Stress: the feeling of tension or worry that students are all too familiar with—whether it’s cramming for a test or juggling deadlines. It may feel like just an emotion, but stress is a hardwired physical response that affects the entire body. Acutely, stress can be advantageous, but if activated too often or for too long, stress becomes chronic, and that primitive fight-or-flight response can cause damage to both the brain and body.
Stress triggers the release of the hormones cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine through the adrenal gland, which circulate through the bloodstream reaching major organs and blood vessels. Chronic stress raises heart rates and blood pressure, leading to hypertension, heart disease, and strokes, whilst also promoting inflammation, which increases cardiovascular risk. Cortisol damages the inner lining of blood vessels, changing the way they function, and contributes to atherosclerosis (cholesterol plaque build up), which is linked to heart attacks and strokes.
Stress can also exacerbate respiratory conditions, like asthma and contribute to hyperventilation. When the brain senses stress, it activates your autonomic nervous system which communicates this stress to the intestinal nervous system. This brain-gut connection means stress can cause ‘butterflies’ as well as more serious health issues, such as disturbing the rhythmic contractions which move food through the gut, leading to conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome.
One may also start to experience increased gut sensitivity to acid, leading to heartburn and ulcers. Stress can alter gut bacteria over time and cause changes in appetite, leading to cravings for ‘comfort food’—which is high-carb and energy dense. This can result in visceral fat gain, which actively releases immune system toxins called cytokines.
Cytokines increase the risk of developing diseases like heart disease and insulin resistance, which results in type 2 diabetes. Whilst stress prepares the body to fight infections or heal injuries, chronic stress suppresses immune function, making the body more susceptible to infections and slows down wound healing. Chronic stress keeps the nervous system in a heightened state, impairing cognitive functions like memory and attention, and is associated with mental health issues causes by structural changes in the brain.
To combat stress, practices like mindfulness, exercise, and a healthy sleep schedule are essential. Stress is inevitable, but viewing challenges as something we can control and master allows for better short-term performance and long-term wellbeing.