You wouldn’t eat a food that shrinks your brain. You wouldn’t drive a car that makes you sweat. You wouldn’t buy a purse that worsens PMS. So why are we all so cool with stress being just “a part of life”?
It doesn’t have to be. And if you reduce stress, you will be better for it. Because the impact stress has on your body is remarkable—and hazardous.
Your head is more likely to throb when you’re stressed, according to the Mayo Clinic, with a tension-type headache or even a migraine. And feeling under pressure is also likely to make your headaches worse.
Stress kicks your body into its fight or flight mode, ramping up the release of certain hormones and preparing you to deal with danger. The result can sometimes be hands that shake like maracas.
We’re not kidding. When we’re stressed, our body releases the hormone cortisol, and in limited doses, it can actually be beneficial. But studies—including one at the University of California at Berkeley—have shown that chronic stress actually decreases the weight and volume of the brain.
Stress can increase the production of stomach acid, leading to that annoying reflux, as acid irritates the esophagus. And if you already suffer from chronic heartburn, stress can make it worse. A study of nearly 13,000 sufferers published in Internal Medicine discovered that nearly half reported stress as the biggest factor that worsened symptoms.
Stress gets us all riled up and causes hyper-arousal, making it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep and making the quality of our sleep worse.
When you’re stressed, the muscles responsible for breathing tense up, making it more difficult to catch your breath.
If it seems like you’re more likely to be sick when you’re stressed, you may not be imagining it. Studies have shed light on the link between stress and sickness, finding that those living with chronic stress (such as unemployment or care-giving to a dementia patient) had a suppressed immune system that left them more vulnerable to the flu and a host of other illnesses.
If you are constantly going out, drinking, not getting enough sleep, ordering takeout every day,… Read More
High blood pressure is considered to be one of the main risk factors that can… Read More
Day by day, more and more people are deciding to exclude gluten from their diets,… Read More
In the last few years, autoimmune diseases have become one of the main subjects among… Read More
If you didn't already know, autoimmune diseases are a constant threat to millions of Americans.… Read More
The older we become, the more we need to take care of what we eat.… Read More