How stress affects your vital organs
Stress affects almost everyone’s daily life. It can affect your body in ways that can have a lasting impact on your health. Here are some ways it can affect your health:
• The effect of stress on your brain – Stress can cause you to lose concentration and memory span. Whether this is psychological or physiological is not entirely clear. When you’re stressed, the parts of your brain associated with memory, like the hippocampus, don’t work well, and you can’t convert short-term memory into long-term memory. You may also stop concentrating on the things you are listening to or the things you are reading. It is not clear if this is a short- or long-term effect; however, things like stress reduction techniques seem to be able to restore your ability to think.
• The effect of stress on your gastrointestinal tract – Stress triggers the body’s fight or flight response so that the adrenal glands release epinephrine and norepinephrine. This has multiple effects on the body. One thing this phenomenon does is divert blood from the gastrointestinal tract into the muscles of the body as a way of preparing to “fight or flight” from a real or imagined opponent. This can lead to decreased blood flow to the gastrointestinal tract, resulting in indigestion and malabsorption of nutrients. Fortunately, this can be short-lived unless you live under chronic stress. So the GI system will be affected more permanently.
• The effect of stress on your cardiovascular system – Stress causes the release of epinephrine and norepinephrine, which automatically raises your blood pressure and heart rate. This puts more strain on your heart and puts you at higher risk for hypertension-related conditions such as heart failure, stroke, and heart attack. These kinds of things don’t happen overnight, but if you suffer from chronic stress, the long-term implications of heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, heart failure, and stroke are real possibilities, especially if you don’t eat well or have a strong family history of heart disease.
• The effect of stress on your immune system – Excess stress also triggers the release of cortisol from the adrenal cortex. Cortisol has many effects on the body, but one of the main ones is that it suppresses the immune system. High cortisol levels mean you’re at higher risk of catching colds and flu, and finding it harder to heal from open sores, cuts, or wounds. Cortisol can suppress various aspects of the immune system, so you’ll find yourself sicker when you’re under pressure.
Things you can do to reduce stress
Because stress can wreak havoc on your body, you should do everything you can to reduce the constant worries in your life in order to stay healthy. It may mean getting out of a stressful relationship, getting your finances in order, or changing your work situation so you don’t go to work every day with feelings of anxiety.
If you can’t change your circumstances, you may want to practice stress relief techniques. These include things like meditation, Tai chi, yoga, and Qigong.
These activities can be easily learned by attending classes at a local gym or purchasing a DVD that will teach you ways to reduce the amount of pressure you perceive in your life so that you can live a healthier life.
