Stress is not just something you deal with mentally. A sequence of biological processes happens in the body. This can have a positive effect or negative depending on what is causing the stress response, how we allow stress to be perceived and for how long it goes on for.
The stress response in the body may come from things you wouldn’t necessarily think about as causing you stress such as letting blood sugar drop too low or reactions in the body that are occurring in response to our environment for example. We may not be aware that we have bacteria in our intestines which trigger our immune system to respond. Our immune system sends signals to the brain of potential invaders, this can in turn trigger the release of stress hormones, including cortisol, adrenaline.
What are these hormones and what does stress do to us?
The whole point in the release of cortisol and adrenaline is to prepare you for a fight or flight situation and adapt the body for the current set of circumstances it has perceived.
Stress hormones increase our alertness, breathing, blood pressure and heart rate. It also slows down things that are not directly needed in fight or flight situations such as suppression of the immune system, reproductive system, appetite, growth and bone formation to name a few.
Adrenaline is the hormone that increases heart rate and blood flow to muscles. It also reduces movement in the intestines and opens the airways in the lungs.
Cortisol raises blood sugar by using energy stores in the body such as protein and fats. This may also mean you reach for the sugar in stressful situations to raise blood sugar. Cortisol can also decrease sensitivity to insulin which over a long period of time may be linked with diabetes.
What’s so bad about long term stress?
Think about the body in a constant state of alertness for long periods of time, supressing the rest and repair state of the body. The body does not have chance to recover and recuperate. It is running in bare minimum mode which can get you out of immediate danger but may mean bad news for your health long term.
We can see that stress and blood sugar have a close association. There is also an association between the release of cortisol and where fat is stored in the body. Studies have shown that stress can increase visceral fat storage meaning you may store more fat around the abdomen. Too much fat around this area can have yet more negative health problems including heart disease and some cancers.
Stress can also have an effect on your sleep patterns and reproductive system. Suppressing the amount of hormones released into the blood that control menstrual cycle and testosterone levels and preventing healthy sleep patterns.
Your immune system can be effected with high amounts of stress over a long time. Your immune system is made up of many different forms of cells, all with different jobs to do. These cells are specialised and give your body the ability to adapt its immunity and learn from the environment you are in. It is a very complex system and high levels of stress hormones have been thought to be linked with autoimmune diseases.
Increased cortisol is associated with a reduction in hormones that regulate our thyroid gland and ultimately our metabolism. Meaning stress can have an effect on how we feel, if we feel tired all the time with no energy.
One indication that your body is struggling to cope with the amount of stress it is under may be to check what your blood pressure is. In addition, how it compares from sitting to standing. If it drops within 2-3 minutes of standing to lower than it was when sitting then it may suggest a problem with the adrenal glad and is best checked by your GP.
What can we do to support the body in periods of long term stress?
There are things we can do to help support the adrenal glands. These glands are where cortisol and adrenaline are produced. If they have been put under increased demand to continually produce these hormones they may benefit from some extra help.
- Foods high in potassium and low in sodium can support the adrenals.
- Vitamin C which is needed converting cholesterol into cortisol and sex hormones.
- Magnesium is beneficial for its effects on the brain and supporting the adrenal glands.
- Vitamin E to help mop up the free radical increase caused during stressful periods
- Other nutrients are also important in assisting the biological processes involved in producing the stress hormones including zinc, copper, selenium and iodine, b3, b6, b12 and iron.
- Taurine has also been shown to help with stress and anxiety.
Other considerations would be to look at how much caffeine you are consuming. Caffeine may have an amplifying effect on cortisol. So if you are stressed and have a coffee, you may just feel even more stressed!
There is much more to stress than we give it attention for and it is often something that is pushed aside as just something we can’t do anything about. But as I mentioned at the beginning it is worth remembering that it is also our individual perceptions of stressful situations that may cause a huge stress response in one person and not another. And so much of dealing with stress it in your mind and attitude towards it and what you can and can’t control. The brain can be trained to react to stressful situations over time with regular practice. Such techniques as meditation have proved very helpful for some to curb negative thought and give perspective. I believe something to always bear in mind is that if there is nothing you can do to change or improve a situation then there is no point in worrying about it. Instead to accept things for how they are and finding a way to see and use the positives.
