All of us have faced stress at one time or other in our lives, whether we are corporate workers, students, housewives or businessmen, stress has become an integral package of modern lifestyle. But it can have some serious implications, causing chronic damage to health. To combat these problems, we really need to understand what stress means and what impacts it can have on our bodies.
What Exactly is Stress?
Stress is the normal reaction of the body to any difficult situation, which can cause an array of physical, mental or emotional reactions. Though we have been programmed to face stress, and it can sometimes be constructive, as it keeps one alert, it can have some serious negative impacts too.
Some impacts of stress on health:
Impact of Stress on Heart
Too much stress can increase your risk of developing higher risk of cardiovascular disease. Moreover, stress causes you to eat lots of comfort foods, which are usually high in sugar, salt as well as bad cholesterol, which can damage your heart.
Impact of Stress on Brain
Stress can also cause a negative impact on brain health, with problems like memory loss, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Anxiety, insomnia, anger and irritability are other results of prolonged stress.
Premature Aging
Stress can also cause the problem of premature aging, resulting in appearance of wrinkles on skin, hair fall and hair graying. Other skin problems like acne, psoriasis, rashes and eczema may also surface.
Damage to Adrenal Glands
Adrenal glands are the tiny glands above the kidneys, which produce cortisol, the stress hormone. As we experience stress, the secretion of this hormone is accelerated, leading to problems such as depression and inflammation.
Hypertension and diabetes
A major impact of stress is hypertension, which is the silent killer disease leading to increased risk of stroke, heart failure and kidney disease. Stress can also lead to diabetes as it can result in sudden spikes in blood sugar levels.
Muscular pains
Muscular pain and tension are other implications of stress. Backache, shoulder and neck ache and migraine headaches, can strike when you are in a stressful situation.
Reproductive Problems
Though we cannot say that stress has a direct relation with reproductive problems or infertility, but studies have established that people are more likely to conceive in situations when they are not under stress. Moreover, the success rate of fertility treatments has been higher at these times.
Poor immunity
Stress can lead to lower immunity, which causes a higher risk of infections and allergies. Besides poor immunity, too much stress can also make the recovery from these diseases a slower process.
As we have seen multiple negative impacts that stress can have on human body, it becomes essential to look for ways to reduce stress for better health. It may seem to be an uphill task, but with the support of loved ones, meditation, yoga and healthy lifestyle, one can conquer the killer disease called stress.