The Body-Mind Connection of Stress: Quiz

Instructions: Answer each question based on what you learned about the body's reaction to stress.

Multiple-Choice Questions

1. What is the name of the body's instinctive response to a stressful situation?
A) Rest and digest
B) Fight or flight
C) Freeze and flee
D) Calm and cope

2. Which animal is used in the resource as an example of a natural "fight or flight" response?
A) A dog
B) A porcupine
C) A cat
D) A bird

3. What are hormones?
A) Organs that pump blood through the body
B) Chemicals produced by glands and carried through the bloodstream
C) Muscles that tighten during stress
D) Signals sent only from the heart

4. Which glands work together to release stress hormones?
A) Heart, lungs, liver
B) Hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal glands
C) Stomach, throat, kidneys
D) Brain, skin, muscles

5. Why might your hands feel cold when you are stressed?
A) Stress hormones move blood away from the skin
B) The heart stops pumping blood
C) Cold hands are unrelated to stress
D) Blood rushes only to the hands

6. Why might your mouth feel dry during a stress response?
A) The body stops producing saliva permanently
B) Fluid in the body is directed to organs that are truly necessary for survival
C) Cortisol shuts down the mouth completely
D) The throat muscles relax too much

7. Which hormone helps you sleep, but can be blocked out by stress hormones during long periods of stress?
A) Cortisol
B) Epinephrine
C) Norepinephrine
D) Serotonin

8. Which of the following is described as a response to longer-term stress rather than short-term stress?
A) Fast heartbeat
B) Cold hands
C) Headache
D) Nausea

Short-Answer Questions

9. Explain why a fast heartbeat happens when the body is under stress.

10. Describe the path the stress signal takes: which gland signals which, and what three hormones are eventually released?

11. Why does understanding the body's physical reactions to stress help some people feel less self-conscious about those reactions?

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Answer Key

1. B) Fight or flight
2. C) A cat
3. B) Chemicals produced by glands and carried through the bloodstream
4. B) Hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal glands
5. A) Stress hormones move blood away from the skin
6. B) Fluid in the body is directed to organs that are truly necessary for survival
7. D) Serotonin
8. C) Headache

9. Stress hormones speed up the flow of blood by 300–400 percent, so the heart beats faster to move all that blood to the organs and muscles, which is felt as a pounding heart.

10. The hypothalamus signals the pituitary gland, which then signals the adrenal glands to release the stress hormones epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol.

11. Because knowing that these physical reactions (like a fast heartbeat or dry mouth) are a normal part of the body's functioning under stress can relieve worry and make people feel less embarrassed or concerned about experiencing them.