Stress and the immune system
Did you ever feel like being ill when in stress? A sense of vulnerability or worry that just doesnt let you go. Is it just your imagination or is there something more? As a matter of fact you may be more at risk while in stress as you may think
A recent study published in Annals of Family Medicine suggests that people (especially men) while being irritated are 30 percent more likely to suffer an accident. So think about it when you are crossing the street while being angry next time.
As strange as it may sound, the same rule applies on the microbe level: The more you are out of control and stressed the more vulnerable you are to viruses and infections!
How much does stress affect the immune system?
Stress and depression researches show that psychological stress can greatly increase your susceptibility to colds and other viral diseases. Depression and stress is one of the three most common reasons for a weak immune system. The other two factors are:
- Poor exercise
- Poor diet
Add all 3 factors and you will have a perfect mixture to decrease the ability of your immune system to respond to almost non-existent levels. Think about it.
Why does it happen?
It is not news that the state of your mind influences the state of your body. Your body is a mirror of your mind. And if your mind is not okay, so isnt your body. Why? Well. Your mind controls all the processes in your body. But if your mind is messed up, it messes up with your bodys processes and leads to things like headache and a slow-reacting immune system.
What can I do?
While poor exercise and poor diet are reasons for physical deficiency of the immune system, stress is a psychological factor. Every person reacts differently to the same situation. Said that, here is what I suggest doing:
- Review your lifestyle, especially diet and exercise. Heavy food does add to stress. Your body has to digest all the junk food you put in while dealing with a stressful situation. Give your body one worry less. Eat small, healthy meals.
- Exercise does wonders! While the state of your mind affects your body, the state of your body also influences your mind! If you do exercise as first thing in the morning or at lunch break, you will notice the effect. While you exercise your body generates a drug-like substance that makes you feel better and relaxed for the next 2-3 hours. These dont have to be highly exhausting exercises.
- Yoga and meditation add another important anti-stress component: breathing. Right breathing techniques allow you to disconnect, forget all worries and relax. Besides, breathing exercises can be performed anywhere.
- Self-management. Organize your day. Avoid those situations of panic when you have hundreds of things to do and dont know where to start.
- Always have positive attitude. This one is quite important and has a very positive effect on how easy-going and relaxed you are. I suggest you to try for yourself the following: Not thinking any negative thoughts for 7 days. If you feel that a situation makes you feel bad, think about something funny. Read some jokes or play a game. If you fail on one of the days, you have to start over. These are the rules. Do it with somebody else, I realized this is even more fun! I did it with my co-worker and it was amusing to see confused people looking at our smiling, inspired faces.
- Rest. Old wisdom: 7-8 hours of sleep is a MUST. Every half hour does a day-lasting difference, believe me.
Any other stress-relieving technique will also help. Just remember that the health of body and mind go hand in hand! Thank you for reading my article and thanks to BodyTweaking for this wonderful site!
Note: Real bodytweakers just chill out when shit hits the fan
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