Stress! It’s everywhere. We can’t escape it. It bombards us at work with stacks upon stacks of paperwork, pressure from colleagues, and the constant watchful eye of those above us. We leave our stressful job only to get frustrated with how many people are trying to get home, and in our despair we think maybe Dwight Schrute was right – maybe there are too many people, maybe we need a new plague. We then step into what’s supposed to be our safe place – our home – and are instantly pestered about food, or laundry, or trying to pry a crayon out of little Jimmy’s nose. Insert your life stresses here. We are a society of stressed out nut jobs!
Although stress affects everybody throughout his or her life, what’s its deal? What is it? Physiologically, what happens to our body when we get stressed? Put on your lab coats, coke bottle glasses and pocket protectors. We’re about to get nerdy up in here.
Stress is simply your body’s reaction to a stressor that has been placed upon it. And a stressor can be just about anything: little things, big things, negative things and positive things. Work is a stressor, bad food is a stressor, exercise is a stressor (a good one). Stresses is your body’s reaction to a demand placed upon it. Stress can be further categorized as acute (short term) and chronic (long term). That’s the simple part.
There is fairly complex cascade that happens in your body from the moment that a stressor is perceived to everything in your body going bonkers (scientific term). When a stressor is perceived, a response kicks in – it’s called the “fight or flight” response. And it’s exactly how it sounds – will I fight this, or will I run away from it? From this point it gets pretty wild; what happens in your body next requires some extensive knowledge of human anatomy to fully understand. But for the sake of your sanity and my word limit, let’s call it the “waterfall of fun”. A bunch of areas in your brain with very pronounceable names (like amygdala) are activated. These areas of activation lead to the release of neurotransmitters that all have a job in the waterfall. The final step of the “waterfall of fun” is epinephrine (adrenaline) being released. You may remember adrenaline from your high school days when you went to ask “hot Stacy” out. Heart pounding, blood pressure up, heavy breathing, palms sweating. Sound familiar? You can thank adrenaline for that.
Our bodies have natural braking systems to bring us back down to a non-sweaty level. At this point we are supposed to recover from the stressor, and our body adapts to battle future stressors. However, if by chance we keep on perceiving things as stress (traffic, work, little Jimmy’s crayon) then our body stays revved up, and a hormone called cortisol is released. Cortisol is a naturally occurring hormone in our body, that goes up and down throughout the day. Cortisol is pretty crazy. It does a lot of things. There is tons of research on it. Here’s a quick breakdown of what elevated cortisol levels have been linked with: muscle and bone wasting, abdominal region weight gain, weakened immune system, decreased recovery time, impaired learning, increased appetite…all pretty bad things if you haven’t noticed. Not to mention that a prolonged high level of adrenaline can lead to blood vessel damage, and is a contributing factor of future cardiovascular disease.
Is it any wonder why people who are chronically stressed have higher rates of anxiety, depression, addiction and obesity? You’re a big sweaty, hot mess, who can’t sleep at night because you’re jacked up on adrenaline. You’ve got silly putty for bones, are constantly battling some illness, and can’t even remember your address so you’re sleeping in some stranger’s house. And the horrible truth is that I’m merely scratching the surface here; there is so much more at play than what I briefly touched on.
Fortunately for you stressed out nut jobs there is hope. What do you think is one of the best ways to release stress? Wait for it…Exercise! Small acute stressors (like exercise) allow your body to adapt and better handle future stress. On top of that, it has been found that people who practice relaxation techniques and who have extensive support systems (family and friends) tackle stress way better than those who don’t. Does that sound oddly healthy and balanced? Picture someone who can control their temperament through relaxation, who exercises regularly, and makes time for family and friends. It’s almost like we already intuitively knew that….
Jonathan Schouten, B. Kin.
Professional Training Coach
Innovative Fitness Abbotsford
P: 6047463923
www.innovativefitness.com
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