Why YOU NEED STRESS!

We've all encountered stress in one form or another. In this post, I will thoroughly dissect it—discussing what stress is, its advantages, when it can be detrimental, and why, under specific circumstances, it can prove advantageous for your day-to-day performance. Finally, I'll dive into ways to cope with harmful stress.

 What is cortisol?

So, stress constitutes a natural human response. Its purpose is to alert us to specific challenges and threats, directing us toward addressing them. According to the Mayo Clinic, this alarm system is triggered by a small region at the base of the brain known as the hypothalamus. Through nerve and hormonal signals, your brain stimulates the adrenal glands, situated atop the kidneys, to release a surge of adrenaline and cortisol.

Cortisol stands as the primary stress hormone and, upon release, elevates glucose levels in the bloodstream while slowing functions that would be nonessential or harmful in a fight-or-flight situation. The problem arises when cortisol levels remain elevated for an extended period.

Benefits of cortisol

According to an associate professor of integrative biology at Berkeley, stress can have its benefits, as "some levels of stress are beneficial, pushing you to the optimal level of alertness, behavioral and cognitive performance." A study involving rats revealed that significant but brief stressful events caused stem cells in their brains to multiply, thereby enhancing their mental performance. Such studies suggest that stress aids animals in adapting if they find themselves in similar situations in the future.

“Stress can be something that makes you better, but it is a question of how much, how long and how you interpret or perceive it.”

Cortisol positively affects your body in the following ways:

- Regulates your body's stress response.

- Regulates your metabolism.

- Suppresses inflammation.

- Regulates blood pressure.

- Increases and regulates blood sugar.

- Helps control your sleep-wake cycle.

Additionally, Andrew Huberman's podcast emphasizes that stress can enhance performance and mobilize resources within the body. Stress can also have an anabolic effect, promoting testosterone and estrogen production, potentially aiding muscle development. Understanding stress can improve your performance, an essential point to bear in mind.

When stress is Harmful

According to Dr. Jeffrey Birk from Columbia University, "in the short term, the stress response restores the body's balance. Over prolonged periods, stress disrupts this equilibrium." Research demonstrates that chronic long-term stress is associated with issues such as muscle tension, digestive problems, headaches, weight fluctuation, sleep disturbances, heart disease, susceptibility to cancer, high blood pressure, and stroke.

Decades of research have revealed that chronic stress can:

- Elevate blood pressure, increasing the risk of heart attack or stroke.

- Accelerate heart rate, raising the risk of medical emergencies.

- Cause irregular heartbeats.

- Increase inflammation in the body, weakening the immune response and making you more susceptible to illness and viruses.

- Instill feelings of anxiety, overwhelm, or irritability, leading to a higher likelihood of avoiding healthy behaviors like physical activity and resorting to unhealthy habits such as smoking.

Ways to Cope With Bad Stress

Now that we've discussed detrimental stress, let's explore what YOU CAN DO NOW to prevent chronic long-term stress:

- Prioritize quality sleep.

- Maintain a regular exercise routine.

- Identify triggers for stressful responses and engage in healthy activities like meditation or exercise when they occur.

- Practice deep breathing exercises.

- Foster healthy relationships with your loved ones.

At the end of the day, life is too short. We’re stressed for an unimportant reason. If the thing you’re worried about won’t affect you in 5 years than you shouldn’t spend more than 5 minutes thinking about it.

Exercising consistently is the best thing that YOU can do to counter bad stress. That is what I help my clients accomplish and make sure they stick to a consistent routine. That not only counters the effects of stress but provides endless health benefits and physical RESULTS!