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What is Stress?

                 We are doubtless all pretty informal with stress that  can really be useful and may even help you survive in the face of danger. For instance, if you see a large dog running toward you, your body’s stress response can help you get out of the way to avoid getting hurt.

                 However,  when stress is ongoing, it can have damaging effects on your physical and mental health. In fact, research has shown that chronic stress may be one of the leading risk factors for heart disease.

                    In this article, we will going into the basics of stress and how chronic stress can increase our risk of heart disease. If we want to have information about  what we can do to control stress in a healthy way, we have that covered, too.

What is stress?

Stress

               In simple word, we can says that  Stress is our body’s rections to a physical or psychological movements which we realize as challenging or threatening. But if we see in broad terms, stress is any change we have to modify to. While we often view stress in a negative light, not all stress is harmful. Actually, good stress does exist, and it is known as Eustress.

               If we see the example of eustress is getting a new project at work. It may feel overwhelming at the Starting and there may be difficulty along the way. However, it also gives we  and our group a opportunity to shine, learn new skills, and be encouraged for the good work we do.

            Stress is also divide into two different types that are  Acute and chronic stress. Both can affect our body and reasonable for particular changes.

1) Acute stress-

                     Acute stress is short term stress and distinguishable. For instance, we might have acute stress when we are face the following problem in our personal life.

1. Go to for a job interview.
2. Have to speak in around public.
3. Pay a visit to the dentist.
4. Get stuck in traffic on the way to work.
5.  Driving and have to swerve to ignoring hitting another car

                    When we are faced with acute stress, our body allow the change it necessary to adapt to, deals with it, and then after some time it becomes to a normal state.

2) Chronic stress-

          Chronic  stress is occurs when we face a challenge that does not have a clear end. As a result, we keep away in a stronger state preparedness to face an ongoing threat. Chronic stress doesn’t give our body a chance to recover and back to a typical state.

                 When we deal with this type of stress, our breathing and heart speed remain faster, our muscles stay tense, and our digestive process may not work like it should. Also, our immune system may be low effective.

                    There are several potential Created of chronic stress. Some examples contains-

1. Dealing with a chronic illness.
2. Financial worries.
3. Family or relatives issues.
4. Worries about a family member.
5. Pressure or challenges linked to our job.
6. Discrimination or racism.

Symptoms of stress-

1) Decreased energy and insomnia-

               Prolonged stress can cause chronic fatigue and disruptions in sleep, which may result in decreased energy levels. For example, a recent study of more than 7,000 working adults found that fatigue was 'significantly associated' with work-linked stress.

                    Stress may also disrupt sleep and cause insomnia, which can lead to low energy. A 2018 review published in the Journal of Sleep Research found that 'stress-related care and rumination' can lead to disrupted sleep and usually the risk of increasing insomnia.

SourcStress may also disrupt sleep and cause insomnia, which can lead to low energy.A 2018 review published in the Journal of Sleep Research found that “stress-related worry and rumination” can lead to disrupted sleep and eventually the risk of developing insomnia 

Trusted SourceAnother study of 2,316 participants showed that exposure to stress was associated with an increased risk of insomnia.

Source             Another study of 2,316 participants showed that exposure to stress was linked with an enhanced risk of insomnia. Both of these studies focus in on sleep reactivity, or the extent to which stress impacts the capacity to fall sleep or remain asleep.

Both of these studies focus in on sleep reactivity, or the extent to which stress affects the ability to fall sleep or remain asleep.these studies focus in on sleep reactivity, or the extent to which stress affects the ability to fall sleep or remain asleep.

                While it’s proves that stress can distrub sleep, not everyone who feels stress or who is going through a stressful time will deal with insomnia or sleep disturbances.

2) Depression-

                 Most of the studies proposed that chronic stress may be related with depression and depressive episodes.

                     One of the study of 816 women with major depression resulted that the onset of depression was particularly linked with both acute and chronic stress.Sourc

                      Another one study shows that maximum levels of stress were linked with the onset of main depression in adolescents. In addition, a 2018 Analysis spotlighted the relation between depression and the experience of chronic or inescapable stress.

