What Happens To Your Body When You Are Stressed
At any time, you may experience stress, it could be because of work, financial problems, problems with your spouse or family, or it could just be due to traffic jams – things that are not unexpected. Little things that make your tension rise a little, can stress your body. However, it’s best to manage your stress as much as possible because the impact stress has on the body is so many and of course detrimental to your health.
What is stress?
Stress can occur due to changes in the environment around us, so that the body will react and respond as a protective measure. The body reacts to stress by responding physically, mentally, and emotionally.
The body reacts to anything it perceives as danger, whether it is really harmful or not. When the body feels threatened, a chemical reaction occurs in the body that allows you to prevent injury. This reaction is called the “fight-or-flight” or stress response. When your body responds to stress, you will feel your heart rate increase, breathing faster, muscles tense up, and your blood pressure to rise.
Stress can vary between people. What causes stress to you, may not necessarily cause stress to others. It all depends on how you perceive things as stressful and how you handle stress. Mild stress may help you complete tasks. However, if severe stress or chronic stress happens to you, it can be detrimental to your health.
How does stress affect the body?
When you feel stressed, all the systems in your body respond in different ways. Chronic stress can have an impact on your overall health.
In the central nervous and endocrine systems
The central nervous system is primarily responsible for responding to stress, from the first time stress occurs until the stress disappears. The central nervous system produces a “fight-or-flight” response when the body is under stress. Also, it gives orders from the hypothalamus to the adrenal glands to release the hormones adrenaline and cortisol.
When cortisol and adrenaline are released, the liver produces more sugar in the blood to provide energy to your body. If your body doesn’t use up all this additional energy, it will reabsorb the blood sugar. However, for people who are prone to type 2 diabetes (such as obese people), this blood sugar cannot be absorbed at all, resulting in increased blood sugar levels.
The release of the hormones adrenaline and cortisol causes an increase in heart rate, faster breathing, dilation of blood vessels in the arms and legs, and increased blood glucose levels. When stress begins to dissipate, it is also the central nervous system that first instructs the body to return to normal.
On the respiratory system
Stress makes your breathing faster in an attempt to get oxygen around your body. This may not be a problem for many people, but it can cause problems in people with asthma or emphysema. Rapid breathing or hyperventilation can also cause panic attacks.
On the cardiovascular system
When you are experiencing acute stress (stress for a short period of time, such as being stuck in a traffic jam), your heart rate will increase, and the blood vessels leading to the large muscles and heart will dilate. This results in an increase in the volume of blood pumped throughout the body and increases blood pressure. In times of stress, blood needs to flow rapidly throughout the body (especially the brain and liver) to help provide energy for the body.
Also, when you are under chronic stress (stress over a long period of time), your heart rate will increase consistently. Blood pressure and stress hormone levels will also increase continuously. So, chronic stress can increase your risk of developing hypertension, heart attack, or stroke.
In the digestive system
When stressed, the increased heart rate and breathing can irritate your digestive system. You may end up eating more or less than usual. Risk you are experiencing heartburn, acid reflux, nausea, vomiting, or stomach pain also increases. Stress can also affect the movement of food in your intestines, so you can experience diarrhea or constipation.
In the skeletal muscle system
Your muscles will tighten when you are stressed and then return to normal when you have calmed down. However, if you are under sustained stress, then your muscles don’t have time to relax. So, these tense muscles will cause you to experience headaches, back pain, and pain throughout the body.
On the reproductive system
Stress also has an effect on your sexual arousal. Maybe your sex drive will decrease when you are under chronic stress. However, men produce more of the hormone testosterone during stress, which can increase sexual desire in the short term. If stress lasts for a long time, the male hormone testosterone levels will begin to decline. This can interfere with sperm production, leading to erectile dysfunction or impotence.
Meanwhile, in women, stress can affect the menstrual cycle. When you are stressed, you may have irregular menstrual cycles, have no periods at all, or have heavier periods.
In the immune system
When you are stressed, your body stimulates your immune system to work. If the stress you feel is temporary, this will help your body prevent infection and heal wounds. However, if stress occurs for a long time, the body will release the hormone cortisol which will inhibit the release of histamine and the inflammatory response to fight foreign substances. Thus, people who experience chronic stress will be more susceptible to diseases, such as influenza, the common cold, or other infectious diseases. Chronic stress also makes it longer for you to recover from illness or injury.
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American Psychological Association. (2016). Stress Effects on the Body. [online] Available at: http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/stress-body.aspx [Accessed 18 Nov. 2016].
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