Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1
1.) Opportunity:
Young
adults are suffering from elevated stress due to sleep deprivation stemming
from poor time management skills
v
The
Who: Young adults
v
The
What: Suffering from elevated stress
v
The
Why: Sleep deprivation stemming from poor time management skills is causing
elevated stress levels in young adults.
2.)
a.
Testing the Who: Throughout the world, young
adults are suffering from elevated stress levels. This is not an issue that is
more prevalent in a specific gender. As young adults take on more
responsibilities in their lives, they are not equipped with ways in which to
manage their time efficiently, thus leading to less sleep, which leads to
elevated stress, in them trying to achieve all they are attempting. Many of the “Who” in this exercise will most
likely be college students trying to keep up with their studies, while working
full-time jobs or raising families at home.
b.
Testing the What: Many people of all ages suffer
from stress, but sometimes with young adults, learning how to prioritize and
manage stress, is a bigger issue. Understanding what is causing the elevated
stress, is only part of the issue, learning how to relieve stress can take
practice and discipline.
c.
Testing the Why: Young adults have many tasks they
are trying to achieve, such as college, work, and balancing a family. With only
so many hours in the day, without proper time management skills, sleep becomes
a necessity that is overlooked, so everything else can be completed. By learning
proper time management, young adults could get more sleep, thus leading to
reduced stress levels.
3.) Summary
of Findings
All
my interviews were of people between the ages of 18-27, with 2 being full-time
college students who also had part-time jobs, 2 being parents of young children
working full-time and 1 being a recent, college graduate working full-time. In all
the interviews, the interviewees acknowledged that they knew they did not get
enough sleep, but as one stated, “there are just not enough hours in the day
for sleep”. Time management was not a concern for 4 of the interviewees, as
long as they got everything completed, and the mention of stress led to
laughter in all the interviews. After all the interviews, I have concluded that
poor time management does lead to less sleep, resulting in elevated stress. As a
result of the interviews, I learned that if time management became a priority,
stress levels could be reduced but during all of my interviews, the interviewees
had never made the connection of time management and stress. Therefore, knowledge
of the issue or opportunity, is the first and biggest step.