            Besides stress, some potential contributors to depression contains:

1. family history
2. age
3. environmental factors
4. even certain medications and illnesses.

How does stress affect your body?

Stress affects on our body

           The  stress reaction is an alteration that creates our body to deal with a challenge or threat. The stress reaction starting in our brain after you have observed something as stressful or threatening. Generally speaking, there are two kinds components to the stress reaction:

1) Cortisol- 

               When we encounter a stressor, our brain enhances its production of cortisol, also called as the 'stress hormone'. One of cortisol’s major functions is to rises our energy levels so we can deal with a stressful position. It does this by helping to move sugars stored in our liver into our bloodstream, where the sugars can be helpful as energy.

2) Epinephrine and norepinephrine-

                Epinephrine and norepinephrine is the another part of our brain signals for the enhaced production of the hormones. This part of the stress reaction is often described to as the 'fight or flight' reaction. Rises in these hormones creates our body to face with a stressful situation by -

a) Increasing our heart speed and blood pressure.
b) Increasing our breathing rate.
c)  Increasing blood flow to our muscles.
d)  Lower digestion.
e)  Rising our energy supplies.

How does stress affect your heart?

               When stress becomes chronic long lasting or ongoing, it can have dangerous effects on our body. The caused of stress on heart health have long been studied, especially since the cardiovascular process is a important part of our stress reaction.

                      A 2021 studyTrusted Source contains 118,706 people without leading heart disease across 21 countries. All the scientists search that maximum stress was linked with an increased risk of the following diseases-

1. Cardiovascular disease.
2. Coronary heart disease.
3. Stroke.
4. Death.

                   According to a 2018 study, stress may be a risk part for cardiomyopathy, a progressive disease that result the heart muscle to weaken. In the year 2021, the American Heart Association released a scientific statement regarding the importance of the effect of psychological health on heart health.

Trusted Sourc
Trust.               In it, the association noted that study has proves that both significant events and the buildup of each day stresses can enhaced the risk of cardiovascular disease. This contains:

1)  Perceived stress-

  

                    Perceived the level of stress you believe you’re currently under. High levels of perceived stress, regardless of cause, have been linked to coronary heart disease and coronary heart disease-related deaths.

2) Work-related stress-

               Stress related to work or the workplace has been associated with a 40 percent increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease.

3) Social isolation-

                Social isolation and loneliness were related with cardiovascular disease risk and a 50 percent rise in the risk of cardiovascular events like a heart attack or stroke.

4) Stress during childhood- 

                  Going through streeful or traumatic events in childhood was joined to maximum levels of inflammation and an enhance in certain risk factors for heart disease later in life.

A potential mechanism?

                      Scientists continue to explore the mechanism in that stress may affected on heart health. A 2017 reseach paper has shed
 some light on this subject. Scientists were capable to linked  cardiovascular disease to activity in an area of the brain known as amygdala. The amygdala is included in processing experiences like stress and fear. It also plays a role in starting the stress response.

             Using brain scans from 293 people, scientists search that maximum activity in the amygdala was inked with enhances in white blood cell preparation in bone marrow, that contributed to inflammation in the arteries.

               The rising in bone marrow activity and artery inflammation were also related with enhanced risk of cardiovascular events such as angina or chest pain, heart attack, and stroke etc.

                 In a smaller group of 13 people who had a psychological observation in addition to a brain scan, maximum perceived stress was linkded with rises in:

1. Activity in the amygdala.
2. Inflammation in the arteries.
3. Levels of C-reactive protein, a measure of inflammation in the body.

Stress also increases other risk factors-

                         Maximum levels of stress have also been related to an risk of high blood pressure and diabetes. Both of these situations can raise our risk of heart disease.

High blood pressure-

                      High blood pressure is when the force of the blood on our artery walls is too high. Chronic stress is a cause factor of maximum blood pressure, that can cause damage to our heart and blood vessels over time.

                 A 2021 researchd Source saw at the levels of stress hormones in the urine of 412 participants with no history of high blood pressure. It search that:

1. The risk of developing high blood pressure increased with each doubling of hormones like cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine in the urine.
2. The effect of increased stress hormones on blood pressure was stronger in participants under the age of 60 than in older participants.
3. The risk of experiencing an event like a heart attack or stroke increased with each doubling of cortisol in the urine.

