Stress and Human Health

Stress, I would stress more on this term. Stress, what we find at most of the places as a cause of disease or further spoil the condition of a patient suffering from disease. Stress is what each one of us gets in day-to-day life. From school children to senior citizen, almost everyone falls prey to this condition called Stress. I would call stress as the worst human enemy. After reading this, the curiosity to know about stress must have been intensified. So here, I will tell us what happen during stress and why is it so important to manage stress.

What are the changes in our body during stress?

Stress is often regarded as  "Fight or Flight" response. The entire body is in a state to either face the situation i.e. "Fight" or run away from the scene i.e. "Flight". This state proves to be a life-saver under many adverse circumstances. But the same happens even if there is no danger to life. So let's try to understand how this series of changes takes place inside our body.

The complex series involves brain and some endocrine glands, i.e. organs which produce and release into blood their chemical secretions which are responsible for long-lasting effects over almost the whole of body.

Firstly, all the information is interpret by three parts of the brain, Hippocampus, Amygdala and Neo-cortex. If the information is found to be stressful, then upon receiving messages from the three parts the Hypothalamus secretes chemical messenger hormone Corticotropin Releasing Factor (CRF). This hormone ultimately leads to secretion of Glucocorticoids (mostly referred to Cortisol) from the Adrenal gland. Cortisol or glucocorticoid bring about slow but long-lasting stress response. At the time of release of CRF, the endings of Sympathetic nerves release Epinephrine all over the body, which give immediate response that lasts only for 2-5 minutes.

Due to chronic or repetitive stress, Hypothalamus may be desensitized,  due to which it will continue secreting CRH despite of rise in Cortisol levels.

All this takes a lot of time to occur. By the time this process is on, the changes are brought about by another faster mode by Neural System. Some specialized nerves called Sympathetic nerves carry the neural impulses, and their nerve terminals release chemicals called Epinephrine into tissues and bring about all the necessary changes in seconds.

To understand all this better let us take an example. Think of a little rabbit in a difficult scenario that arises on his confrontation with a big sized predator. How should the rabbit react? As the predator is stronger, the rabbit must run away from the scene. The things will go in a way as mentioned above. What will be the changes in rabbit's body? All that may probably help in running faster and saving life. 

• To suffice the increased oxygen demand, rate of breathing will increase 
• Due to increased demand for energy, liver will release more glucose into bloodstream
• Heart rate will increase to supply oxygen and glucose all over the body
• State of alertness, brain is focused, vision narrowed and ears sensitized
• Muscles become tight
• As we know that the energy production in our cells is associated with liberation of heat, the increased temperature at the surface of skin is lowered by sweating.

Now, all these changes facilitate the rabbit's motive to escape death. After the rabbit succeeds in saving his life from predator, his body will be back to the normal state. So far, there will be no damage to the rabbit's health. If the rabbit frequently gets such stressful stimuli, or due to some disturbance in the mechanism rabbit's body does not return to normal, then there will be many ill effects upon the rabbit's health.

All that I spoke of in the above example is what happens with humans. 

Effect of Stress on Human Health

So far we have seen what all changes occur in our body under stressful circumstances. Now we shall learn about the negative effects that may arise due to prolonged stress.

Effect on Immune System

Stress affects immunity in varied manner. It halts the maturation of WBCs, the cells which bring about immune response, in Thymus. It is the cause of shrinking of Thymus gland. It suppresses the release of Interleukin, the chemical messenger of WBCs. It even enters WBCs and destroys their DNA. Due to inhibition of protein synthesis, there is deficiency of antibodies, the proteins that bind to and kill the invading pathogens. All this results into weaker immunity and greater risks of being infected. 

Effect on Muscles

Stress tightens muscles. In case of prolonged stress, the tightened muscles result into back ache, head ache, body ache, shoulder pain, etc. This is because the muscles don't get a chance to relax.

Effect on Cardiovascular System

Under stressful conditions, heart pumps at a faster rate. On the contrary, the stress hormone Cortisol constricts blood vessels and elevates the blood pressure. This makes it difficult for heart to pump blood effectively and hence increases the load on heart. Over the long run, prolonged stress makes the heart weak and may possibly lead to heart attack or other cardiovascular diseases.

Effect on Digestive System

The effects of stress like increased heart rate, rapid breathing and hormonal changes disturb proper functioning of digestive system. Stress may lead to acid reflux which is commonly called as heartburn. Any existing ulcer in digestive tract may begin to trouble or trouble more during prolonged stress.

Effect on Psychological Health

Prolonged stress badly affects the psychological health of it's victim. Due to stress, the sleep pattern is disturbed and stress may cause insomnia. During stressful period, the sufferer may be very easily irritated. Prolonged stress adversely affects the social life of the individual.