Like most Americans, you no doubt deal with a multitude of demands each day including family, finances, work and even just trying to make it to the office on time. While each of these demands stresses your body and brain in some way, the good news is that you are designed to handle it – well at least to a certain level.
Long before excess stress was the result of project deadlines and computer issues, it was caused more often by the desire to stay alive and protect your family from wild animals and mortal enemies. This natural response to any threat coming your way is called the 'fight or flight response.' Basically it is like a built in alarm that goes off any time you encounter something your brain perceives as a threat.
For example, if a large dog suddenly appears while you are taking a walk, your fight or flight response will likely kick into gear just in case you need to take action such as scaring the dog away or running for your life (hence the name 'Fight or Flight Response').How a stress response works
When your brain sounds the alarm, what occurs is basically a dumping of hormones like adrenaline and cortisol from your adrenal glands which are located on your kidneys. These are the hormones that will literally save your life by increasing heart rate, elevating your blood pressure and boosting your energy reserves.
While adrenaline increases your heart rate, elevates your blood pressure and boosts energy reserves, cortisol is busy getting more sugar into your body and brain to ensure you have the energy needed to survive this encounter while also putting other functions, like digestion and your immune system, on hold since they are not essential to getting you through a fight-or-flight situation.
Where it goes wrong
Your body's fight-or-flight system is obviously supposed to be self-regulating, meaning that it turns itself off once a threat is no longer. The heart rate slows, blood pressure goes down and glucose levels return to normal as the cortisol and adrenaline levels taper off.
So what if your fight or flight response system is constantly turned on?
This is what occurs when you are constantly worried, nervous, edgy or otherwise stressed day in and day out. The side effect of this is of course that you also have a continuously higher level of cortisol and other stress hormones which can disrupt almost all your body's processes. The result is an increased risk of certain health problems, including
- Digestive issues
- Memory impairment
- Heart problems
- Depression
- Sleep deprivation
- Weight gain
Most people who are stressed find it harder to eat healthy and lose weight due to time constraints from their 'mile a minute' effort to get ahead. However, for some people it goes beyond just taking short cuts into eating in an attempt to fulfill emotional needs which is often referred to as stress eating or emotional eating. And you may be especially likely to eat high-calorie foods during these times, even when you're not hungry.
To prevent weight gain and the other health conditions that come with prolonged levels of high stress, it's important to learn healthy ways to control and cope with the stressors in your life.
Keep in mind that what causes you to get stressed is very different from anyone else's triggers. You no doubt have a few friends who are laid-back about almost everything and others who react strongly at the slightest stress. Most people fall somewhere in between these two extremes.
How to take charge
Stressful events are a fact of life. And though you may not be able to change your current situation, you can take steps to manage the impact these events have on you. This begins with identifying what stresses you out and then from there, fix or get rid of the stressors you have control over and learn to better cope and manage those that you can’t. Stress management strategies include:
- Eating a healthy diet with no fast food and minimal sugar
- Getting regular exercise – even a 30 minute walk
- Get plenty of sleep
- Practicing relaxation techniques – give Yoga or Massage a try
- Spending time with positive friends and family
- Having a sense of humor
The less control you have over the events and situations in your life that stimulate stress, the more likely you are to feel the negative effects over time; even if you don’t realize the impact it is having on your body. Even the typical day-to-day demands of living can contribute to your body's stress response.
Though it’s cliché to say…you only get one body and one life and being proactive about controlling the stress you can influence and coping with those you can’t will help you significantly improve both.
source: Mayo clinic online, 2010
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