Diabetes-

Stress and Diabetes

                With diabetes, our body doesn’t produce  insulin, doesn’t use insulin well, or both. This leads glucose or sugar to build up in our blood, potentially damaging our heart and blood vessels.

        Insulin uses for managed  blood sugar levels in our body. After we  consume foods , insulin informs our body to consume sugar in our blood and use it for energy. When blood sugar levels are too maximun, insulin tells our body to store the extra sugar for later.

                  Hormones of the stress reaction have the opposite impact on insulin. They inform the body to release stored sugar into the blood to be used as energy. As such, chronic stress has been explored as a potential contributing factor for diabetes.

              A 2017 studyTrusted Source saw at the relation between stress and type 2 diabetes in women over a time of 12 years. It search that moderate to maximum stress was linked with a 2.3-fold rise in the odds of developing type 2 diabetes within 3 years.

Stress affects lifestyle behaviors-

Stress affects on Mental health

            We  have all know about heart-healthy lifestyle selection like getting continue exercise, controlling a moderate weight, and consumed a balanced diet. But did we know stress can promote reaction that negatively affected  health of heart.

                    A 2014 study looked at perceived stress and health-related behaviour in 578 students. It resulted that people with maximum perceived stress tended to engage in more non-healthy behaviors than those with less perceived stress.  Few examples of harmful behaviors that people may turn to in times of stress contains-   

1.   Reducing physical activity
2.  Changing eating habits, such as overeating.
3.  Enhancing alcohol consumption.
4.  Smoking cigarettes.
5.  Not taking medications, containing heart medications, as prescribed.

            All of the above reactions are risk factors for heart disease.

                   A 2012 analysisTrusted Sou also search that maximum stress was linked with low healthy dietary choices and amaximum body weight. Fatness and obesity are risk factors for high cholesterol, that can contribute to heart disease, too.

How to manage stress and protect your heart-

                  Although we can’t completely ignore stress, there are methods we can take to control stress better and to maintain our heart health. Let’s consider the few  examples of helpful stress management processes. 

Do regular exercise-

         Continue exercise is best for heart health. It can also reduced stress and lift our emotions. Focus to get at least 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week. If we don’t know how to initiate, ask our doctor for few advices.

Try relaxation processes-

                      Relaxation methods are an better way to ease stress. They can help reduced our blood pressure and heart speed, and creates  you feel better.  There are several kinds of methods we can try. We may want to try a some to counting which one works good for you.

                Some relaxation processes we may want to try that contains the following tips-

1.  Deep breathing exercises.
2.  Progressive muscle relaxation.
3.  Guided imagery.
4.  Body scan.
5.  Mindfulness  activities.
6.  Meditation.
7.  Yoga. 
8.   Tai chi.
9.  Massage.  
10.  Aromatherapy.

Do something we enjoy-

                  Sometimes joined  in  an activity we actually enjoy can useful to  reduce our stress levels. When we aimed on doing something that’s fun or that holds our interest, you will be less likely to dwell on the things that are causing we to feel stressed.

A some ideas contains-

1.  Listening to music.
2.   Dancing to your favorite tunes.
3.   Curling up with a book.
4.   Watching a favorite movie or TV show.
5.   Indulging in a hobby.

Get enough sleep-

             Best quality sleep is important for our physical and mental health. Regular, restful sleep can keep we healthy and also plays a important role in how we control stress. Feeling tired and not being capable to think clearly can create it much harder to deal with stressful situations.

                      Focus to get 7 to 9 hoursTrusted Source of best quality sleep every night. If we have trouble getting a good night’s sleep, these tips may help we get the restful sleep we necessary.

Connect with others:

              Investing time with supportive family and friends can help we decompress. It can also protect we with support when you are going through a specifically stressful period.   If we can’t be with our loved ones in person, try to reach out with a phone call, text message, or video chat etc.

Seek help when necessary-

               If you are troubling to cope with a stressful position or event, it may be applicable  to linked with a mental health professional, support group, or online therapist.  Take advice  with your doctor about recommendations .