What stresses our children and how can we help them?
Packed timetables, football training, theatre rehearsals, extra lessons in maths, French or German: the majority of schoolchildren today feel permanently or at least temporarily stressed.
As part of the Juvenir study, the Jacobs Foundation surveyed around 1,500 Swiss young people aged 15 and over in 2014 about stress and pressure to perform. Almost half of those surveyed reported that stress, pressure to perform and excessive demands were part of their everyday lives. School was the main source of stress. Self-imposed pressure to perform and stress were often caused by fears about the future and worries about future career choices.
Female pupils in particular suffer. However, the stress experienced by boys also reduced their well-being and increased self-doubt, listlessness, dejection and sadness.
School is the number 1 stress factor.
Stress also leaves its mark on younger children, as the German University of Bielefeld discovered in 2015: The study of 6- to 16-year-old children showed that one in six children suffers from significant, high levels of stress. This was accompanied by physical symptoms such as sleep problems, headaches, stomach aches and tiredness.
Children with high levels of stress also showed a high potential for aggression and reacted angrily or angrily more often. More than 10 per cent also experience depressive moods or social withdrawal. Other studies have also observed restlessness, lack of concentration, exhaustion, reduced appetite and skin diseases as consequences of stress.
According to the Juvenir study, almost all Swiss adolescents experience their leisure time as stress-free. However, the study by Bielefeld University paints a different picture for younger children aged six to eleven: Over 80 per cent of children with a lot of stress wish they hadmore time for things they enjoy, but at the same time have to attend appointments that they don't enjoy.
Picture: Jim Erickson / Plainpicture
Eustress and distress - both types of stress are harmful in the long term
A large number of studies - including the German Children's Barometer 2017 - indicate that school is the number one source of stress for children. Poor grades, too much homework and pressure from parents to perform are cited by children as the greatest stressors. The self-imposed pressure to achieve a good grade is also frequently mentioned. Added to this are social conflicts such as arguments with parents, siblings or in the classroom.
But how exactly does our brain react to stress? And why do some children hardly mind stressful situations, while others seem to need much more rest? One thing is clear: not all stress is the same. Usually understood as a negative state - as pressure, tension and strain - there are also positive feelings of stress, known as eustress . This occurs, for example, when we organise a party or have to complete tasks that we enjoy doing under pressure. It is stress that is not usually perceived as a burden. Neither type of stress is healthy in the long term. However, it is primarily the negatively experienced stress, known as distress, that can harm us in the long term.
How stress affects children's bodies
Stress is the body's reaction to stressors - i.e. stress-inducing factors such as exams, deadlines or arguments. The so-called hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis), in simple terms our «stress axis», is then activated and adrenaline or cortisol is released. The release of messenger substances and hormones is used for communication between the organs.
Our stress regulation system is always active. Its activity increases sharply in the morning after waking up and then decreases steadily throughout the day until it reaches its lowest point at midnight. This background activity takes place in every person every day.
Children sometimes show a completely different pattern of HPA axis activity than adults. Newborn babies, for example, react to unpleasant stimuli with a strong release of stress hormones. Over the course of childhood, resilience increases and more or stronger stimuli are needed to stimulate the HPA axis. Sensitive and caring behaviour from parents can cushion the effects of stress during this time. During the biological maturation process in puberty, the general pattern of activity then becomes similar to that of adults.
If the stress regulation system is disturbed in childhood, the risk of depression increases.
In some children and adults, however, the pattern is altered: The morning rise in hormones is flatter or steeper or the system needs more time to recover after an acute stressful event. Thesechanges can be linked to various physical or mental illnesses such as obesity, anxiety disorders, depression or diabetes.
With regard to depression, the connection has been proven in studies: If the activity of the HPA axis is abnormal in childhood, the risk of suffering depression increases. According to study results from Scandinavian and German researchers, a diagnosis of ADHD or aggressive behaviour in adolescence could also be linked to abnormal HPA axis activity. However, this link has not been confirmed in all studies.
