Stressing Out? Try Stressing Good Health

Objective

Students will understand the stress response in animals and humans, the physiological changes associated with stress, how it can be measured, and how it can be managed for optimal health.

National Science Education Standards

• Content Standard A:  Ability to Do Scientific Inquiry (9-12)

Understandings About Scientific Inquiry

• Content Standard C:  Life Science (9-12)

Behavior of Organisms

• Content Standard F:  Science in Personal and Social Perspectives (9-12)

Personal and Community Health

Warm-Up

Ask for two student volunteers (male and female) to come up to the front of the classroom to do a simple experiment.  Ask them to take their pulse by placing two fingers lightly on the underside of the wrist.  Have the class keep track of time for fifteen seconds, then ask the volunteers to multiply the number they got by four to find the number of beats per minute. Compare both students' heart rates.  Next, the teacher should find his or her heart rate, and compare it to those of the students.  Ask the class how they would explain any differences between males and females, and older vs. younger people. Ask the two student volunteers to do jumping jacks for one minute and measure their heart rates again. Ask the class to explain the differences between the resting heart rates, and the rates after exercising.

Background

Tips for Managing Stress

Student Activities

Assessment

Extension

Additional Resources

All About Stress

http://www.lindaland.com/stressbook/bookindex.htm

Information on Heart Rates

http://www.heartmonitors.com/heart_rate_basics.htm

The Stress Response

http://www.howtorelax.com/stress_response.htm

Helping Teenagers With Stress

http://www.focusas.com/Stress.html

Music and Stress Reduction

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/surgm.html

Blood Pressure and Health

http://www.lifeclinic.com/focus/blood/whatisit.asp