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How Stress Affects Your Body

The stress response is hardwired into our bodies to provide us with a quick boost of alertness and energy needed to perform at our best. However, stress is not always beneficial. When activated too long or too frequently, stress can harm nearly every part of our body. Expert Sharon Horesh Bergquist offers insight into what happens inside our bodies when we experience chronic stress.

What is Stress?

Stress is a feeling we all experience when facing challenges or feeling overwhelmed. But more than just an emotion, stress is a physical response programmed to spread throughout your body.

Stress and Health

In the short term, stress can be beneficial, but when prolonged, it can damage many organs in the body. When stress occurs, the adrenal glands release hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, affecting the function of the heart and blood vessels, increasing blood pressure, and raising the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

The Impact of Stress on Digestion

Stress can disrupt the function of the digestive system. The connection between the brain and gut can lead to irritable bowel syndrome and increased feelings of heartburn. Moreover, chronic stress can alter the composition of gut bacteria, affecting digestive health.

The Impact of Stress on Weight

Cortisol can increase feelings of hunger, making you crave energy-dense foods. This leads to the accumulation of visceral fat, raising the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease and insulin resistance.

The Impact of Stress on the Immune System

Stress affects immune cells, helping the body prepare to fight off intruders but also reducing immunity, making you more susceptible to infections and slowing down the recovery process.

How to Manage Stress?

Managing chronic stress is crucial for maintaining health. Stress is linked to telomere shortening, affecting cell longevity. Chronic stress can also lead to other health issues such as acne, hair loss, headaches, and fatigue.

Life will always present stressful situations, but how you respond is what matters. By viewing challenges as opportunities to take control and master your circumstances, you can maintain better health and performance in both the short and long term.

The content has been adapted from the video “How Stress Affects Your Body?” on the TED-Ed YouTube channel. You can select Vietnamese subtitles to fully understand this information.

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