The Silent Health Saboteur

The mere mention of stress is enough to cause our muscles to tighten, breath to quicken, and heart rate to soar. We’ve all experienced stress—whether in our work, relationships, health, legal matters, or some other aspect of life. While it’s inseparable from living, stress takes a toll on our health when it intensifies or becomes chronic.

What is stress?

Stress is the body’s natural reaction to changes or challenges, which includes many different physical, emotional, and behavioral responses. While it is a normal bodily function and an inevitable part of daily life, chronic stress and its effects can be destructive if they’re not managed.

Impacts of stress on the body

Chronic or severe stress can have a serious impact on a number of different parts of the body, including the brain, the gut, the heart, the skin, and the joints.

Stress on the brain

Stress triggers the release of the body’s primary stress hormone cortisol. Research has established that, over time, elevated cortisol levels can lead to shrinkage of the hippocampus, a part of the brain involved in memory and learning.

Not only does stress have long-term impacts, including increasing the risk of dementia, but it also affects us in the short-term. Because stress has been linked to impaired functioning of both the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of the brain, it can exacerbate depression.

The terms “stress” and “anxiety” are sometimes used interchangeably, but stress is usually a response to an external cause, while anxiety is generally a person’s internal reaction to stress.

Digesting stress

Research has shown that the quantity and nature of beneficial bacteria found in the gut can affect the brain. In medical circles, the gut is sometimes referred to as the “second brain” because the health of the two organs are linked, a connection often called the gut-brain axis.

That link between the digestive system and the nervous system can be directly impacted by stress. We know stress can be a causal factor of gut issues like heartburn, abdominal cramps, or loose stools; but stress, anxiety, or depression can also be the result of gut issues.

It’s like a two-way street: stress can facilitate dysbiosis (an imbalance of harmful-to-beneficial microbes); increase gut permeability (also known as a leaky gut); and destabilize our body’s microbiome. But those links can also work in reverse, exacerbating stress.

A heavy heart

Perhaps the least surprising effect of stress is its detrimental impact on the cardiovascular system. Studies demonstrate that high levels of cortisol can increase blood cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar, and blood pressure—some of the risk factors for heart disease. Stress is also known to increase the buildup of arterial plaque, reducing blood flow and increasing stroke risk.

Stress-skin connection

Stress can exacerbate skin conditions, including acne, eczema, and psoriasis, and it can also disrupt the epidermal barrier that moistens and protects the skin from harmful microbes.

Similar to the gut-brain axis, the skin has a two-way communication system with the brain. That means that environmental stressors, like ultraviolet light or temperature, can cause skin and hair follicles to produce and send stress-inducing signals to the brain, perpetuating the stress response.

Stress effects on joint health

Chronic stress can also aggravate inflammation in the body, exacerbating joint conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. Stress-activated inflammation can even lead to increased pain sensitivity, creating a vicious cycle of stress, inflammation, and pain, as well as aggravating conditions like ankylosing spondylitis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis.

Decompress and de-stress

Before you become stressed at the mere discussion of stress, remember to break the cortisol cycle by slowing down, stretching, and reflecting. There are many great natural remedies as well as prevention and management strategies that can help; but, first, you just have to breathe.

This article was originally published in the December 2024 issue of delicious living magazine.