Student Activities

1. a) Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), or metabolism, is the amount of energy that your body requires at rest to maintain normal functions such as breathing, keeping your body temperature stable, etc. BMR is measured in calories. Visit the following website to determine your BMR: http://www.global-fitness.com/BMR_calc.html

b) Identify your Maximum Heart Rate by subtracting your age from 220. 

c) Calculate your Target Heart Rate, which is the optimal rate to reach during aerobic exercise.  Your target heart rate is generally between 50 and 75 percent of your maximum heart rate.

2. Listen to your favorite music on a walkman for 3-5 minutes.  Record your heart rate.  Next listen to music that you don't like and record that rate.  Does your heart rate change? Why or why not?

3. Working with a partner, sit so that you can see each other's eyes.  Turn out the lights and draw the shades in the classroom. Sit in the dark for three minutes. Turn on the lights and note what happens to your partner's pupils. Explain how this reaction is a stress response that is common to everyone.

4. Working with a partner, sit so you can see each other's eyes. Ask each other simple addition problems (2+2, 8+7, etc.) You should try not to move your eyes away from your partner's eyes.  Increase the difficulty of the math problems (26+68, 37+54, etc.)  Were you able to keep your eyes from moving?  Find out why it is difficult to hold your eyes still while calculating the math problems.

5. Design two of your own experiments using your heart rate to infer stress levels. You can use either real or imagined situations (for example, thinking of a scary movie).

6. Make a list of the different types of environments you encounter each day (school, home, work, bus, etc.) List the stressors or potential stressors that you find in those environments, and rank them according to the degree to which they cause you to feel pressured.  For one week, be aware of these situations, and using the stress management tips above, try to reduce your reactions to these stressors. Write a few paragraphs about your experiences.

7. As a class, sit quietly at your desks with your eyes closed and try to relax.  Your teacher, or another student, should be designated to observe students' eye movements. Count how many students kept their eyes still, and how many did not.  Everyone should then take 5-10 deep breaths, still with their eyes closed.  Count again how many students' eyes were moving, and how many were fairly still. Discuss if the breathing made any difference, and the possible reasons for the results.