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Student Guide: Unit 2: Brain Maintenance Lesson 4

This document discusses stress and its effects on teens. It defines stress and explains how it is processed in the brain's reward system. Stress can be positive in short bursts but long-term stress can harm physical and mental health. The document outlines different types of stress responses and provides strategies for managing stress, including talking to a healthcare professional if feeling overwhelmed.

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1K views

Student Guide: Unit 2: Brain Maintenance Lesson 4

This document discusses stress and its effects on teens. It defines stress and explains how it is processed in the brain's reward system. Stress can be positive in short bursts but long-term stress can harm physical and mental health. The document outlines different types of stress responses and provides strategies for managing stress, including talking to a healthcare professional if feeling overwhelmed.

Uploaded by

ria wu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Unit 2: Brain Maintenance

Student Guide Lesson 4

1. What are the objectives of today’s lesson?

● define stress
● explain how stress affects teens
● describe strategies to manage stress proactively and effectively
● relate how stress is processed in the brain’s reward system or triad
2. What is stress?
● Stress is how the brain and body respond to any demand or challenge
● Stress can affect your health
● It is important to pay attention to how you deal with minor and major stressors, so you know
when to seek help

3. What are 5 things to note about stress?


● Stress affects everyone
- There are different types of stress – all of which carry physical and mental health risks.
- A stressor may be a one-time or short-term occurrence, or it can happen repeatedly over
a long time
● Not all stress is bad
- In a dangerous situation, stress signals the body to prepare to face a threat or flee to
safety.
- In these situations, your pulse quickens, you breathe faster, your muscles tense, and your
brain uses more oxygen and increases activity – all functions aimed at survival and in
response to stress
● Long- stress can harm your health
- The source of long-term stress is more constant than acute stress
- The body never receives a clear signal to return to normal functioning
● There are ways to manage stress
- Be observant
- Talk to your health care or health provider
- Get regular exercise
- Try a relaxing activity
- Set goals and priorities
- Stay connected to friends and family
● If you feel overwhelmed by stress, ask for help from a healthcare professional

U2L4 Student Guide 1


4. What are the various levels of stress?
● Positive
- Brief increases in heart rate, mild elevations in stress hormone levels
● Tolerable
- Serious, temporary stress responses, buffered by supportive relationships
● Toxic
- Prolonged activation of stress response systems in the absense of protective relationships

5. Draw the reward triad in relation to stress.

Threat- teacher threatens pop quiz

Reward- come to party

You are stressed on choosing to go to the party or study

Outcome: you choose to study

6. What are some stress responses in action?


● Pupils dilate
● Respiration quickens; bronchial tubes dilate
● Perspiration begins
● Heart rate increases
● muscles tense and may tremble

7. What is fight or flight?


● Fight – you take action
● Flight – you avoid the situation
● The sympathetic nervous system prepares you for fight or flight
- Heart rate increases
- Blood flow shifted to muscles
- Blood glucose rises

8. What is the difference between acute and chronic stress?


● Acute (short term) – a traumatic event, a shocking, scary or dangerous experience that can
affect someone emotionally and physically
● Chronic (long term) – is the response to emotional pressure suffered for a prolonged period
of time in which an individual perceives they have little or no control

U2L4 Student Guide 2


9. How does stress affect teens?
● Brain
- anxiety
- Poor sleep
- impaired learning
- reduced thinking
● Body
- impaired immune function
- High blood pressure
- ulcers
- glucose level increases to harmful levels in diabetics

10. What is the relationship between stress and illness?


● The relationship between stress and illness is complex
● The susceptibility to stress varies from person to person
● An event that causes an illness in a person may not cause illness in another person
● Among the factors that influenced the susceptibility to stress are genetic vulnerability, coping
style, type of personality and social support

11. Why is stress not always bad?


● When the body tolerates stress and uses it to overcome lethargy or enhance performance,
the stress is positive, healthy, and challenging
● Stress is positive when it forces us to adapt and thus to increase the strength of our adaptive
mechanisms, warns us that we are not coping well and that a lifestyle change is warranted if
we are to maintain optimal health

12. What is the summary ?


● Stress affects everyone
● Not all stress is bad
● Long-term stress can harm your health
● There are ways to manage stress
● If you feel overwhelmed by stress, ask for help from a health professional

U2L4 Student Guide 3

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