Control Strategies for Self-Reflective Research:
A Behavioural Insights Experiment

The Effects of Mental Health Breaks on Stress Levels: A Self-Experiment

Kimberley A. Ilott

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Athabasca University

BEHV655: Self-Directed Behaviour

Dr. Elnaz Vaghef Mahrabani

August 14, 2022

​

​​

Abstract

Using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) this self-experimentation project looks to identify the impact of mental health breaks.  The PSS uses ten questions to calculate a daily score, and the daily scores were averaged to obtain a weekly score. The experimental timeframe was eleven weeks, two base period weeks and nine implementation period weeks. Over the eleven-week duration I used daily data capture to plot the correlation between stress levels and scheduled breaks; with the underlaying theory being that the more mental health breaks observed, the lower the PSS daily and weekly scores. The research utilizes a scoring matrix methodology, looking at daily, average, and cumulative data points that have been plotted and compared over the duration of the eleven-week self-experimentation project.

​

The Effects of Mental Health Breaks on Stress Levels

Since my jump into leadership in October 2021, I have found that I have become increasingly high-strung, agitated, and unable to fully relax. Long working hours combined with a young family has made me feel frazzled and discombobulated. To compound issues, I opted to begin my masters while struggling to balance a thriving career and the family life that needs me. At the commencement of the BEHV 655 Self-Directed Behaviour course in May 2022, I wanted to use the required self-experiment study as an attempt to reduce my feeling of being overwhelmed due to perceived stress.

​

Lehrhaupt and Meibert (2017) suggest that “in science there is no single definition of the word stress…[and] the word generally points to mental or physical strain or discomfort…however, people play down the effect of stress on their lives, because being stressed has largely negative connotations in our society”. Dr. Hans Selye, an endocrinologist who first discovered stress as a syndrome in lab rats in 1935 (Viner, 1999), brought stress triggers, or stressors, to the mainstream studies of psychology and science.  Stress triggers, or stressors, can include physiological, environmental, work-related, or social factors, and can be both acute (temporary) or chronic, as well as foreseeable and unforeseeable.

​

Given the research by Lehrhaupt and Meibert (2017) as well as Dr. Hans Selye (Viner, 1999), it was probable that my feelings of overwhelm could be caused by stress manifesting itself in my body.  “At an individual level it is important to understand the specific triggers or activities that cause [stress]” (Evans-Howe, 2016). Coping with stress requires an ability to recognize the existence and signs of stress response, an understanding of specific triggers or activities that cause stress, and an understanding of effective control strategies (Evans-Howe, 2016).

​

The purpose of this self-experimentation study is to identify if implementing a control strategy is an effective method of lowing stress and improving overall mood. In this study, the scheduling of regular mental health breaks each day was the strategy employed and daily measurement of stress by a scoring matrix was used measure the strategy’s effectiveness. Based on the literature reviewed, I hypothesize that through regularly scheduled, and increased frequency of, mental health breaks the impact of stress triggers can be lessened leading to an improvement in my mood.

​

Method

Research Participant

For this single-subject study, I was the only research participant. I am a thirty-seven-year-old woman with four school-age children and a thriving career in excluded leadership in the B.C. Public Service. My role has long hours, averaging ten hours a day, in addition to having a mobile that is on for twelve hours per day every weekday. When combining the sheer number of hours with the quantity of work, I often feel overwhelmed, as though there are not enough hours and usually do not take the necessary breaks. I work out a minimum of thirty minutes five days a week to lower anxiety and safeguard my mental health. However, I felt this strategy was not reducing my feelings of being overwhelmed enough and was curious whether an additional strategy targeting my workday hours would be beneficial in improving my overall wellbeing.

​

Experimental Design

I used an AB research design that consisted of a two-week baseline period followed by a nine-week intervention period. The intervention applied within the intervention period was the scheduling of mental health breaks throughout my day.  I chose an AB design as I wanted to provide enough time to draw conclusions on the effectiveness, and impact, of mental health breaks using daily and weekly data.  Qualitative measurement (how I was feeling) was monitored daily in both baseline and intervention periods, at the end of each day, using Sheldon Cohen et al.’s (1994) Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Cohen et al.’s (1994) PSS is the “most widely used psychological instrument for measuring the perception of stress”.