Our body's reaction to acute stress makes evolutionary sense: in pre-civilisation times, humans frequently encountered great dangers. The instinctive reactions were to fight or flee, for both of which the body quickly required additional energy. In an acute stress situation, the brain ensures that the body is maximised in this situation: the heartbeat speeds up and the muscles are supplied with more blood.
However, this is at the expense of other functions such as digestion. Prolonged, intensive activation also has negative consequences for the immune system. If there are enough stress hormones in the body or the threat is over, this is signalled back to the brain and the release of further hormones is stopped. The system thus regulates itself and restores the body to normal functioning.
Negatively experienced stress is particularly harmful when it is chronic. In the case of prolonged stress, the body constantly releases hormones and the organs involved are constantly active. This can result in a faster heartbeat and shallower breathing, neglected digestion and a lowered immune system.
In the long term, frequent infections, digestive disorders, concentration and sleep problems, asthma and cardiovascular complaints can occur. To prevent this from happening, the body always needs time when it is not on alert. This can be achieved by withdrawing from the stressful situation - if possible - and taking time to relax.
How to teach children to reduce stress
As parents, look out for symptoms of stress in children and take them seriously. It is important to remember that stress and stress resistance are very individual : One and the same situation can trigger excessive demands in one child, while another child remains unaffected. Everyone has to find out for themselves what helps them to avoid stress or deal with it better:Is it a jog in the woods? Or reading a good book?
Parents can help their child to find out and create a balance in their everyday life that is helpful for them. The best way to do this is to show them various options: It may help your 16-year-old daughter if she is allowed to talk about her life for an hour every evening. On the other hand, a visit to the swimming pool might be good for your 5-year-old son to take his mind off things.
However, there are things that generally protect against stress. Spending time together with your child and family rituals such as eating dinner together are part of this, as are telling bedtime stories and going on outings together.
Stress resistance can be encouraged in children from an early age: patiently calming a crying baby or comforting a crying toddler. The younger a child is, the more stress and emotions are regulated by the adult carers. They help the infant and child to control their feelings and calm down again. Sensitivity and a good bond are important prerequisites for recognising a child's needs well.
The authors of an anti-stress training programme for children have investigated what children who are more resilient in dealing with everyday stressors do differently. They found that they use strategies such as self-instruction («I'll manage») and distraction, regular sport and good social support from family and friends. This is no different for parents: social support, socialising and exercise are also effective ways of combating stress in adulthood. A balanced, healthy diet is also an important protective factor throughout life.
Dance around the room together - it relieves stress. Even better: yoga and, of course, holidays!
Anti-stress training emphasises the effect of even short breaks in which you simply rest or listen to music, for example. Breaks should therefore not be forgotten, especially during exam preparation phases or on days with a lot of homework.
There are also new technical devices that use «biofeedback» to help people learn to better control their body's stress response: they measure the stress level via the skin on the fingers and report it back to the user. Physical exercises help to learn to feel and control the body better.
However, exercise is more effective for actively reducing stress. If you can't fit a walk into your daily programme, at least dance around the living room together! Yoga is particularly recommended (12 minutes a day or more is effective) as well as activities in daylight - and of course the best thing of all: holidays.
The author
Take part in the LAMA study!
Until July of this year, the LAMA study at the University of Freiburg wants to investigate the connection between regulatory difficulties and the concentration of stress hormones in the body. To this end, the study authors are collecting saliva samples from as many children as possible (briefly put a cotton wool roll in the mouth, send anonymously to the laboratory). The samples are supplemented by questions about the current state of health of the parent and child (seven days). All families with children and young people aged 8 to 15 can take part. Parents of children with ADHD or aggressive behaviour are particularly encouraged to take part. The results of all other children are important for the comparison. All those who take part will receive the results of the study as well as 50 francs in vouchers for their child. Contact: lama@unifr.ch or via the website fns.unifr.ch/lama.
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This article is part 2 of our ongoing series WHAT MAKES CHILDREN SICK from the 05/18 magazine.
Read more in episode 3: When the safe haven is missing.