Running head: A SHORT FILM

A Short Film

Pierce Fryar

Waxahachie Global High

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Table of Contents

Abstract..2

How the Brain Develops..3

Figure 1.1:

Healthy vs. Unhealthy Brain Development..

Understanding the Problem..

Stress

Anxiety..

Sleep deprivation.

Depression.

Figure 1.2:

Student Athletes vs. Normal students

The Education System.

How we deal with Stress

College vs. High School.

Reference.
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Abstract

Anxiety and Stress is a serious disease that plagues people of all ages all around

the world. Throughout the ages people have dealt with this in many different

ways. Stress causes the brain of its victims to develop in different manors that

are harmful to their physical condition.

Keywords: anxiety, stress, brain development, sleep deprivation

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How the Brain Develops

During the ageing process of a child the brain grows at an extremely fast

rate. According to the Neuroscience Institution for Kids the brain gains 250,000

neurons every day. The brain continues to grow for 2 years after birth and by the

end of the first two years the brain is at 80% of the adult size. The key to brain

growth after neuron development is completed is through the use of Glial Cells.

The brains Glia continue to divide and multiply until the brain is fully developed.

The first step in brain development is the start of the Nervous System. After only

16 days the Neural Plate has started to form and the rest of the System starts to

follow. This eventually forms the spinal cord and then the rest of the brains core

functions start to wrap up their development. The first sense that humans

develop is touch, by eight weeks human infants can feel. Once the brain is fully

developed it weighs roughly 1,000 grams (Sadowski, 1978).

Figure 1.1: A visual representation of the human brain

Healthy vs. Unhealthy Brain Development

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Brain development, especially during the earlier learning phases of life, is

extremely important. While the brain develops it is critical that it does so properly.

If the brain develops wrong, the person could see signs of Cognitive impairment,

Obesity, Social impairment, and other long-term problems. (Mokler, 2002) When

the brain starts to develop in an unhealthy manor, some regions of the brain are

physically smaller than healthy ones. This causes the brain to lose crucial

functions in aspects of Language, Reasoning skills, Memory, and the ability to

thrive in schools.

Understanding the Problem

Stress and Anxiety are closely related and understandably in every aspect

of life. Throughout everyday a certain level of stress is normal. With a lot of

stress and anxiety in the world it is easy to mistake the two.

Stress

Stress is caused by what is called a Stressor this is something that is

bringing un-needed worries and hardships into your every day life. Stress comes

from the pressures we feel in life, as we are pushed by work or any other task

that puts undue pressure on our minds and body, adrenaline is released,

extended stay of the hormone causes depression, a rise in the blood pressure

and other negative changes and effects (How Is Anxiety Different From Stress?

2015).

Anxiety

Anxiety is stress that continues after that stressor is gone. Stress can

come from any situation or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry,
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nervous, or even anxious. What is stressful to one person is not necessarily

stressful to another. Along with anxiety people suffer from other ailments.

According to Health Status,

With anxiety, fear overcomes all emotions accompanied by worry and

apprehension, making a person a recluse and a bagful of jitters. Other

symptoms are chest pains, dizziness, and shortness of breath and panic

attacks. Anxiety interferes with normal life. Excessive anxiety is often

associated with other psychiatric conditions, such as depression. Anxiety

is considered abnormal when it is very prolonged or severe, it happens in

the absence of a stressful event, or it is interfering with everyday activities

such as going to work.

From this, anxiety is a much more serious problem in regards to everyday life. Its

a issue that can seep into ever aspect of someones day. Anxiety on a surface

level seems like its own self-pity party, but under a deeper and more observant

inspection, anxiety is a cancerous virus that can destroy lives.

Sleep Deprivation

Sleep is a very important thing for the human body. Sleep allows us to

recharge and our brain to consolidate memories. Without proper sleep our bodies

dont repair muscles or retain memories as well. Stress is a huge factor in

causing people not to sleep well. In America alone it is the cause for almost half

of sleep problems.

Survey findings show that stress may be getting in the way of quality

sleep. American adults report sleeping an average of 6.7 hours a night

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less than the minimum recommendation of seven to nine hours.6 In

addition, 42 percent of adults report that their sleep quality is fair or poor

and 43 percent report that stress has caused them to lie awake at night in

the past month.

From their findings we can conclude that according to the American Physiological

Association when stress levels increase, sleep levels decrease.

Depression

Another huge factor in dealing with all of this is depression. Whether

depression is an outcome of stress and anxiety or a cause for it is irrelevant.

Either way stress, anxiety, and depression go hand in hand.

Figure 1.2: some stats on depression

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Students Athletes vs. Normal Students

About 30 percent of the 195,000 respondents to a recent American

College Health Association (ACHA) survey reported having felt depressed in the

last 12 months, and 50 percent reported having felt overwhelming anxiety during

the same period (Hwang 1).

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Reference:

Alex Groberman, Fri, January 13, 2017. (n.d.). Difference Between Stress

and Anxiety. Retrieved February 08, 2017

How is Anxiety Different from Stress? - Stress and anxiety. (2017, January

10). Retrieved February 08, 2017

Mind, Body and Sport: Depression and anxiety prevalence in student-

athletes. (2014, November 10). Retrieved February 08, 2017

Neuroscience For Kids. (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2017

Publications, H. H. (n.d.). Understanding the stress response. Retrieved

February 08, 2017

Sleep Deprivation and Stress: How Stress Affects Sleep. (n.d.). Retrieved

February 08, 2017

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