IHP 200 Module 5 Adulthood Short Paper Example

Running on Empty: Stress, Sleep and the Health of a Working Parent

[Student Name]

Southern New Hampshire University

IHP 200: Wellness Across the Lifespan

Module Five Short Paper

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

Running on Empty: Stress, Sleep and the Health of a Working Parent

Middle adulthood often brings the heaviest load of responsibilities: work, children, aging parents and bills, frequently all at once. The stress of these years is so common that it can seem normal, but research shows it can shape health for decades. This paper examines chronic stress through a composite patient at Brookside Family Health Center, explains how stress affects the body and health, considers the role of sleep and proposes realistic steps for someone with very little spare time.

The Patient

Marcus is a 41-year-old single father of two, ages nine and twelve. He works full time in a distribution center and three evenings a week driving for a delivery app to cover rent after his hours were cut. He came in for headaches that start most afternoons. His blood pressure was 142/90, up from 128/82 two years ago. He sleeps about five hours on work nights, often waking at 3 a.m. worrying about money. He skips lunch, drinks four or five energy drinks a day and has gained fifteen pounds in two years. He says he has no time for exercise and feels guilty about missing his children's games.

How Stress Affects the Body

McEwen (1998) described how the body responds to challenges through allostasis, the process of adapting by releasing stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline, raising heart rate and blood pressure and mobilizing energy. In brief bursts, this machinery keeps people safe. Problems arise when they are called on too often, fail to shut off, fail to adapt to repeated challenges or are inadequate. The cumulative cost of this overuse he called allostatic load, and he linked it to high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, abdominal fat, impaired immune function, memory problems and other conditions. Sleep deprivation, he noted, is itself a stressor that adds to the load.

Stress and Disease

Cohen et al. (2007) reviewed research connecting psychological stress to disease. They found evidence that stress contributes to depression, cardiovascular disease and the progression of some infections, including HIV, and they described two main pathways. One is behavioral: stressed people tend to sleep less, eat worse, exercise less, smoke and drink more and skip medical care. The other is physiological: sustained activation of stress hormone systems and the sympathetic nervous system alters immune function, blood pressure and inflammation. They noted that the effects of stress depend on how long it lasts and how people appraise and cope with it.

Applying the Research to Marcus

Marcus shows both pathways. Behaviorally, he sleeps too little, skips meals, relies on energy drinks and has stopped exercising. Physiologically, his rising blood pressure, afternoon headaches, weight gain around the middle and 3 a.m. waking are consistent with a stress system that rarely switches off. In McEwen's terms, he is accumulating allostatic load. His stress is not a character flaw; it is a reasonable response to financial strain and long hours. That distinction matters, because advice that ignores his circumstances, such as telling him to relax, is likely to feel dismissive.

The Role of Sleep

Watson et al. (2015) recommended at least seven hours of sleep per night for adults, reporting that regularly sleeping less is associated with weight gain, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, depression and impaired immune function and attention. At five hours, Marcus loses about ten hours of recommended sleep every work week. Improving sleep could ease several problems at once: his blood pressure, headaches, cravings for energy drinks and his ability to cope with daily stress.

Realistic Steps

Marcus needs steps that cost little time or money. The first is sleep protection: stopping caffeine after 2 p.m., replacing afternoon energy drinks with water and setting a consistent bedtime on nights he does not drive. The second is movement built into his day, such as a brisk ten-minute walk during breaks, since some activity is better than none. The third is food he can manage: a packed lunch prepared the night before with his children. The fourth addresses the source of stress: the clinic's social worker can help him apply for benefits his family may qualify for and review a budget, which could reduce the evening driving that cuts his sleep. The physician will recheck his blood pressure in four weeks before considering medication.

Table 1. Steps Matched to Stress Pathways

Note. Steps were chosen with the patient for feasibility.

Social Support

Marcus also mentioned that his sister lives nearby and has offered to help with the children. Accepting one evening of help a week could give him time to rest or exercise. Supportive relationships are among the strongest buffers against the effects of stress, and he may benefit from seeing help as a health step rather than a failure.

What the Clinic Should Watch

The follow-up visit in four weeks gives the team a chance to see whether the steps are working and whether Marcus needs more help. The medical assistant will recheck his blood pressure and ask how many nights he slept at least six hours, how many energy drinks he is drinking and whether the headaches have eased. The physician will screen for depression, since chronic stress and poor sleep raise the risk, and ask directly about alcohol, which some people use to fall asleep. If his blood pressure remains above 140/90 despite changes, medication may be needed, and starting it would not mean the lifestyle steps failed. The team should also check whether the benefits application went through, because relief from financial strain may do more for his health than any single habit.

Conclusion

Marcus's headaches and rising blood pressure are signals of allostatic load built by financial strain, long hours and too little sleep. Research explains how stress works through both behavior and physiology, and it suggests that small, realistic changes, especially protecting sleep and easing the root stressor, can lighten the load. For working parents, wellness advice works best when it fits the life they actually have.

References

Cohen, S., Janicki-Deverts, D., & Miller, G. E. (2007). Psychological stress and disease. JAMA, 298(14), 1685-1687. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.298.14.1685

McEwen, B. S. (1998). Protective and damaging effects of stress mediators. New England Journal of Medicine, 338(3), 171-179. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199801153380307

Watson, N. F., Badr, M. S., Belenky, G., Bliwise, D. L., Buxton, O. M., Buysse, D., Dinges, D. F., Gangwisch, J., Grandner, M. A., Kushida, C., Malhotra, R. K., Martin, J. L., Patel, S. R., Quan, S. F., & Tasali, E. (2015). Recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult: A joint consensus statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society. Sleep, 38(6), 843-844. https://doi.org/10.5665/sleep.4716