Your Body On Stress
Who isn’t stressed these days? Seriously, from two-year-olds applying to top notch pre-schools in NYC to retired grandparentsliving longer than expected, we’ve all got a lot on our plates. And as if the actual feeling of stress isn’t enough, its accompanied by a string of both annoying and painful physical effects, including pimples, hair loss, headaches, and stomach issues—the latter of which is by exacerbated by the sugar cravings brought on by said stress.
You know that exercise and a healthy diet will help, as will a solid 8 hours of sleep. But what else can you do to prevent all the terrible stuff that comes along with stress? A psychologist, a dermatologist, and a gastroenterologist weigh in on how and why your body freaks out under pressure and what you can do to remain cool, calm, and collected.
Body
“A stress response starts with the increased release of corticotrophin-releasing hormones,” says Dr. David Sack, psychiatrist and CEO of Promises Treatment Center in California. “There are positive and negative consequences in this increased release of cortisol. In short, it makes you resilient: your blood sugar stays up and you can tolerate stress, but chronic stress affects every organ in the body.” Norepinephrine released in the brain, heart, and blood vessels increases your blood pressure and makes your heart work harder, while an acute increase in epinephrine (essentially adrenalin) makes your heart rate go up.
There are two kinds of stress: acute stress, like the loss of a family member or a job, can be challenging, but your body responds and does recover. But chronic stress, checking emails at all hours and non-stop deadlines that force us to be continuously focused and attentive—actually does the most damage. (It even affects […]