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Stress Effects |
Get rid of stress (Home) > Stress Effects > Stress and Physical Health Stress and Physical HealthMild degree of stress is good to us. It helps in the proper functioning. If we do not feel any stress in our daily working, slackness is bound to come. It also facilitates to cope up any emergency condition we may face. Researchers have discovered that stress can be a predisposing factor for various physical ailments to occur. Cardiovascular ailmentsStress triggers the release of some hormones in our body. They are called Stress hormones. These are Adrenaline, Cortisol, and Dopamine. All of these hormones have a direct role-playing action in increasing blood pressure.Adrenaline has got the power for vasoconstriction (narrowing of the lumen of blood vessel), the including the vessels of the heart. Mild stress does not affect this very much. Physical system in our body has the power to compensate mild degree of irregularity. However, prolonged and massive stress gradually constricts the vessels. Narrowing of the peripheral vessels leads to high blood pressure. The constriction of the coronary blood vessels (that supplies blood to the muscles of the heart) can lead to mild to severe degree heart attack, in the worst case-death. The Effects of Stress on the Immune SystemStress hormone can lead to impairment in our immunity system. The persistent stressors – stress that appear beyond a person's control or seems unending – resulted in the most comprehensive inhibition of immunity. Almost all activities of immune system are lowered. Both the “Cellular immunity” and the “Humoral immunity” are challenged.The resultant factor is that there is global suppression of all the defense mechanism of our body. It is exposed to the world of infections. Once the defense mechanism is lost, opportunistic infections like tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases, various systemic infections, AIDS may get hold of our body. Stress and our digestive system- formation of ulcerAs it was discussed earlier, in the effect of stress, our body produces one stress hormone- Cortisol (Mineralocorticoid and Glucocorticooid). Glucocorticoid has the potency to enhance the secretion of gastric acid from the stomach. There is increase in the level of pepsin also.There are two types of stress- physical and emotional. Until a few years back, the idea was that emotional stress could be a cause of stress ulcer. However, recent study showed that, emotional stress might make an ulcer more agonizing and difficult to heal. However, the stress itself does not lead to an ulcer. In contrast, physical stress can cause an ulcer. Those who have gone through major surgery or suffered severe burns experience physical stress. A bacterium (Helicobacter pylori) is recognized for the cause of stress ulcer. The gastric mucosa that guards the inner flesh of the stomach is injured in case of stress. This cannot regenerate itself. The flowing materials like food, gastric acid, various enzymes, and bile are injurious to this inner flesh. Now, if the lining is not there, the materials have a direct access. The mucosa is negotiated by lack of blood supply due to destruction of muscle that contains blood vessel and attacked by gastric acid. That produces and aggravates the gastric ulcer.
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