How Stress Messes with Your Health
By Sara Butler
Stress is a part of life you can’t escape, but it’s not something you should let run you over, either. If you don’t find ways to effectively deal with stress, it can make life a lot harder for you by sucking up your energy and killing your mood. Some stress can be helpful. If an axe murderer ever comes after you, you’ll be thanking your natural stress response for saving your life. But daily stress can impact your mind and body is some very bad ways.
You’re Exhausted
Aside from the fact that you might be so stressed you’re not sleeping well at night, stress also triggers your brain to release the hormone cortisol. Cortisol will make your heart beat faster, get more oxygen to your brain, and give you a burst of energy. The problem is that frequent stress will limit the amount of cortisol released and that will make you feel like you’re dragging your body around all day with no energy.
The good news is that you can counter this with exercise. Exercising just three hours a week can help to keep your levels of the stress hormone in check and hopefully give you more energy to get through your day.
It Gives You Skin Issues
When you’re under a lot of stress, hormones in your body called androgens spike, and that can cause your acne to flare up. But it doesn’t just stop there! Stress can also cause your skin to develop rashes due to the way it can impact your immune system. So, if you suffer from skin problems such as eczema, stress can trigger a flare-up.
It Messes with Your Mind
Stress that occurs where you feel fear or helplessness is called traumatic stress. And it can have a serious impact on the area of your brain where your memories are stored, called the hippocampus. Traumatic stress has actually been found to make the hippocampus shrink, making it tough to remember lists, facts, dates, or long stretches of time. If you’re having trouble remembering things, this may just be why.
It Can Cause Hair Loss
The androgens that can cause your skin to go crazy can also cause your hair to fall out. About three to six months after a particularly stressful time, you may notice more shedding than usually. The good news is that this is only temporary and a balanced diet can help to get things back to normal.
To learn more about your health and wellness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic.