Three Negative Effects of Stress that Impact your Health

We live in a very fast-paced and productive culture in the United States. Our modern society encourages us to study to achieve good grades, exercise and eat nutritious foods daily, join clubs to become more involved at our school, on top of saving time for friends and family, and getting a full nine hours of sleep every night. Not to mention applying for study abroad programs and internships that enhance our experience and opportunities post-graduation.

As a student-athlete, I am also heavily involved in two clubs, taking six courses. On top of my workload, I am also working as an intern part-time. It is so easy, especially for me, to encounter stress within my daily life. We all get stressed at some point in our daily lives, yet if we fail to manage our stress correctly, stress can harm our bodies. I found three eye-opening effects from stress that is relevant to share.

What is Stress?

Stress is a constraining influence. Any physical, chemical or emotional factor causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation. Everyone reacts to pressures differently because they have different genetics and life experiences that influence their fight or flight response.

Genetics

The genes that control stress an individual inherits from their family can help regulate their emotions holding them from their fight or flight responses. Overactive and underactive responses suggest that there are slight differences to these stress-controlled genes.

Life Experiences

Sometimes, people who have had traumatic experiences in their childhood can induce high-stress levels and are more vulnerable to stress later on in life. Most common in people who were abused by someone, abandoned, in an accident, military personnel, police officers, and people involved with violent crimes. Some individuals react silently to these stressors; meanwhile, others react strongly to events, and some fall in between these lines.

Stress Affects Our Digestive System

The feeling of getting “butterflies” in your stomach or a “gut-wrenching” sense results from stress. Our gut connects by part of the center of the nervous system. Its own set of neurons in the lining of the gastrointestinal system from our esophagus to our rectum, allowing us to swallow, release enzymes to break down food, and categorize food as nutrients or waste. When stressed, a stress hormones’ cortisol is released, activating the fight or flight in our nervous system. Cortisol also increases our appetite, so studies have shown that stress is a contributor to obesity.

We then can experience our esophagus go into spasms, increase acid in our stomach resulting in indigestion, nausea, and irregular bowel movements like constipation or diarrhea. A person can develop irritable bowel syndrome, irritable bowel disease, peptic ulcers, and gastrointestinal reflux disease in more challenging situations.

I exercise every day as fitness relieves tension and stimulates the release of chemicals in your brain called endorphins, which act as natural painkillers. Endorphins improve sleep, which can help reduce stress, as well.

I also try to consume foods that reduce anxiety levels, such as salmon, which contain omega-3 fatty acids, which are natural mood boosters. I also eat Almonds as a snack because they are full of magnesium, which helps manage cortisol levels. Oranges and other citrus fruits contain vitamin C, which can lower blood pressure.

Stress Affects our Heart Health

A stressful situation sets off a chain of events. Our body releases adrenaline, a hormone that temporarily causes your breathing and heart rate to speed up and your blood pressure to rise in addition to cholesterol to rise. Short term heart problems include chest pains and irregular heartbeats. If stress is left unmanaged, a person is more likely to experience blood clotting, which further increases the heart attack chances.

Although there is no additional research on how stress directly links to heart disease, the focus is a risk component that makes us more susceptible to heart problems if our priority is left untreated.

To prevent these stressors from happening, I try to delve into activities that relax me. Yoga, meditation, and picking up hobbies like playing the guitar can help bring down my adrenaline, blood pressure, and heart rate. People who participate in these events are more likely to not suffer from depression, anxiety, and long term effects of stress.

Stress Affects our Brain and Cognitive Processes

Short term effects of stress can cause headaches. However, over time, the build up of cortisol can impact our cognitive impairment, affecting our brain’s ability to function correctly. Too much cortisol can result in the loss of sociability as it disrupts our synapse regulation and avoids interactions with others. Cortisol also kills brain cells and, in difficult situations, can reduce brain size. In particular, stress shrinks the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for memory and learning. On the contrary, pressure can increase the amygdala’s size, which can make the mind more receptive to stress.

A method I try to prevent headaches and other harmful effects on my brain is I develop time management skills. If I notice I have a lot of work to do in one day, I break up the homework, so I do not overwhelm my brain with loads of information. That way, I do not experience as many headaches and other forms of impactful cognitive impairment in the future. Some methods to consider trying to improve time management is knowing when deadlines are, planning, setting goals, and avoiding procrastination.

Conclusion

Becoming educated on how stress can affect our bodies long term is crucial to know how to manage our stressors. Excessive amounts of stress can interfere with our functionality and contribute to health complications in the long run. There are many diseases out there that we can capture that are out of our control, so it is essential to take control of what we can so we can make the most out of our lives.