Introduction
Stress is any change that makes a person undergo emotional, physical, or mental strain. When an occurrence or action requires urgent attention, the body’s response to the situation results in stress. Some everyday stress causes include family conflicts, more responsibilities with less time, and worry about someone or something.
It is imperative to note that every person undergoes stress to a given extent. Too much or too little stress is considered unhealthy and must always be maintained at the normal range. It is a person’s role to understand the stress level and seek the best way to overcome it. Stress must be managed because it negatively impacts the human body, jeopardizing the quality of life.
The stress levels in the human body that can be considered catastrophic are categorized into three primary levels: acute, episodic acute, and chronic. Acute level results from traumatic events such as accidents, earthquakes, and physical and sexual abuse, among other causes.
When a person faces numerous challenging situations that make things go wrong every time, a person is considered to have a periodic acute level. Chronic distress is a consistent feeling of being overwhelmed for an extended period, hence becoming non-productive. Worry affects people’s physical, emotional, and psychological realms. This paper investigates the negative impact of stress on the human body.
Negative Impact of Stress on the Body
The human body comprises different systems connected by the central nervous system. When one system is affected, the others may also be affected. The effects of stress on the human body include the direct impact on the body and the indirect through the production of hormones. The physical effects of stress on the human body include but are not limited to headaches, less sexual desire and activity, stomach aches, insomnia, rapid heartbeat, chest pains, fatigue, increased blood pressure, and other cardiovascular conditions.
Effects on Sugar Levels
Blood sugar controls different functionalities in the human body, such as the kidney, heart, and liver. When the sugar levels change, the body’s normal activities are affected, and a person will likely face adverse health conditions. The human body has an automatic process of handling stress through the production of hormones.
When stressed, adrenaline is produced to help the person take action, fight or flight (Daniel, 2019). The body, however, complements the hormone with cortisol, increasing sugar levels to help the person overcome the stressful situation. When the stress persists, the produced hormone increases the sugar level and causes a condition known as hyperglycemia (Daniel, 2019). Hyperglycemia leads to breaking blood vessels, which take blood to various body organs. As a result of the situation, the body is prone to suffer vision loss and cardiovascular and nerve problems.
Higher sugar levels have other impacts on the human body, such as life-threatening diabetic ketoacidosis. Fatty liver disease and diabetes are also a result of too much sugar in the body. Type one and two diabetes are a result of excess sugar caused by stress. Therefore, managing stress levels is essential because it is the prerequisite for chronic conditions and sugar levels. Stress is, therefore, catastrophic and may lead to death if the impact on blood sugar is not detected and treated on time.
Lack of Sleep
Getting sound sleep is considered one of the healthiest lifestyles since it makes people think clearly and increases productivity. Research by O’Connor et al. (2021) inferred a direct relationship between sleep and the immune system. When a person gets enough sleep, the white blood cells and the immune system are strengthened.
Stress is likely to deprive a person of sleep and make the person experience sleepless nights thinking of how to solve the problems. Insomnia, therefore, affects the person’s immune system and, therefore, is more likely to get sick more often. Further, the reduced immunity affects a person’s ability to heal when sick.
Lack of sleep is likely to make people gain weight and lead to obesity. Further, insomnia makes a person less productive because the body weakens. For example, a person who suffers from sleep deficiency is likely to be weak and, therefore, cause accidents and another inability to perform day-to-day activities (Rohleder, 2019). Insomnia further affects the body negatively by making a person vulnerable to stroke, kidney disease, and higher blood pressure. Stress must be handled to ensure that a person gets adequate sleep for better body functioning.
Chest Pain and Rapid Heartbeat
The musculoskeletal system has muscles that control the body’s actions. For example, when the receptors detect pain or danger, such as fire, the muscles are energized to move the person to a safer place. Whenever a person undergoes stress, the muscles undergo an automatic reflex action to take care of the stress. The muscle tension relaxes once the stressful reaction has been handled (O’Connor et al., 2021).
However, when the stress takes a long to be handled, people are likely to suffer more pain because of the tension in the muscles. When the muscles from the neck upwards are tense, the person experiences headaches. It is imperative to note that when a person undergoes stress for many days, the muscle tension becomes chronic and may be the prerequisite for a more severe health condition.
When stressed at work or school, people experience musculoskeletal pain in the upper extremities and lower back. Shoulder, back, and neck pains affect people who suffer from stressful situations. The pains caused by constant worry escalate when the anxiety in the person is not reduced.
Tension in the human body has a direct impact on the heartbeat. An increase in anxiety has a ripple effect on the heart rate, consequently increasing blood pressure (Daniel, 2019). The heaviness in the heart causes chest pains and other related pains, which persist for as long as the pain is expressed. A rapid heartbeat causes people to experience shortness of breath.
