Engaging in sports as a method to enhance the stress resilience of a student's body

Abstract

Enhancing students' resilience against exam-related stress remains a pressing concern for both researchers and educators. Sports activities have been identified as a potential avenue to mitigate the adverse effects of psycho-emotional stress associated with exams. Research objective: To evaluate the impact of sports activities on the adaptation of university students' functional and psychophysiological systems to the stress induced by exams. Materials and methods. 160 boys and girls (aged 17.8±1.2) who were university students in the Altai Territory took part in the research. The students were divided into 2 groups according to their relation to sports activities, non-sports (n=94) and students who have been actively engaged in various sports for at least 3 years (n=66). The examination of students was carried out during the inter-sessional period and on the day of the exam. To assess the physiological parameters of the students’ cardiovascular system and higher nervous activity during the inter-sessional period and on the day of the exam, the «BioMysh-Physiologist» software and hardware complex of the «Neurolab» company (Russia) was used. The following parameters were studied: variation chronocardiometry, spectral analysis of heart rhythm and central hemodynamics. Of the psychophysiological research methods, the «Attention distribution» test was used. Results. It was found that the students-athletes’ indicators values of the cardiovascular system and the psychophysiological status are significantly higher than those of students who do not do sports, p<0.05. These data indicate higher characteristics of stress resistance in the body of male and female athletes compared to students who ignore sports activities. Conclusions. The data obtained in the research can be implemented in practical recommendations for exam stress prevention among students and in the promotion of physical activity among the population. © JPES.