Effects of Stress on Your Mind and Body
Stress is a part of life. Many events that happen to you and around you, and many things that you do yourself put your mind and body under a stressful condition.
Stress symptoms may affect your health, even though you might not realize it. You may think illness is to blame for that irritating headache, frequent insomnia or decreased productivity at work. But stress may actually be the culprit.
Stress Affects Your Heart
The exact relationship between stress and heart attack is still unclear, but evidence is mounting that there is one. A recent study of 200,000 employees in Europe found that people who have more stressful jobs are 23 percent more likely to have a first heart attack than people with less stressful job.
Causes Headaches
“Fight or flight” chemicals like adrenaline (epinephrine) and cortisol can cause vascular changes that leave you with a tension headache or migraine, either during the stress or in the “let-down” period afterwards. It also makes your muscles tense, which can make the pain of a migraine worse.
You Experience Insomnia
A stressful condition can cause hyperarousal, a biological state in which people just don’t feel sleepy. While major stressful events can cause insomnia that passes once the condition is over. Long-term exposure to the condition can also disrupt sleep and contribute to sleep disorders.
Effects Your Hair
Severe stress may even harm your hair. It is thought to play a role in triggering hair loss in the autoimmune condition called alopecia areata.
Anxiety can also contribute to a disorder medically known as trichotillomania, in which people have a hard-to-resist urge to pull out the hair from their own scalp.
Stress less with these easy tips.
May Also Upset Stomach
Heartburn, stomach cramping, and diarrhea can all be caused by or worsened in a stressful condition. In particular, irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, which is characterized by pain and bouts of constipation and diarrhea is thought to be fueled in during this condition.
Memory
Too much of the stress-hormone- cortisol- can interfere with the brain’s ability to form new memories. During acute-stress, the hormone also interferes with neurotransmitters, the chemicals that brain cells use to communicate with each other. That can make it hard to think straight or retrieve memories.
Raises Blood Sugar
Anxiety is known to raise blood sugar, and if you already have type 2 diabetes you may find that your blood sugar is higher when you are under a stressful condition. Eat these stress reducing foods.
Skin Damage
Most acne sufferers already suspect this is true, and they seem to be right. Stress can give you pimples. Research suggests that students with acne are more disposed to the outbreaks during exams compared to less stressful time periods.
Job Performance
Studies of employees ranging from military personnel to bankers show that anxiety reduces productivity and satisfaction at work, and is linked to depression too.
