Stress is a natural and normal part of being alive, no matter who you are, where you live, and what you do. Stress can be a great motivating factor, helping you to accomplish your goals, complete your tasks, and stay on top of your responsibilities. But in too high doses, stress can be incredibly harmful to your brain and body, causing long term damage that can be difficult to recover from. Here are three ways that stress impacts your health and what you can do about it to remain healthy and stress-free.
Sleep
The first way that sleep impacts your health is by disrupting and interrupting your sleep. Stress releases all sorts of hormones that together create what is commonly known as the “fight or flight response”. These hormones are designed to heighten your awareness of your surroundings, increase your reaction time, speed, agility, strength, and put you in a survival mode. This can be useful if you are said, trying to outrun a predator to stay alive, or fighting off an intruder, but is not so useful when you just need a good night’s sleep. Practicing mindfulness techniques before bed and limiting screen time are good ways to help quell the impact stress can have on your sleep.
Digestion
Another common way that your stress impacts your health is by interrupting your digestion. Yes, stress does actually have a major physical impact on your digestive tract, not just an imagined mental connection. Your gut is carefully tuned to your neurotransmitters, meaning changes to one often impact the others. Practicing stress management techniques may help improve your digestive health, which can have a positive impact on your ability to absorb crucial nutrients and be more comfortable throughout the day.
Mental Health
The final way that stress impacts your health is by causing detriments to your mental health. Stress and anxiety are themselves a mental disorder, but they can also be a symptom of and compound the dangers of stress. Make sure that you are seeing a therapist or psychiatrist if you feel that your mental health is at risk due to your stress to help find approaches that might help to alleviate your stress.
Stress is more than just an emotion; it has the ability to positively or negatively affect your health in many ways. But many times, stress poses a detriment to your health. Pay attention to how stress is impacting these three areas of your health and what you can do about it.
Check out this article on how to sleep more comfortably at night!