​

Procedures

Mental Health Breaks

At the beginning of the implementation period (duration: nine-weeks) I began scheduling mental health breaks into my work calendar during weekdays, and in my personal calendar for weekends. Weekday mental health breaks were scheduled three times daily, occurring roughly at the same time each day: 10:00 am; 12:30 pm; 3:00 pm. Scheduled duration of mental health breaks was up to 30 minutes. During the weekday scheduled times, I would move away from my computer, at a minimum; activities during the mental health breaks varied (such as getting coffee, stretching, reading for personal pleasure, walking) but always involved going outside. Weekend scheduled times had me doing much the same but focused heavily on taking quiet time away from my busy household outside; duration of mental health breaks was shorter during the weekends due to my family dynamic.

​

Stress Measurement

At the end of each day, I answered Cohen et al.’s ten PSS questions using a scoring matrix (Appendix 1) that ranged from 0 (never) to 4 (constantly).  Each question was given a corresponding score based on the activities and situations of that day. For questions 4, 5, 7, and 8, the scores were reversed, as an example, if for question 4 I assigned a score of 1 (slightly) in my ability to handle my personal problems, when tallying up the score for the day, the actual score for question 4 would be 3. Scoring matric reversal for questions 4, 5, 7, and 8 was: 0=4; 1=3; 2=2; 3=1; 4=0.

Individual question scores were tallied after answering all ten questions to derive a total perceived stress score for the day: the higher the score, the higher the perceived stress. The total daily perceived stress scoring matrix, as per Cohen et al.’s (1994) PSS, is: 0-13 (low stress); 14-26 (moderate stress); 27-40 (high stress).

​

Data Analysis

At the end of each day for both the baseline and intervention periods, I answered the PSS ten questions, recording the score I assigned to the question in an associated Excel chart. There was a secondary chart to identify the reverse value for questions 4, 5, 7, and 8. I set up the Excel chart to calculate the daily PSS score using the initial scores for questions 1-3, 6, and 9-10, as well as the reversal scores for questions 4, 5, 7, and 8. At the end of every week, the Excel file calculated the average weekly PSS score based off the daily PSS scores within a given week.

​

During the baseline period, only my answers to Cohen et al.’s (1994) PSS questions were plotted. At the commencement of the intervention period, I plotted the number of mental health breaks taken during the day out of the total number scheduled (3) per day. Both the number of mental health breaks taken as well as my responses to Cohen et al.’s (1994) PSS questions were plotted daily for the duration of the intervention period (nine-weeks). Three graphs were used to evaluate the relationship between mental health breaks and my perceived stress. These graphs consisted of two singular graphs, one for mental health break count and one for the overall daily PSS score, as well as one graph that plotted both mental health break counts and PSS score. A fourth graph was used to plot the daily PSS rating against the weekly average PSS rating and includes a linear trend line; this graph provides a visual representation of the overall impact mental health breaks had on my perceived stress.

​

Results

As indicated above, the four graphs were plotted to assess the correlation, if any, between the frequency of mental health breaks and overall perceived stress. Figure 1 shows my daily PSS scores for the entirety of the eleven-week study. As seen in Figure 1, my PSS scores were not stable and there was significant variance in the data plotted, with an average PSS score close to 20. As shown in Appendix 1, Cohen et al. (1994) categorize a PSS score of 20 as the individual experiencing moderate stress (PSS range of 14-26).

Figure 1: Perceived Stress Scale Scores

​

​​

​​

​​​

​​

Note. The perforated line indicates the boundary between the baseline and intervention periods.

​

At the commencement of the intervention period, daily mental health breaks were scheduled (3 per day) and made a priority. Figure 2 shows the plotting of the data associated with the count of mental health breaks daily. Similarly, to Figure 1, Figure 2 data is variable and not stable. Work-related capacity constraints were the main driver behind not taking all three scheduled mental health breaks in a day. The plotted data suggests that I averaged between one and two mental health breaks a day.

Figure 2: Mental Health Break Counts

 

​

​

​

​

Note. The perforated line indicates the boundary between the baseline and intervention periods.

 

The third graph, Figure 3, plots both the PSS data from Figure 1 and the mental health break data from Figure 2 against each other on separate axes; PSS data is plotted on the primary vertical axis, while mental health break data is plotted on the secondary vertical axis. As seen in Figure 3, the plotted data suggests that there is a correlation between the quantity of mental health breaks and my overarching perceived stress for a given day; for the most part, when mental health break count is high, perceived stress is low, and vice versa.

Figure 3: Perceived Stress Scale Scores versus Mental Health Break Counts

 

​

​

​

​

Note. The perforated line indicates the boundary between the baseline and intervention periods.

