Resting Heart Rate, Sleep, and Stress: The Physiological Stress Response of NCAA Division III Female Student-Athletes
Name: Riley Thorr
Major: Biology
Minor: Physical Education
Advisor: Nicholas Brandley; Laura Sirot (second reader)
It is no question that college students experience high levels of stress, and the addition of athletic commitments significantly increases the workload of student-athletes. The present study aimed to determine if heart rate (HR), resting heart rate (RHR), and various sleeping patterns provided measurements of the physiological stress response in NCAA Division III female student-athletes. Eight varsity women’s basketball players at The College of Wooster (n=8) were required to wear a Fitbit to track continuous HR and complete surveys regarding their sleep and perceived academic, athletic, and social stress during five pre-determined collection periods throughout the academic year. Results indicated that whether subjects took a nap provided the best model for predicting RHR, collection week offered the most parsimonious model for predicting sleep duration, and perceived academic stress acted as the best predictor for sleep quality and total time spent in bed. These results suggest that stress experienced by student-athletes has led to chronic stress, rather than situational acute stress events that would initiate a physiological response. Further research of sleep architecture and heart rate variability (HRV) is required to determine a standard physiological measurement of stress.
Posted in Comments Enabled, Independent Study, Symposium 2023 on April 14, 2023.
5 responses to “Resting Heart Rate, Sleep, and Stress: The Physiological Stress Response of NCAA Division III Female Student-Athletes”
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Wow! What an amazing post and an interesting topic to learn more about! Wooster is lucky to have such a smart girl! She is clearly going places
You are amazing!!! This is such a relevant and interesting topic. I can’t wait to see what you’ll accomplish next! So proud of you always, Little Sis!❤️ Congrats on finIShing!
This is amazing!! Such a relevant and important topic. I can’t wait to see what you’ll accomplish next. So proud of you always, Little Sis!❤️
Awesome job, Riley. This is a fascinating I.S. and ties wonderfully to what you want to do in life after Wooster.
Congratulations Riley girl!! So so proud of you!