3 Facts About Stress & Your Health That Everyone Should Know
It should come as no surprise to anyone reading this that stress is not healthy. Not physically, not mentally, not emotionally. And while we know it’s no help to simply say “just try not to stress out about it,” there are things that can be done to properly manage and control your stress. April is National Stress Awareness Month, and awareness is the critical word that we are focusing on in this blog post. The healthcare providers here at Abraham Family Medicine wanted to discuss stress, and provide a few facts about how stress can impact our health and wellness (and what can be done about it).
Stress Can Affect Your Sleep
In some ways stress can be a double-edged sword. It’s natural to feel exhausted or wrung out on especially stressful days, which you would assume would help you sleep better at night. Unfortunately, the opposite is often true. Being overly stressed can affect your ability to sleep and even increase your risk of chronic insomnia or other sleep disorders. Over time, poor sleep can increase a person’s risk of many serious health conditions including high blood pressure, and heart disease, as well as causing additional stress. It can be a vicious cycle.
Stress Can Impact Your Mental Health
A recent study conducted by the Mental Health Foundation asked people about the mental and psychological effects of stress. Over half of the respondents said that their stress has caused some degree of depression and anxiety over the past year. Additionally, respondents in the same study said that feeling overly stressed significantly increased their desire to partake in unhealthy habits like overeating, drinking alcohol, and smoking.
Stress Can Weaken Your Immune System
Stress can weaken a person’s immune system over time and increase the risk of common viruses and illnesses. The body’s natural response to stress is production of a stress hormone called cortisol. When the body is overstressed for an extended period of time, the body can get used to a surplus of cortisol in your blood, which can lead to chronic inflammation. This reaction can also decrease the count of the white blood cells that the body depends on to fight infection. This leaves the body especially vulnerable to colds and other illnesses. Too much stress can also trigger and worsen the symptoms of certain autoimmune conditions like psoriasis, lupus, and inflammatory bowel disease.
Ironic as this may sound, if you’re feeling stressed while reading this, take a deep breath. There is a lot that can be done to reduce stress levels, or handle being stressed in a more healthy way. Regular daily exercise is always encouraged. Practicing healthy breathing techniques and wellness exercises like yoga and meditation can also do wonders to relieve stress. We also suggest reading, and spending less time on your phone and other electronic devices, especially closer to bedtime to help promote healthy sleep.
Stress can feel like a lot to overcome, but it’s important to remember that you are not alone. Even small tweaks that can help reduce small amounts of stress can have significant long-term health benefits. For more information or to schedule an appointment with one of our family medicine healthcare providers, please contact Abraham Family Medicine. Our office is located in Snellville, not far from Grayson, Dacula, and Lilburn.
