Tadgear's Articles #1: Introduction

This is the first of 8 articles in which I am writing where I look at the sciences within humanities. To start off, I ask the question, "To what extent does reading affect stress?"

I remember, as a kid, there were these commercials encouraging kids to read. While reading does help in gaining necessary knowledge for the future, there was also the joy of just reading a book for fun. This article will be looking into the second half of that statement: the joy of reading just to read. Specifically, I want to ask how reading affects stress in particular. Many teachers and other guardians recommended reading for those who are experiencing stress, but then I learned about introversion and extroversion and how some are drained mentally without social interaction. This conflict has led to me researching the topic, and I have finally found a conclusion.

First, stress must be defined. Stress is caused by imbalances in adrenaline and cortisol in the body and is usually caused by stressors, or ideas (Social Anxiety, Chemical Imbalances, and Brain Neural Pathways and Associations). These stressors can be fictional/irrational or nonfictional/rational. In response to the increase of adrenaline and cortisol, the body reacts in one of two ways. The person either avoids the stressor, also known as flight, or faces it, also known as fight (Keable D 1997).

Second, the subjects of introverts, ambiverts, and extroverts must be explained. Simply put, introverts are drained by social interaction while extroverts are charged by it. Ambiverts are in the middle, or "average". Judging by this, one would assume that reading then is completely useless to extroverts in terms of reducing stress then, and that introverts will be supercharged by it. Actually though, a study by Daniella Posella of St. Bonaventure University has found that extroverts only use active coping mechanisms in high levels of stress (Posella D). This means that reading, since it is a passive coping mechanism, would be used by all people throughout the introversion-extroversion spectrum and used by introverts during high stress levels. That doesn't answer the question though. The question is asking for the extent to which reading aids in stress.

To answer this question once and for all, I ran my own experiment. Using students at my school, the International Academy of Macomb, I ran a survey to see the effectiveness of reading on their stress levels. I found that despite introverts and ambiverts reading more than extroverts, they ended up having higher stress levels. While 25% of the extroverted students didn't read for fun compared to the 18% of ambiverts and 8% of introverts, the extroverts rated their stress levels on an average of 6.2 out of 10. This compares to the introverts' average of 6.4 and the ambiverts average of 7.1. I was surprised. Why were these the numbers I collected? I researched further, and then I found an answer.

I stated earlier that people, when giving stressors, will either avoid or fight the issue. Reading falls under the category of coping mechanisms that avoid the stressor, also known as "flight". On my survey, I asked when more question: "If you enjoy reading, why?" I want to quote an anonymous student, who said, "I believe that a good book creates a safe place outside of our own world. When you become engulfed in a good story you are transplanted into a new existence where your everyday stresses do not exist." This "existence" that you put yourself in completely eliminates the stressor, but it limited to the book itself. Aaron O'Banion of the Social Anxiety Institute has found that stress can only be treated in the long term (O'Banion 2013). Short-term treatment doesn't work, but that is what reading is. Reading is short-term treatment to stress. This means that stress, in the long term, is not affected by reading.

Overall, reading is not an efficient coping mechanism when it comes to reducing stress in the long term. While it helps in the moment, it has minimal impact on the future, only delaying the inevitable. This will not stop me from reading though, as it is good to escape at times or just relax and take in a good story. I also hope that this outcome doesn't keep you from reading if you find the hobby entertaining. After all, much can be learned from stories. May knowledge spread, and may we all take part in it.

Sources:

Audi, R. (2003). Epistemology: A contemporary Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge. New

York: Routledge.

Cozens, J. F., Payne, R.L. (1999). Stress in Health Professionals: Psychological and

Organisational Causes and Interventions. New York: John Wiley & Sons, LTD.

Keable, D. (1997). The Management of Anxiety: A Guide For Therapists. New York: Churchill

Livingstone.

O’Banion, A. (29 May, 2013). Do Not Rush Yourself: Controlling Adrenaline and Cortisol.

Social Anxiety Institute. Retrieved from 

socialanxietyinstitue.org/social-anxiety-adrenaline-cortisol-slow-and-steady

Posella, D. (n.d.). Coping Styles Used by Introverts and Extroverts in Varying Stress Situations.

Retrieved from

web.sbu.edu/psychology/lavin.daniella.htm

Social Anxiety, Chemical Imbalances, and Brain Neural Pathways and Associations. Social

Anxiety Institute. Retrieved from

socialanxietyinstitute.org/social-anxiety-chemical-imbalances-brain-neural-pathways

Google Sheet Of My Survey Data:

docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dktXpEO7nklVJTpmx-lBxur66xVqzk5Qm5i5gdJFIfA/edit?usp=sharing

Author's Note

Please note here any way I can improve upon my writing for future articles. I want to keep the casual tone so that it is more enjoyable to read, but besides that, I really want to know how I can make my information more interesting.

Sources are in APA. Due to links not being allowed though for my sources, adjustments to the bibliographies of this and future articles were made.