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Thursday, December 3, 2009
Stress (part 2) - the studies are in
Here's the second part in a 3 part mini-series on stress. The last post discussed what stress is in the metaphorical sense (dealing with uncertainty) and the biological sense (the inability of the body to respond appropriately to real or imagined physical or emotional threats) and the myriad of ways stress may present in your body. Now I'd like to talk about 3 specific effects of stress that have wide-ranging implications.
1) Stress and immunity: A review study published about a year ago looked at 300 separate stress studies (all looking to measure various effects of stress) and found that the one commonality linking them all is that stress invariably was shown to lower the immune response!
And if you think about it, this makes sense - your body is expending energy and resources in this constant state of heightened alert (of fight or flight) so it can't possibly devote these resources into keeping the immune system firing on all cylinders. So, when you're stressed out, you're more likely to get sick, you're more likely to be sick longer (it also slows wound healing!), and you may miss work or be less productive, which means your stress levels increase... nasty cycle, right? This is one reason why stress management is key, especially during cold and flu season.
2) Stress and food choice: Studies have shown that stress does impact food choice! While I haven't seen any conclusive evidence that stress actually makes us eat MORE, it certainly does impact the type of foods we choose to eat. It should come as no surprise to you that when we're stressed we tend to pick sweet, fatty foods...
This isn't because your body is trying to sabotage you, in fact it's trying to self-medicate! When we're stressed, anxious or depressed the levels of serotonin (a neurotransmitter that produces happy, content feelings) drop. Our bodies crave these "comfort" foods because they temporarily boost serotonin levels in the brain - giving you that sense of pleasure and calmness you so desperately crave in times of high stress.
This time of year is tough, too. Not only are there lots of delicious goodies everywhere, but some people may be influenced by the seasonal change as well. Studies show that as we go into winter with shorter daylight hours and are exposed to less sunshine, serotonin levels decrease. So, it's a bit of a double whammy - stress and shorter daylight hours mean that the holidays are a tough time to resist sweets which give you a quick serotonin boost! However, there are lots of other things you can do that help boost your serotonin levels longer and more consistently and don't require a new year's resolution to fix! Coming up in the next post...
3) Stress and chronic disease development: A 2007 study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows the relationship between stress (particularly chronic stress) and the development of disease. The study notes that people under stress sleep poorly and are less likely to exercise; they adopt poor eating habits, smoke more and are less likely to comply with medical treatments. Additionally, as I mentioned in the previous post, stress triggers a release of hormones that don't act in isolation, rather they influence multiple other body systems.
1) Stress and immunity: A review study published about a year ago looked at 300 separate stress studies (all looking to measure various effects of stress) and found that the one commonality linking them all is that stress invariably was shown to lower the immune response!
And if you think about it, this makes sense - your body is expending energy and resources in this constant state of heightened alert (of fight or flight) so it can't possibly devote these resources into keeping the immune system firing on all cylinders. So, when you're stressed out, you're more likely to get sick, you're more likely to be sick longer (it also slows wound healing!), and you may miss work or be less productive, which means your stress levels increase... nasty cycle, right? This is one reason why stress management is key, especially during cold and flu season.
2) Stress and food choice: Studies have shown that stress does impact food choice! While I haven't seen any conclusive evidence that stress actually makes us eat MORE, it certainly does impact the type of foods we choose to eat. It should come as no surprise to you that when we're stressed we tend to pick sweet, fatty foods...
This isn't because your body is trying to sabotage you, in fact it's trying to self-medicate! When we're stressed, anxious or depressed the levels of serotonin (a neurotransmitter that produces happy, content feelings) drop. Our bodies crave these "comfort" foods because they temporarily boost serotonin levels in the brain - giving you that sense of pleasure and calmness you so desperately crave in times of high stress.
This time of year is tough, too. Not only are there lots of delicious goodies everywhere, but some people may be influenced by the seasonal change as well. Studies show that as we go into winter with shorter daylight hours and are exposed to less sunshine, serotonin levels decrease. So, it's a bit of a double whammy - stress and shorter daylight hours mean that the holidays are a tough time to resist sweets which give you a quick serotonin boost! However, there are lots of other things you can do that help boost your serotonin levels longer and more consistently and don't require a new year's resolution to fix! Coming up in the next post...
3) Stress and chronic disease development: A 2007 study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows the relationship between stress (particularly chronic stress) and the development of disease. The study notes that people under stress sleep poorly and are less likely to exercise; they adopt poor eating habits, smoke more and are less likely to comply with medical treatments. Additionally, as I mentioned in the previous post, stress triggers a release of hormones that don't act in isolation, rather they influence multiple other body systems.
Some effects of chronic stress on body systems (via adrenalfatigue.co.nz)To quote the study: "Effects of stress on regulation of immune and inflammatory processes have the potential to influence depression, infectious, autoimmune, and coronary artery disease, and at least some (e.g., viral) cancers." That's
some pretty heavy stuff - stress, and chronic stress (physical or mental) , in particular aren't just in your head - it has far-reaching and deleterious effects on the body.
I don't mean to scare you. Because, in fact, there's a lot that you can do to prevent all these ill-effects of stress. How we experience stress (positively or negatively, because yes, some stress can be good!) results from the disparity between the experience and personal expectations, and the ability and resources to cope with the stress. So, stay tuned... tonight I'll post part 3 with lots of things you can do to manage your stress-levels and stay happy and healthy!
Labels: acupuncture, disease, eating, stress, stress management, stress-related
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