Episodic stress associated with writing a graduation thesis and free cortisol secretion after awakening

Shuhei Izawa*, Nagisa Sugaya, Namiko Ogawa, Yuichiro Nagano, Masako Nakano, Emiko Nakase, Kentaro Shirotsuki, Kosuke Chris Yamada, Kazuhiko Machida, Masahisa Kodama, Shinobu Nomura

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    20 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Cortisol secretion after awakening, an index of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis activity, appears to be related to psychosocial stressors, or to symptoms caused by psychosocial stressors. The relationship between the quality, duration, and magnitude of psychosocial factors and cortisol secretion is however, unclear. Therefore, the effect of episodic stress associated with writing a graduation thesis on cortisol secretion after awakening was investigated. Saliva samples were collected from 10 undergraduate students at awakening, and 30, 45, and 60 min after awakening 1 month, 2 weeks, and a few days before the thesis submission and 1 week after the submission. They also completed the Short form of Profile of Moods Scale (POMS-S) on the night before each sampling. Results indicated that cortisol levels were higher a few days before the thesis submission compared to 1 month before submission. Scores of "Fatigue" and "Tension-Anxiety" in POMS-S were also higher a few days before submission. These results suggest that episodic stress associated with writing a graduation thesis caused an increase in cortisol levels after awakening.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)141-145
    Number of pages5
    JournalInternational Journal of Psychophysiology
    Volume64
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2007 May

    Keywords

    • Awakening
    • Cortisol
    • Episodic stress
    • Graduation thesis

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Behavioral Neuroscience

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