Many of us feel stressed all the time. After all, there seems to be a continuous parade of reasons to worry: the rising cost of living, climate change, job losses, health threats, debt, and loneliness, to name but a few.
And worry, by the way, can trigger the stress response just as if the event you worry about was actually happening. That means you rarely get a break, and your body is paying the price! With your body constantly on high alert, you may be left with high blood pressure, high blood sugar, palpitations, sleep disturbances, depression, and tiredness. On top of that, you are more vulnerable to infection, inflammation and disease.
The brain still reacts to acute stress today as it did in the days when we were still roaming the savannah. Humans that encountered a predator had two options: to run or to fight. Stress hormones enable the body to do that. They cause blood sugar to rise, providing the energy required for physical exertion.
At the same time, they widen the airways, make your heart beat faster and increase blood pressure to transport sugar and oxygen to the muscles of the extremities, which need them most right now. To ensure an adequate supply to the muscles, blood is temporarily withdrawn from other areas, such as the digestive tract or the reproductive system. At the same time, the capillaries near the surface of the skin contract. This is to reduce bleeding in case of injury. Moreover, cortisol is a powerful painkiller, so if you get injured, you’re not going to know about it until later, enabling you to keep fighting for your life despite injury.
In addition, cortisol leads to increased excitability of the brain and has an anti-inflammatory effect, partly via a pronounced inhibition of the immune system. Thus, the brain is poised for split-second decisions – but it’s not that good at conscious decision making and logical thinking just then. From an evolutionary point of view, the physical stress response is perfectly designed to put the body on alert in case of imminent danger and to mobilise the energy required to escape. But the key here is that these are meant to be temporary measures.
If acute stress persists, body systems become exhausted, counter-regulation fails, and the body is in a permanent state of activation. In addition to adrenaline, which impairs your ability to rest, large amounts of cortisol keep circulating in the blood. As cortisol massively suppresses immune reactions in the body, the immune system is weakened if it remains in the blood for a long time. Constant stress costs enormous energy due to the continuous activation of performance reserves, resulting in a permanent lack of energy. Long-term stress, therefore, has a toxic effect on the body. The stressors modern life has in store for you are rarely of the kind that requires you to run or fight so the historic stress response is no longer ideal.
Stress is a presence in everybody’s life and – I’m not going to lie – nearly impossible to escape. However, that doesn’t mean that you have to take it lying down. You have options. You can take a long hard look at your life and health, eliminate the stressors you can get rid of, and increase your resilience to the stressors you cannot do anything about.
Caffeine is a powerful stimulant for the nervous system. In response, your body produces the stress (and anti-sleep) hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Caffeine can also increase anxiety. So if you know you are sensitive to caffeine or think you might be, maybe give it a miss for a week and see how you feel.
Nutrients such as magnesium, vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin D and omega 3 fats are the most important for dealing with stress.
Exercise can help beat depression, it increases serotonin & dopamine, and it helps you sleep better. It’s important to do it consistently on a daily basis, or at least several times per week. Get outside! The light between 6.00am – 8.30am provides the greatest benefit. If you can, use your lunch break strategically to get outdoors. Take a gentle walk outside for no purpose. Not to go anywhere in particular; just to be.
Lack of sleep creates stress hormones, and stress messes with your sleep. Good sleep hygiene is important if you REALLY want prioritise your sleep. Create a good sleep routine and ideally turn off screens 90 mins before bed.
“How, I hear you ask?” Here are some fun and even free suggestions:
Do something just for the joy of it every day. Choose the focus for the next week, self-care, meditation, gratitude. Practice this EVERY DAY and see how you improve over the coming weeks/months.
If there is anything that resonates with you after reading this blog why don’t you book in for a free, 30-minute health & wellness review to see if a personalised nutrition and lifestyle plan might help. You can book it here https://p.bttr.to/3Afs5Mm yourself directly. There’s no obligation to work with me, and it just might be what you need to get started!
