The short version • Biology student Emma Hagen experiences a lot of stress, especially during exam periods.• Researchers at UiT Norway’s Arctic University will measure the stress levels of students using hair samples.• Project manager Kristin Benjaminsen Borch at UiT explains that stress can be both positive and negative.• Almost half of Norwegian students report negative stress.• Nursing student Ingeborg Henanger has learned to handle stress better by getting help from the university’s counseling service. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – During the exam period, I sit at school from the time I wake up until I go to bed. I don’t eat anything because I don’t have time for it, and it destroys the body. Emma Hagen studies biology at UiT Norway’s Arctic University. She experiences a lot of stress in everyday life, especially when there are exams. – I get a headache. So you notice that you are dead tired. After the exam is finished, it takes two weeks before I recover, she says. Now researchers at UiT will measure how stressed the students are – with the help of hair samples. Henrik Balto and Emma Hagen are preparing a presentation they will give in the biology course. Photo: Aslaug Elisabeth Høgsæt Aarsæther / news Stress can be positive Project manager Kristin Benjaminsen Borch says that there are students who want them to research stress. Students must also take part in carrying out the research so that they learn to do research early in their studies. – Stress is something we all need to do what we need to do in our everyday lives, she says. It is a driving force to get things done, and without it we would not have survived. – Nevertheless, it is the case that the strain that we are exposed to through everyday life can become too great, and then it becomes a negative stress. We don’t want that. So stress can be both good and bad, says the researcher. Kristin Benjaminsen Borch is associate professor at UiT Norway’s Arctic University. Photo: Aslaug Elisabeth Høgsæt Aarsæther / news 100 strands of hair One of the methods the researchers will use is to measure the cortisol level in strands of hair from students. The level of cortisol can tell something about how stressed you are. – Hair grows approximately one centimeter a month. When it has grown three centimeters we can say something about your stress level in the last three months, says Borch. In addition to 100 strands of hair from each participant, they will use a questionnaire and interview to find out how they best measure stress, and how the students experience the stress. 100 strands of hair are cut from each participant to measure the level of cortisol. Photo: UIT The way out of stress Nearly half of all Norwegian students state that they experience negative stress in the students’ health and well-being survey. Ingeborg Henanger studies nursing, and says that she is less stressed now that she is in the last year of her degree. – When I started my studies, stress was quite a large part of everyday life, she says. Nursing student Ingeborg Henanger has learned to cope with stress better. Photo: Aslaug Elisabeth Høgsæt Aarsæther / news The student believes it has helped to understand the system better, and to learn what is needed to keep up with the studies. Henanger used an interview offer at the university to overcome the problem. – I was able to talk to someone about my stress, and got help with methods that helped me to stress less, she says. It is important to structure your days so that you have time to do things that give you energy, because it reduces stress, says the student. Do you experience stress in your everyday life? I experience positive stress in everyday life that helps me get things done! I experience negative stress in my everyday life which affects my quality of life. Stress? What is it? Show result
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Hair samples should provide answers to the stress level of students – news Troms and Finnmark
