...our series on "Chronic Stress"
Part 1: An Introduction
I have studied the effects of chronic stress for the past few years, both in my psychology major and currently as part of what will be my Master degree thesis...
Let's face it, stress is a part of daily life. But how much is too much? This subject is one of the most important of ones that should be made aware to the public... CHRONIC STRESS!
Now I am not talking about a little life stress, everyone has a little.And some stress is good (such as working out or riding a roller coaster for the thrill of it) But constantly being worried, upset, or miserable over something (or everything) everyday of your life can cause more health issues than you think, INCLUDING atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), fat accumulation and distribution, chromosome damaage, even brain (yes BRAIN) damage.
But you don't have to take just MY word for it. When it comes to experts on the effects of chronic stress, a noted neuroscientist, Robert Sapolsky has done over 30 years of research on the effects of stress and stress-related hormonal imbalances.
Quick Bio:
Robert Maurice Sapolsky is an American neuroscientist, professor of biology, neuroscience, and neurosurgery at Stanford University, researcher and author.
Awards: MacArthur Fellowship
Books: "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers";" The Trouble with Testosterone"," A Primate's Memoir," " Monkeyluv"," Stress, The Aging Brain, and the Mechanisms of Neuron Death."
Dr. Sapolsky was also featured in a documentary by National Geographic ( you can find it if you stream Netflix) called "Stress, Portrait of a Killer."
What I find interesting is what the research shows in the documentary and the books...most of which were done on primates due to their social structures being somewhat similar to humans.
In the less dominant primates, of which undergo what would be considered "chronic stress" from their social status among other dominant and aggressive males, they found elevated levels of stress hormones such as cortisol and glucocorticoids. They also found that by looking at arterial cells of these animals it showed plaque build-up from atherosclerosis that the less stressed dominant primates didn't have.
In Europe there is a study deemed "the Whitehall Study" where they did an experiment on the British civil service hierarchy of the government workers. This was especially interesting to me because the workers all had the same access to the same healthcare, yet where the job was on the corporate ladder seemed to have a correlation with how much the people went to the doctor...lower rank is associated with more doctor visits and missed work due to illness..there is a correlation between hierarchy, social status, and stress and disease. However every scientist must remember, correlation does not account for causation, but its awfully coincidental!
Now I must back up for a minute. Cortisol is released when there is physical OR psychological stress. Any prolonged period of exposure to stress hormones causes damage to the body by inflammation. Its inflammation that causes the arteries to harden, which then build up a plaque from the cholesterol that comes in to repair the damage. I will get more in depth on inflammation, the damage done, and how to reduce it, in my next blog
Cortisol also reacts with other hormones and chemicals in the body during a stressor that serve to cease unnecessary mechanisms, such as digestion and the immune system (more on this later), so that we can use all our energy toward the immediate crisis. But when there is no real life-threatening crisis and this stress hormone soup starts to build up, thats when it does the damage. There is even proof it destroys neurons in the memory center of the brain, our hippocampus. Evidence shown on MRIs of chronically stressed brains that the hippocampus is smaller than average, and also that it can shrink, when measured over a period of time when exposed to stress hormones.
Depression has also been linked to stress. I will have more on this at another time, but for now here is an article that was written on the subject by Sapolsky.
There is so much correlation between chronic stress and illness, and it is all mentioned in the documentary and also his books, of which my current favorite is "Why Zebra's Don't Get Ulcer's"
I have more on the effects of chronic stress coming up in the next blog series. For now, check out the article, books, and documentary I mentioned for more in-depth explanations. They are interesting and easy to understand, and are real "eye-openers" as to maybe why some of the current health issues are such a problem this day and age.
Until next blog, you can reduce the stress in your life by practicing simple techniques such as exercise (which has been found to significantly reduce stress), multiple breathing techniques, yoga, tai-chi, even a simple walk, listening to music you enjoy, and meditation. I will find more links for stress reduction techniques and post them next blog.
Perhaps now when you see all those "Keep Calm" sayings, maybe you won't be as annoyed!!! :)
Keep positive!
---Britt
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