​

Finally, the fourth graph, Figure 4, plots the daily PSS rating as well as the average weekly PSS rating.  The daily rating data was plotting on the primary vertical axis while the weekly average data rating was plotted on the secondary vertical axis.  It is important to note that the average weekly PSS data points are plotted on the graph on the Monday for a given week ahead; a particular data point is plotted on a Monday but uses the full week ahead (Monday-Sunday) to calculate the weekly average. Further to the two datasets, a liner trend line was included. The trendline clearly identifies that my overall perceived stress was on a downward trend after implementing mental health breaks.

Figure 4: Perceived Stress Score Daily versus Weekly Average

 

​

​

​

​

Note. The perforated line indicates the boundary between the baseline and intervention periods.

​

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to identify if implementing a control (mental health breaks) was an effective method for lowering of stress and improving overall mood. At the commencement of the study, I hypothesized that through regularly scheduled and increased frequency of mental health breaks in my day, my stress levels would be lessened. Overall, the data supports my initial hypothesis.  Prior to the implementation period, PSS scores were between 25-30, or moderate to high stress (Cohen et al., 1994). While the first couple of weeks of the implementation period saw less of a correlation between stress levels and mental health break frequency, as time progressed the data suggests that when I had a high frequency of mental health breaks, my perceived stress was lower, and vice versa. It is worth noting that there are some outliers to this correlation though, there are instances when data plots overlap one another for a given day; this is seen in weeks four and eight.

​

The study was not without its challenges. Workload capacity constraints during weekdays and family dynamics on the weekends made it difficult to have a stable number of mental health breaks each day. As an example, I scheduled my mental health breaks in my work Outlook calendar, however, due to demand, I would often be double, or triple booked over the scheduled break. Furthermore, since recording my PSS score for the day took place in the evening, it may not be an accurate reflection of actual stress felt during the workday.

​

This study’s findings support theoretical concepts and practical implementation of literature pertaining to the management of stress.  Evans-Howe (2016) states that

At an individual level it is important to understand the specific triggers or activities that cause [stress]. Coping with stress requires an ability to recognize the existence and signs of stress response, an understanding of specific triggers or activities that cause stress, and an understanding of effective control strategies.

​

This self-experimentation study targeted one control strategy, the implementation of mental health breaks, and as Evans-Howe (2016) suggests, self-awareness of individual stress triggers is key to managing one’s own stress levels. Further to Evans-Howe (2016), Cohen et al. (1994) identify that

The Perceived Stress Scale is interesting and important because your perception of what is happening in your life is most important. Consider the idea that two individuals could have the exact same events and experiences in their lives...Depending on their perception, total score could put one of those individuals in the low stress category and the total score could put the second person in the high stress category.

 

Cohen et al.’s (2016) thoughts on the individualism of stress and stress factors highlight how standardized controls will fail; individuals experiencing overwhelm due to perceived stress can utilize Cohen et al.’s (1994) standardized questions to identify the level of perceived stress a person is feeling but the identification of a control to limit the impact of the perceived stress level is a very personal decision, what may work for one person may not work for another.

 

In terms of future work, I will be digging into my answers to the ten PSS questions. As I was reviewing the data, I noticed that there were several questions that I regularly applied a poor score to. I suspect that I will need to implement other self-experiments with a personalized control to improve the poor scores through continued stress reduction, feelings of overwhelm, and how easily I am impacted by work situations outside of my control. Additionally, I am keen to understand whether the activity I partake in during my mental health break has an impact on my overall PSS daily score; in this study I did not stipulate the activity during my break time but perhaps yoga or reading would lower my perceived stress more than walking outside or going for coffee.

​

While this study’s intention was to lower my perceived stress levels using mental health breaks, it inadvertently enabled me to identify an effective coping mechanism for the stressors in my life. In closing, data analysis of my eleven-week self-experiment identified a correlation between mental health breaks, their frequency, and the level of perceived stress I was feeling.  Given this direct correlation, I have maintained the coping mechanism, with mental health breaks now becoming a part of my every day.  In future, I will look to further explore the various PSS questions (Cohen et al., 1994) as well as more targeted activities (sub-coping mechanisms) to partake in during my mental health breaks to ensure their effectiveness is maintained.

​

References

Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R. (1994). Perceived stress scale. Measuring stress: A guide for health and social scientists, 10(2), 1-2.

​

Evans-Howe, S. (2016). Managing stress at work in a week: how to manage stress in seven simple steps. Mobius.

​

Lehrhaupt, L., & Meibert, P. (2017). Mindfulness-based stress reduction: The MBSR program for enhancing health and vitality. New World Library.

​

Viner, R. (1999). Putting Stress in Life: Hans Selye and the Making of Stress Theory. Social Studies of Science, 29(3), 391–410. https://doi.org/10.1177/030631299029003003