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Stress and the Negative Effects on Physical and Mental Health

Melissa Nykorchuk, Author

Stress can be a motivator to get tasks done, but when stress becomes a chronic state of being, stress can have a significant impact on both physical and mental health. Long lasting stress can result in sleep changes, anxiety and depression, weight loss or gain, difficulty concentrating, and can even lead to heart disease and stroke.

In a recent study published in July 2008, conducted at the University of Michigan, scientists concluded “reducing exposure to stressful life conditions improves mental well-being, increases health promoting behaviors, and reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease”. In this study, disadvantaged adults were provided income that created moderate improvements in their standard of living. With less stress, participants had an overall increase in well-being, proof that if stress is managed, health improvements can be obtained.

Stress can make concentration difficult, resulting in poor work performance and poor decision making. Further, too much stress over a lengthy period of time can increase one’s chance of becoming disabled long term. Scientists in Canada at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health discovered in 2007 that the “presence of chronic work stress amplifies the effects of psychiatric disorders and chronic physical conditions”. This points out a need for getting stress under control before it leads to long term or permanent damage.

People that suffer from stress cope in a number of different ways. One tool often misused for coping with stress is food. Either eating too much or eating too little can be a sign that stress levels are too high. Emotional eating, as it is referred to, can cause cortisol levels to be high in the bloodstream. High cortisol levels lead to a significant increase in abdominal fat and difficulty maintaining blood sugar levels. Other eating disorders can predominate in those suffering from stress such as bulimia and anorexia as a means to cope.

Difficulty sleeping is a trademark of a person who is under too much stress. Unable to relax the mind or the body, a person suffering from stress will lose sleep and over time their body will experience a downward spiral as lack of sleep only exacerbates stress levels.

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Written by: Melissa Nykorchuk
Available File Types:Text
Words: 520