Can stress affect academic performance?

Though a small amount of stress is good for keeping us all on our toes, too much can have serious effects on our health often resulting in high blood pressure, depression and difficulty sleeping. In addition to this researchers have now found there is in fact a connection between high stress levels and reduced academic performance.

The study was conducted by experts from the University of Minnesota and involved surveying almost 10,000 students at 14 different two and four years schools. The experts compared the students grades with health problems such as stress, alcohol consumption, smoking etc and they concluded that the students exhibiting unhealthy behaviour had significantly lower grades.

The researchers also found that stress management played an important role, with students who managed to handle this effectively performing much better than those who couldn't. The researchers hope that this will encourage colleges and schools to provide their students with resources which could help them to manage stress.

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