Stress Can Be Good for You
By Sara Butler
While it’s true that too much stress can put your health and happiness in jeopardy, some stress can actually be beneficial to you. There is such a thing as positive stress -- the kind of stress that helps to make you more productive, stronger, and that can basically light a fire under you to get stuff done. Many times, determining whether stress is positive or negative is a matter of perception. Here are a few ways you can welcome positive stress in your life.
It Boosts Your Brain
Low-level stress stimulates chemicals in the brain called neurotrophins. They make the connection between the neurons in your brain stronger. In fact, this is likely why exercise, a physical stressor, helps to boost concentration and productivity. Psychological stress can have an effect very similar to physical stress and studies have suggested that stress in the short term can help to boost memory as well.
It Makes You Tough
When you learn how to deal with the stress life throws at you, then future stress is easier to manage. Repeat exposure to stressful situations helps you to develop coping mechanisms that give you a sense of control over situations that may send other people spiraling. A doctor who practices emergency medicine is a great example since they kick into action under stress instead of just shutting down in a crisis.
It Motivates You
Good stress can be just what you need in order to succeed. When you have a deadline looming, it helps you manage the situation and get things done productively and in a relatively short period of time. Procrastinators know all about that!
The key is to view stressful situations as challenges you can face head on. That heightened sense of control and awareness then helps you to become absorbed by the activity as you’re driven to succeed.
It Can Boost Immunity
Stress is not a great long-term strategy to stay healthy, but it can help to strengthen your immune system in the short term. That’s because your body responds to stress by preparing itself to possibly sustain injury. It produces extra chemicals that help regulate the immune system, providing a temporary boost. Keep in mind this is mild, short-term stress. Long-term stress has been shown in studies to have the opposite effect!
Stress has its place. Just make sure you deal with the stress you experience in a healthy way!
To learn more about your health and wellness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Sandy, Utah.