Stress and Irritability

During the busiest time of a student’s year, high schoolers, including myself, experience a lot of stress from AP tests, final exams, college applications, extracurricular activities, and much more. But how does this stress affect our behavior and actual performance? 

Our brain is central in giving out commands, and stress is a hormone that plays a significant role in how we behave. Recently, I've noticed that I tend to be more moody around my friends and family, and I can actually see how my stress affects them. I want to explain how you might stop yourself from getting to this point, much like I'm trying. 

Stress comes from the hormone cortisol, and when the brain (hypothalamus) senses a stressful situation, like the common stressors of tests, it signals the pituitary gland, which signals the adrenal glands. These adrenal glands release cortisol into the bloodstream. Cortisol’s function includes increasing glucose levels, suppressing non-essential systems (digestion and immune), but most notably, enhancing focus and alertness. While this focus and alertness are beneficial for short-term problems, chronic stress can be detrimental to memory, sleep, and concentration. 

Increased irritability

There are many ways different regions of the brain are affected by prolonged exposure to cortisol. Our prefrontal cortex determines impulses and emotions that we show in our behavior. Prolonged release of cortisol, in turn, weakens the prefrontal cortex needed to make crucial decisions on how we act or behave. The amygdala, which is the emotional center for anger and fear, becomes hyperactive, leading to exaggerated responses of these emotions. Lastly, the hippocampus, which manages stress levels, becomes damaged (through overstimulating neurons, excess calcium into neurons, and cell death) and cannot turn the stress signals off. 

These factors show that taking care of stressors in your life is important. While as teens, it is our job to be students, I think we should take care of our bodies just as well. I’m rooting for everyone who has tests coming up and further good results from all! While these concepts are broader, you can study neuroendocrinology if you would like to learn more. Neuroendocrinology is the study of the brain and its control of hormones that affect the brain itself and the body. 

References

“Chronic Stress Puts Your Health at Risk.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 1 Aug. 2023, www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress/art-20046037. Accessed 20 May 2025.

Dziurkowska, Ewelina, and Marek Wesolowski. “Cortisol as a Biomarker of Mental Disorder Severity.” Journal of Clinical Medicine, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 8 Nov. 2021, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8584322/#:~:text=Initially%2C%20excessive%20levels%20of%20cortisol,%2C%20emotional%20lability%2C%20and%20depression. Accessed 20 May 2025.