wed
4 Thurs
5 Fri
6 sat
10
bp readings
(7pm-12am)
11
Verify that we
have 20 archies
and 20 western
“studies”
12
13
17
bp readings
(7pm-12am)
18
Decide if we
would like to take
readings on Sun.
the 21
19
10
bp readings
(7pm-12am)
25
26
27
24
bp readings
(7pm-12am)
31
Start taking bp
readings (7pm12am)
7
bp readings (7pm12am)
14
bp readings (7pm12am)
21
bp readings (7pm12am)
28
November Timeline
Mon
Tue
wed
1
T
hr
u
2
Fri
3
sat
4 bp readings (7pm-12am)
Have first 4 weeks data
entered into stat view.
5
6
7bp readings (7pm-12am)
8
9
10
11 bp readings (7pm-12am
12
13
14bp readings (7pm-12am)
Last Day
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28Have all data entered in to
Stat view and analyze results
29
30
Dec
2 Have papers completed;
make changes in order to turn
in that week.
date
name
M/f
major
hr sleep
Hr. work
location
stress
Sample Data Sheet
Bp
Subjective Questionnaire
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
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
•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 functioning
I’m satisfied/comfortable with the workload given me
I wish I had a little more work to keep me busy
Work? 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