Awareness about the effect of stress on muscles among undergraduate students

Abstract

Stress affects the body in many ways and causes various damages to the body. Some of the effects include headache, heart problems, fatigue, reduced memory, asthma and insomnia. When the body is stressed, muscles tense up as a reflex action to protect the body against injury. Chronic stress will cause the muscles in the body to be in a state of constant guardedness and leads to stiffness of muscles. This causes muscle pain. The aim of this study is to analyze the awareness level about the effect of stress on muscles in undergraduate students. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among undergraduate students to evaluate the awareness about the effect of stress on muscles. The study population in the study are undergraduate students with a sample size of 100. The questionnaire consisted of 16 questions and was shared to undergraduate students using the online survey platform. The results were obtained and statistically analyzed through SPSS software. 82% of the participants said that they had experienced muscle pain, and the remaining 18% have not experienced muscle pain. 40% of the participants get headaches when stressed, 30% do not, and the other 30% sometimes get headaches when stressed. From the results obtained, we can conclude that a moderate level of awareness is seen in undergraduate students about the effect of stress on muscles. More awareness is required among students.