From all-nighters to health risks: The true impact of chronic stress

Forty-five percent of college students report experiencing chronic stress, or stress above the average level, according to data from The American Institute of Stress. At Hope College, that would be roughly 1,500 students out of 3,400. Stress for this grouping of students may occur on an everyday basis for prolonged periods of time. While being a college student is far from easy, chronic stress shouldn’t become the norm– it carries much more serious consequences than one may expect. 

Alexandria Switzer (’26), a biochemistry major and neuroscience minor, emphasizes the importance of taking care of your brain and discusses the long-term effects that chronic stress can have on your brain and body functions. 

“It’s important to take care of your brain because once you damage it, it’s not something that can fix itself,” she said. Your brain is responsible for nearly everything you do. When you experience stress, your brain can’t tell the difference between imminent danger and something less threatening; therefore, you’re activating your sympathetic nervous system– your fight or flight response,” Switzer explained. 

“Psychology impacts your physiology,” she said. If you’re consistently activating your sympathetic nervous system due to stress, it’s not going to be as effective when you experience real danger. High stress levels lead to chronically higher blood pressure, which can put you at risk for cardiovascular disease. It also suppresses your immune system. “If you’re activating [your sympathetic nervous system] to the point where it’s not as effective,” Switzer explained, “you’re more likely to get sick; you’re not able to recover as quickly.” 

Stress affects mood disorders, too. “If you’re constantly having this sympathetic system activated. . . it’s going to mess with the hormones– the signals that are being sent– and put you at a higher risk for things like depression and anxiety.” 

So, where does stress come from? Switzer says it’s perceptive. “We’re all going to see it differently,” she said. “What really stresses someone out isn’t going to stress someone else out.” But she continued, “For a lot of students, there’s so much pressure on us being involved in so much.” This pressure can make it difficult to maintain balance, leading to uneasiness about deadlines, projects, homework, employment and more. So, how can we manage this stress? Switzer encourages shifting the focus on perspective.

“First, you have to recognize that something is stressing you out,” she said. Once you can identify it, she suggests analyzing your beliefs surrounding the stress trigger. Ask yourself, is this belief negative or disempowering? Then, think about the outcome. What kind of outcome would the negative beliefs around the task warrant? What would occur if you didn’t complete the task? Lastly, she recommends changing your beliefs to something more positive– seeing it as opportunistic instead of burdensome. “Changing your perspective gives you more energy to put towards that stressful event,” Switzer said, “which helps you mitigate it and make it less stressful.” 

Changing your perspective on stress can lead to long-term health benefits. “If stress keeps attacking you and you’re not able to deal with it. . . your overall level of well-being is getting lower,” she said. “If you’re able to handle stress, then you’re functioning well, you’re able to thrive.” Successfully managing stress will allow your immune system to work efficiently; you’ll be less likely to develop mental health issues, and your sympathetic system will be less elevated. 

Not all stress is bad; some stress is beneficial. “Stress is good,” Switzer asserted, “it challenges you to be creative and come up with solutions.” She explained how challenges that induce stress can help build resilience and personal growth. “Acute stress– short periods that you can handle– great,” she reinforced. “But chronic stress where it’s constantly beating at you is not good.” 

Overcoming stress doesn’t have to be a solo task either. Switzer suggests having an empathetic conversation if you notice a friend dealing with large amounts of stress. “Letting them talk about it is the first step,” she said. “We’re social creatures, we need that interaction with people to help build eachother up. . . having the connection and support system that social interaction provides decreases stress,” she added. 

Switzer explained how getting out your stressful feelings can alleviate some of the intensity that comes with chronic stress. She also recommended CAPS, your RAs, and Campus Ministries as resources for students who need to talk about their stress. 

 “I think it’s important to know about your brain,” she concluded. “Learn how to take care of it because it’s part of what keeps you going, it’s what keeps you alive; it’s going to serve you through all of your life.” March 10-16 is Brain Awareness Week. The Neuroscience department is celebrating in advance by visiting local K-12 schools from Feb. 17-22 to lead some fun, brainy activities to spread brain education and awareness. To volunteer, you can contact Aaron Welsch or Alexandria Switzer via email.