What processes occur in the body during a period of critical stress?
Can someone who knows this stuff please inform me on the processes that occur in the body during a period of severe stress. I have heard things like:
stress makes you gain weight,
stress makes you lose muscle mass,
stress causes increased blood sugar levels,
stress causes the breakdown of protein in the body and increased fat storage.
However, I am not exactly sure how many of these are true and am interested in finding out the real facts behind stress.
Tags: body, critical, during, occur, period, processes, Stress
February 21st, 2010 at 7:34 pm
Stress increases cortisol levels in your body which in turn, causes a chain reaction of problems. As a result, your immune response is lowered, blood sugar levels are increased because of a lack of insulin maintenance. Your body goes into “fight or flight” response and among other things, blood pressure is raised. Weight gain is almost guaranteed. Sleep patterns are also disrupted which causes it’s own problems and perpetuates the stress cycle since sleep is tied to stress control. Basically, stress is the biggest contributor of illness you can imagine, including heart disease.
February 21st, 2010 at 7:50 pm
Stress slows down metabolism, causing all the fat and weight problems, and an increase of blood sugar occurs because your body is using up more energy.
Stress decreases your immune system response, causing other problems. It also raises blood pressure.