Consequently, tachycardia results, and some body parts may not receive adequate oxygen. The situation further makes a person weak and dizzy, which increases the probability of fainting. Stress further causes body weakness, leading to the inability to perform daily activities, and must be eliminated to guarantee good health.
Reduced Sexual Urge
A person under stress cannot get the urge for sexual activity. Various hormones in the body control sexual intercourse. The sexual hormones are produced when a person is in a state of peace and tranquility. However, when a person undergoes stress, numerous other hormones, such as cortisol, interfere with sexual drive and libido, hence lowering the interest in intercourse.
Further, the sexual urge is affected because the arteries cannot circulate blood properly to other parts of the body whenever a person is stressed. Arteries are the main vessels that supply blood to other body parts for activities. When the arteries are affected by higher stress levels, they constrict, and the blood flow is jeopardized (Rohleder, 2019).
Consequently, the person experiences erectile dysfunction in men and lowers their ability to engage in sexual intercourse. The human body is run by two central nervous systems, the accelerator and the parasympathetic. The accelerator is a stress response that gives a person excessive energy to fight danger or to flee.
The accelerator nervous system affects the body as energy increases, and sweating is experienced as a person tends to solve the problem. The reproductive system is not included in the accelerator system, so the urge for sex disappears. The brake system is the second, also known as the parasympathetic nervous system, and is applied once the stress levels have subsided and one can coordinate the other organs. Since the accelerator nervous system and the associated hormones cannot mix with the sex hormones, the libido and sex drive are affected when a person is under stress (O’Connor et al., 2021).
The body’s response to stress in the physical realm hinders a person from having sex. Since distress distracts a person’s attention from the sexual urge, it reduces. Testosterone is the hormone that controls sex, and high stress levels lower the production of the hormone, which makes a person unable to feel the sexual urge.
Stomach Pain and Diarrhea
Stress negatively impacts the physiology of the stomach, and a person not only feels stomach pains but also suffers diarrhea. When stressed, hormones and neurotransmitters are released to restore normalcy. However, the released hormones negatively affect gut mortality and change how the intestine squeezes waste into the body. The changes in how the stomach squeezes waste upset the stomach, and a person suffers acute stomach pains (Daniel, 2019).
Further, the released hormones affect the delicate balance of the bacteria in the stomach. As the concentration of bacteria changes in the gut and stomach, reflex action to restore normalcy causes discomfort. It is crucial to remember that when an individual is under stress, they may eat excessive junk food, likely to cause numerous disquiet in the body.
When a person is stressed, butterflies are common, and they cause discomfort in the stomach. The changes lead to nausea, vomiting, and other stomach-related challenges, such as bloating, constipation, and indigestion. When the stress is eliminated, a person regains normalcy since the composition of bacteria and hormonal levels are restored (Rohleder, 2019).
However, when the stress levels take longer to regain normality, the stomach pains are likely to transform into a complex health condition. When an infant complains of stomach pains, the initial step is to ensure that stress is eliminated before deciding to take it to the hospital. In most cases, stress-related stomach pains end after the stress is cured.
Stress and Heart Diseases
Stress has a direct impact on the human body because it affects its operations. When stressed, too many thoughts are generated about fixing the problem. The part of the brain mandated to process emotions gets numerous signals to process the commands. The arteries and other blood vessels that carry the commands are overwhelmed, and the heart condition deteriorates (Daniel, 2019). The increased activity at the amygdala also affects the blood vessels’ inflammation and puts the person at a higher risk.
The amygdala is an organ responsible for determining a person’s state of fear or anxiety and activating the necessary behavior to deal with the situation at hand. It is imperative to note that when a person is stressed, the heart is highly likely to be overwhelmed with pumping blood to various parts of the body and prone to heart conditions (Rohleder, 2019). Cardiovascular diseases become common when a person is constantly stressed, as the amygdala negatively impacts the arteries and heart when overworked.
Conclusion
Stress is a common reaction people feel when they undergo pressure from the external environment. Although every person undergoes stress, there is a threshold that must not be exceeded. People must always devise ways of controlling their stress levels because exceeding the limit jeopardizes their health. Despite having numerous psychological and medical impacts, stress also directly impacts the human body. The increased amygdala activity increases the possibility of heart disease.
Further, stress is also responsible for stomach pains and less sex drive. Chest pain, sugar levels, and insomnia all of which have a direct impact on the body. It is the role of healthcare professionals to ensure that people are aware of the impacts of stress and the best way to overcome the condition.
References
Daniel, C. O. (2019). Effects of job stress on employee’s performance. International Journal of Business, Management, and Social Research, 6(2), 375-382. Web.
O’Connor, D. B., Thayer, J. F., & Vedhara, K. (2021). Stress and health: A review of psychobiological processes. Annual review of psychology, pp. 72, 663–688. Web.
Rohleder, N. (2019). Stress and inflammation–There is a need to address the gap in the transition between acute and chronic stress effects. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 105, 164-171. Web.