07 Apr How Does Stress Impact Your Body?
According to the World Health Organization, nearly 500 million people worldwide suffer from stress. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health estimate that 25-40 percent of American workers have experienced some form of stress-related job burnout, resulting in decreases in corporate productivity and $300 billion annually in stress-related compensation.
Over time, when not managed properly, stress can lead to chemical imbalances that can disrupt the normal functioning of a number of the body’s structures and functions. Left unchecked, these imbalances can exert a range of detrimental effects on the brain, heart, blood vessels, nerves, and immune system, to name a few. Research demonstrates that individuals significantly increase their use of the medical system during times of job security-induced stress. In fact, more than three out of five doctor visits are likely associated with stress-related issues.
How Can Stress Affect Your Heart?
Stress and the emotions associated with stress can have a profound effect on the heart. In fact, the Mayo Clinic has reported that psychological stress is one of the strongest risk factors for having an adverse impact on cardiovascular health. In one study, men reporting high levels of either anger or anxiety were more than three times as likely to have less than good cardiovascular health, and men reporting high levels of worry were more than twice as likely to have less than good cardiovascular health.
Can Stress Affect The Immune System?
Stressful events can have a negative effect on the immune system. The first line of defense against invading organisms is an immune globulin called secretory IgA, which resides in the mucus secretions of the lungs, digestive tract, and urinary tract. Research has shown that stress can cause a significant decrease in this key immune factor. For example, one stressful episode of anger lasting five minutes can cause a decrease in secretory IgA that can last for up to five hours.
Natural killer cells are essential white blood cells that play a vital role in immune system surveillance. A severe life stress can result in a 50-percent reduction in the effectiveness of the body’s natural killer cells.
Cortisol, a hormone produced by the adrenal glands, increases during stressful situations. In fact, this hormone is often referred to as the “stress hormone.” If too much of this hormone is present in the body for long periods of time, it can have a dampening effect on the immune system.
Stress Can Affect Digestion
Stress can significantly affect the ecological balance in the body’s digestive tract. In a study of astronauts preparing for space flight, the number of beneficial, friendly organisms in the digestive tract decreased, while numbers of organisms that could cause digestive upset increased. This effect continued to worsen throughout the stressful space flight. Thus, taking a dietary supplement with probiotics (beneficial bacteria) might make sense if you are experiencing an unusual amount of stress.
The Effect of Stress on Mood
How you deal with stress is often manifested in your mood. Emotions such as anger or worry can create a real risk for adverse physiological consequences. A vicious cycle can emerge with stress causing mental/emotional issues that then contribute to physiological compromises, which lead to further mental/emotional strain and so on. This underscores the need for healthy stress management, as a stressed-out mind often results in a stressed-out body and vice versa.
Stress Can Affect Your Ability to Sleep
An estimated 65 percent of North Americans lose sleep due to stress. The stress hormone cortisol is secreted in higher levels during the body’s “fight or flight” response to stress and is responsible for stimulating the changes in the body to help it “fight or fly” (for example, heightened energy and alertness and increased heart rate and blood flow). Stress can disrupt the body’s normal circadian rhythm, affecting when hormones like cortisol are released and having a detrimental effect on an individual’s normal sleep pattern.
An observational study subjected military cadets to a five-day training course of heavy physical exercise and deprivation of food and sleep. Not surprisingly, due to the stressful nature of this training, cortisol levels went up and performance deteriorated. The researchers found “the circadian rhythm was extinguished,” and circadian rhythms did not completely normalize even after 4-5 days of rest.