You have probably heard that stress is not good for your heart, but do you understand the reasons why this is true? In what follows, I will give you information that explains what stress is, how it affects your body, and what you can do about it.
Stress is defined as a loss of equilibrium from the norm. Some degree of stress is normal and needed to function in everyday life in order to get things accomplished. Every person is different in the amount of stress that they can handle. However, it is agreed that when stress becomes prolonged whereby the body can no longer handle its effects, that things can go wrong in it.
There are good and bad forms of stress. Examples of good forms are getting married, having a baby, starting a new job, and going on a trip. Bad forms of stress can include marital stress, job stress, and health issues, for example. Good forms of stress are not a bad thing when they occur for a short period of time, as it provides you with motivation and a drive in life. However, when good or bad stress becomes prolonged is when your body starts to feel the effects.
What is important to realize is that there are positive and negative types of stress. Positive types of stress include moving to a new city, having a work deadline to meet, or having a baby. Negative types of stress, on the other hand, include death of a loved one, loss of a job, and so on. However, when the stress does not go away and stays with you all the time, is when you can become ill.
Stress is known for decreasing your body’s immune system and ability to fight infection, so you may notice that you experience more colds than is normal. It can leave you feeling very tired and exhausted, both mentally and physically. These are some things that you may notice, but what you may not notice is that your heart is having to work harder during times of stress. Your blood pressure goes up, as does your blood sugar, and your heart rate. These occur as the result of two hormones in your body.
When these two hormones take over due to stress that is always present, your heart has to work non-stop, and your blood pressure and glucose can rise to catastrophic levels. In other words, the fight or flight response never turns itself off. This is where the link between stress and heart disease comes in. If your heart is constantly working harder than it needs to, it can wear itself out. It can weaken, and stress is known to increase fatty deposits in arterial walls. Heart attack can be one of the results.
In order to minimize the effects of stress, and the ravaging effects on the body, start making positive changes in your life today.
In summary, making changes in your life will make a world of difference when it comes to your overall health and that of your heart.
