The smartphone has become an everyday companion for the majority of the population. In addition to the study-related benefits of having access to materials at any time, facilitating the exchange of information between students and lecturers or improving the teaching and learning experience, smartphone use also comes with risks . For example, use in the evening and at night can be associated with reduced sleep quality and quantity, depressive symptoms and anxiety. It can also have a negative impact on posture and lead to chronic pain in the shoulder, chest and neck area in the long term.
What is procrastination?
What is depression?
What is insomnia?
What is stress?
What is stress management?
What is resilience?
What is digital stress?
What is digital detox?
These are precisely the questions we will address below. We want to inform and motivate people to deal with these topics. You can find out how to do this here.
UHR results 2021
- 40.5 % of students at RPTU report a high level of stress.
- The proportion of students experiencing high levels of stress is significantly higher among female students at RPTU compared to male students at TUK (46.9% vs. 35.3%).
- Most students associate stress with studying: Time pressure, pressure to perform and excessive demands (as of 2016).
What is stress?
Stress is a reaction of the body to internal and external stimuli that shake the balance of the organism. Stress is characterized by increased alertness, heightened attention and a high level of motivation. If this state only lasts for a short time, it is referred to as acute stress . If the inner balance is permanently disturbed by increased demands, this can lead to chronic stress.
Eustress and distress
Stress is not primarily negative and harmful to health. If there is a constant alternation of tension and relaxation, stress is also seen as positive and can have a performance-enhancing and motivating effect. It enables people to adapt well to a situation and react as quickly as possible. Positive stress is also known as eustress. However, if the demands are too high and too little relaxation follows the tension, negative and health-threatening stress arises. This type of stress is known as distress .
The stress reaction
All processes that occur in a person and are triggered by a stressor are referred to as a stress reaction. The following levels are differentiated from each other, but are interrelated and influence each other:
Physical level: energy mobilization and physical activation. If the condition lasts too long, it leads to states of exhaustion
Behavioral level: changed behavior that can be observed by the environment
Cognitive-emotional level: internal psychological processes that are not immediately visible to others
What is digital stress?
Digital stress occurs when a person is unable to deal with the technologies they use in a healthy way. When the use of digital media and technologies leads to stress, this is referred to as digital stress.
How can digital stress be counteracted?
There are various methods to counteract digital stress, as different methods have a stress-reducing effect for different people. Here are a few examples that can help reduce digital stress:
- Positive self-management (e.g. helping to shape your own digitalization)
- Mindfulness exercises, e.g. meditation, breathing exercises, breaks
- Digital detox: take a digital time-out
- Self-discipline: develop your own strategy for dealing with digital media
Demands and stressful conditions that we feel we cannot cope with trigger stress. The subjective perception and personal assessment of the situation play a major role here. These demands and stressful conditions are also known as stressors. Stressors can be divided into
- External stressors caused by the physical environment, e.g. heat
- Internal stressors caused by your own body e.g. hunger, pain
- Mental stressors in connection with performance requirements, e.g. time pressure, exams, excessive demands
- Social stressors e.g. conflicts, competitive situations
The whole body is often affected by the symptoms and consequences of stress. If a person feels stressed, the symptoms can manifest themselves in different areas:
- Individual and social behavioral: e.g. social isolation, addictive behavior
- Cognitive-emotional: e.g. depression, burnout syndrome, sleep disorders
- Physiological, somatic: e.g. gastrointestinal complaints, musculoskeletal disorders, cardiovascular diseases, increased susceptibility to infectious diseases
- Cellular, molecular: e.g. cancer
The blurring of the boundary between leisure time and studying means that students are less able to relax. Various other factors contribute to the development of digital stress:
- Being online all the time
- Excessive demands due to media multitasking
- Dependence on cell phones due to permanent availability
- Flood of information
- Pressure to adapt
- Fear of missing out (FOMO)
- Constant self-presentation and social comparisons
- High dependency on digital tools and lack of technical support
- Additional analog factors such as double workload and pressure to perform
Similar to stress in general, digital stress can also have negative effects on the body. Possible signs of digital stress are
- Excessive demands
- insomnia
- addictive tendencies
- A sharp increase in physical complaints
- Difficulty concentrating
- Reduced attention span
- Emotional exhaustion
- depression
- burnout
Blaszcyk, W., Lesener, T., Müller, J., Neben, D., Sprenger, M., Dastan, B., Diering, L.-E., Jochmann, A., Juchem, C., Stammkötter, K., Stauch, M., Wolter, C., & Gusy, B. (2022). How healthy are students at the University of Kaiserslautern? Results of the survey 06/21 (Publication series of the AB Public Health: Prevention and Psychosocial Health Research: No. 04/P21). Berlin: Free University of Berlin.
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