How stress affects health through behavior and physical changes.

The health of people related to stress, long-term or not, is often jeopardized because of these people's behavioral changes.

 

People dealing with stress tend to eat less healthy and exercise less. They also want to feel less stressed, and the easiest way is to reach to things that will make them feel better. These are often not the items that are very healthy, e.g. cigarettes and liquor. All things that provide lower stamina in a time that you particularly need it because of the presence of stress.

Research by Johnson (1986) and Quick et al. (1997) suggests that people at times of stress often incur injuries more during sports, at work and at home. Theoverall resistance decreases. Imagine, you don't feel at your strongest when you had a bad nights sleep. Add the energy-consuming stress and often the behaviour that negatively affects health. Recovery from that injury takes longer, also because of stress.

This does not mean that you shouldn't exercise in times of stress, on the contrary. Just be careful.

It is also known that having stress, and especially the long-term stress, has negative effects on health due to changes in the body. You can read at general adaptation syndrome that the body, when confronted with a source of stress, is put in a heightend state of alertness; if there is danger, you have to able to cope with it. To obtain and maintain that heightened state of preparedness, a number of changes in the body are necessary. They are accomplished through activation of the sympathetic nerve system and release of stress hormones; elevated bloodpressure, increased muscle tone, improved breathing. One is now ready to get to grips with the problem, or flee from it.

Eventually, having long-term stress will lead to reduced resistance to other stimuli, including other stressors. The corollary is that people are much more susceptible to disease.

It is advisable to see your general practitioner in case you have physical complaints or questions about your health.