The Effects of Physical Activity on Burnout and Stress in Second‐Year Medical Students

Abstract

Medical students experience higher than average levels of burnout and stress as they learn to adapt to the rigors of medical school. Due to the demanding structure of medical education, students may forego exercise, healthy diets, social interactions, and sleep. Healthy habits such as sleep, diet, and exercise have been shown to impact academic performance and future functions as physicians. In addition, as exercise training has been shown to reduce oxidative stress, it is through this pathway that the cortisol‐induced stress response may be blunted. We hypothesize that exercise can reduce the self‐perceived levels of stress in second‐year medical students. Fitbits were distributed to second‐year medical students and were used to monitor the activity, steps, and heart rate during the second half of the year as well as during their United States Medical Licensure Exam (USMLE) Step 1 dedicated test preparation period. Each person was also given a stress survey to fill out during the week of their exam, as well as during the week of their USMLE Step 1. Students self‐reported whether they were a low, moderate, or high exercise activity person, which coincided with their resting heart rates, as confirmed by literature. Our results showed that students who had self‐reported low exercise activity had higher stress scores in the Women’s Health, Ears‐Nose‐Throat, and one of two Neurology‐psychiatry blocks, as well as during the USMLE Step 1 detected test preparation period. Stress levels in general increased as the year progressed to the Step 1 exam. There was also a significant negative correlation between sleeping hours and stress levels. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that those students who perform higher levels of physical activity report lower levels of stress, which could possibly occur via a reduction in the oxidative stress‐induced cortisol response. In addition, the reduction of sleep time may have altered the circadian cycle‐responding stress hormone, cortisol, resulting in the perceived level of increased stress that the students reported.