How Does Stress Affect Health?

How does stress affect health? Stress and health are closely connected. Research shows the effects of stress on body and mind influence stress related illnesses.

This makes managing stress important for you and your family.

However stress is reaching epidemic proportions. Too many of us are living with too much stress.

Too much stress for too long can be bad for your health. Here I look at effects of stress on your health.

• Chronic pain and stress: How pain and stress reduction can work together
• Can stress make your fat: The stress weight gain connection
• The link between stress and heart disease
• Is there a direct cause and effect between stress and cancer
• How too much stress can cause stress headaches and how reducing stress can provide migraine headache relief
• the link between stress and acne
• Stress and hypertension: Is there evidence for stress and high blood pressure and what is the link between stress and hypertension
• the influence of stress on intestinal gas and irritable bowel syndrome

While not all types of stress are bad for you - as any sportsperson or business professional will tell you - we need some stress to motivate and push us to reach our potential.

But our lifestyles are getting more stressful!

You may adapt to higher and higher levels of stress, whether it is at work, in the home, or concerns about finances, but you may just be living with an unhealthy amount of stress in your life.

Here I look at how stress affects health across the different body systems.

How does stress affect health: Stress and heart disease

One of the main ways that stress and heart disease are related is through the endocrine system.

The endocrine system regulates various body functions and primarily made up of hormones and glands. Hormones can be thought of as the body's chemical messengers - they circulate in the blood stream communicating between cells.

When stressed your body activates the fight or flight response and secretes the stress hormones adrenaline, nor-adrenaline and cortisol into the blood stream.

These three hormones are implicated in a variety of medical problems. Here I talk more about effects of cortisol and stress on health.

Stress and heart disease.

Stress has served an important survival function throughout the human race. Thanks to the boost of adrenaline the caveman is able to escape the jaws of the saber-tooth tiger to live another day.

While today's biggest causes of stress have changed - we are more likely to be confronted with concerns over finances, an irate boss or colleague or excess demands on our time - we have inherited the stress response from our ancestors.

When stressed your body activates the stress response and mobilizes resources to fight or flee from the stressor.

You may notice your heart rate speeding up - thanks to the stress hormones adrenaline and nor adrenaline being released into your blood stream. Adrenaline causes your blood vessels to constrict - thereby increasing your blood pressure and risk of hypertension.

Stress also increases the secretion of the stress hormone cortisol, which inhibits the breakdown of adrenaline and nor-adrenaline, thereby making it more difficult for your body to relax.

Cortisol also increases cholesterol in the blood. As stress and cholesterol increase combined with increased chances of atherosclerosis, the individual may be at greater risk of coronary heart disease.

See how stress and heart disease are related, and what you can do to cope with stress.

How does stress affect health: Stress headaches and TMJ syndrome

One of the most common symptoms of stress is increased muscle tension.

As your body mobilizes resources to fight or flee from the cause of stress, muscle tension increases.

This can cause a vicious cycle of increasing stress, as the mind perceives tense muscles as stressful – and the perception of this stress further increases muscle tension.

This muscle tension if not relaxed and released can cause pain and discomfort, ranging from mild tension between the shoulders to raging tension headaches that require treatment. Often pain and stress reduction go hand in hand.

Stress headaches. A common symptom of stress is increased muscle tension.

A common cause of stress headaches is increased muscle tension around the eyes, forehead and neck.

Often treatment of stress headache symptoms through systematic relaxation techniques reduce the pain of these headaches.

TMJ syndrome. Chronic muscle tension can accumulate around the jaw area.

Do you clench your jaws without knowing it?

Do you grind your teeth while sleeping?

These are both common causes of tension in your temperomandibular joint (TMJ), a joint that connects the upper jaw to the lower jaw. TMJ syndrome can be influenced by stress.

What is TMJ and how can you reduce TMJ pain.

Stress related backache. Unrelenting stress can result in increased muscle tension in the lower back which can lead to, or exacerbate lower back pain.

How does stress affect health: Migraines, stress and high blood pressure

Another way that stress affects health is through the cardiovascular system.

The cardiovascular system is made up of the heart, the blood and the vessels that move the oxygen rich blood and nutrients to the body and remove waste products from the cells and tissue.

Stress can have an impact on the heart, the blood and the vessels that move the blood around the body.

Stress and hypertension symptoms. You may notice that when you are stressed that you heart starts to beat quicker. This is a common symptom of stress.

Because there is more blood moving through the heart, blood pressure also increases.

Here I talk more about the link between stress and high blood pressure.

When blood pressure remains raised for too long this can lead to chronic hypertension - a major risk factor for heart attack and stroke.

Given that hypertension is a primary risk factor for heart disease - an important question to ask is:

Are stress and hypertension related?

Stress and migraine headaches. Migraines plague millions of people each year.

The nausea and the pain can be awful for the migraine sufferer. Many people wonder whether migraine headaches are influenced by stress.

Well the short answer is most probably.

Stress is considered to make you more susceptible to your migraine headache causes. See how you can get migraine headache relief without the side-effects of medication.

How does stress affect health: Stress and cancer

Have you ever wondered why after a period of high stress you might be more susceptible to getting the cold that is going around?

Well that is because stress and the immune system are closely connected.

Your immune system is your body's defense system for keeping out invading bacteria and viruses.

But the effect of stress on health is more than just catching a cold or flu.

A lower immune effectiveness can result in greater tumor growth, less healing ability of wounds and increased chances of heart disease and cancer.

I talk more about the possible connection between stress and cancer.

How does stress affect health: Stress and the digestive system

One of the symptoms of stress is muscle tension.

This can mean that the digestive process – which is partly controlled by smooth muscles, combined with excessive stomach acids can lead to a number of digestion problems.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can cause discomfort and stress. IBS can be characterized by cramping, pain in the stomach, constipation, bloating and diarrhea.

This means that IBS sufferers have bowels that are sensitive and easily upset.

While the cause of IBS is unknown, factors that can trigger IBS include stress, diet, infection or changes in routine.

Intestinal gas. While intestinal gas is mostly not serious is can be embarassing. Stress can increase intestinal gas can causing increased discomfort and distress.

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