4 ways stress could be taking its toll on your health
Ever wondered if stress is affecting you in more ways than one? Unfortunately, prolonged stress could have some whole-body effects and aggravate certain issues, including:
- Nutrient deficiencies
- Your ability to sleep
- Hormone imbalance in women
- Depleted immune functions
Throughout this blog, I explore these themes in more detail, explaining how stress could potentially contribute to them, plus I provide some useful solutions to help.
1. Exacerbating nutrient deficiencies
Nutrient deficiencies can be a common outcome of prolonged stress and this state can materialise for a number of reasons.
Firstly, stress can have a direct impact on your nutrient status by draining some of your much-needed resources. The body's stress response uses up lots of energy so, whilst we can handle this every now and again, if you're persistently stressed then eventually you risk becoming nutrient deficient. Some nutrients, to name a few, which tend to risk being used up first, or excreted more readily from your body in times of stress, include: magnesium, zinc, calcium and iron.1
Next, during times of stress we may be more likely to make poorer food choices. In a state of stress, your body is primed to access energy quickly. This means instinct tells you to reach for some quick release, high energy options, which often means we risk opting for convenience foods that are higher in sugar, for example.
The other risk is the urge to ingest some caffeine. Caffeine activates our adrenal glands which releases hormones such as adrenaline. This gets us in a state and raring to go in the face of emergency.
Again, this is fine if you really are in an emergency situation but day in, day out, the reality is that these habits and subsequent physiological responses will just cause havoc with your blood sugar levels, energy levels and ultimately your mood and mental state. It can end up becoming quite a vicious cycle before we know it.
What can be done to help?
One way of increasing your resilience to stress, is to supply your body with the nutrients it needs.
My number one method for achieving this is to eat fresh foods. Get into the habit of cooking from scratch and, as mentioned above, try to limit the convenience options and sources of caffeine as much as possible as this can ultimately risk undoing some of your hard work.
Then, if you still feel you are struggling to acquire all the nutrients you need to feel your best, nutrient support in the shape of a supplement, such as our Balance Mineral Drink, can be a nice add on.
2. Sabotaging your sleep
Unfortunately, heightened stress and trouble sleeping often come hand in hand.
First off, stress and anxiety can give rise to a number of physical symptoms including palpitations, sweating and trouble regulating your breathing. All of this, understandably, can make it more difficult to relax enough in order to nod off. However, alongside these physical side effects, we also often have busy minds to contend with. Stress can hinder your ability to mentally switch off, meaning when you go to settle down, your mind is suddenly racing and the worries and to-do lists start to rack up.
Whilst trouble sleeping can be frustrating at the time, it can also impact you the next day. You can be left feeling groggy or low in energy as a result of a poor night's sleep which can also add to your stress. Plus, a lack of sleep can add to inflammation throughout the body, which will only risk adding to health concerns in the long run.
Tying in with my first point regarding nutrient deficiencies, being sleep deprived can also make you more at risk of making poorer food choices in a desperate bid to regain some quick-fix energy – ask any new mother! So, this can also be a tricky, contributing factor which certainly won't leave you feeling at your best.
What can be done to help?
Ultimately, the goal here is to sleep better and this, in turn, will help to give you more energy, more chance of eating better and limited inflammation. Plus, it will increase your ability to handle stress.
So, some tips from me to help you wind down, relax and hopefully get a better night's sleep are as follows:
- Breathe before bed – Taking a few deep breaths before heading off to the land of nod can help get you into a more relaxed headspace. Breathing deeply and deliberately helps activate the calming branch of your nervous system – the parasympathetic nervous system. This enables you to relax and makes it more likely that you'll be able to drift off.
- Keep a notepad handy – If you find an active mind is affecting your ability to sleep, then keeping a notepad and pen by your bed can work wonders. Watch my latest self-care tip video below, as I explain more:
My Self-Care Tip: Keep a notepad and pen by your bed at night
- Helpful herbs – If you need a helping hand to feel more relaxed before retiring to bed, then some helpful herbs could be the answer. The herbal remedy passiflora has traditionally been used to help lessen the symptoms of mild stress and anxiety and promote a feeling of calm instead – bliss!
3. Scuppering your hormones
For all the women worried about irregular or absent periods, could stress potentially be having a part to play? Whilst there are a number of possible causes when it comes to hormone imbalance, stress can certainly be a causative factor.
Since the whole endocrine system is very much in sync, the presence of the stress hormone cortisol, in excess, can easily throw the balance of some of your other hormones off.
Plus, from an evolutionary point of view, reproduction is seen as a non-essential function in light of an emergency, otherwise known as a stressful situation, therefore, these functions can suffer somewhat until the stressful phase has (hopefully!) passed.
What can be done to help?
It's always better to raise any concerns you may have with the doctor. However, if it's agreed that stress could be the causative factor then it makes perfect sense to start here in a bid to set things right again.
Remember, stress on your body can also come about as a result of changing routines, and this is especially true when female sex hormones are concerned.
Therefore, take a look at your diet, exercise and sleep routines and make sure nothing is too out of the ordinary. Balance is key whilst extremes can be detrimental so, aim to eat well, do some exercise(but not too much!) get enough shut-eye and introduce some calming herbs such as passiflora as necessary, to help ensure your hormones stay nicely in balance.
4. Impacting your immune functions
Particularly pertinent right now, stress can also cannibalise your immune functions. I was fascinated to learn, as highlighted in research, that almost all our immune cells have receptors for stress hormones, including cortisol and adrenaline.2 This means that having increasing levels of stress hormones in your system could ultimately modulate how our immune cells are working. It also risks upsetting the quality or quantity of immune cells being produced at any one time.2
Again, this relationship stems back to evolutionary times when, during times of stress, our immune cells would be down-regulated to make room for other vital bodily processes to keep us alive in the moment.
What can be done to help?
Luckily, it's becoming more recognised now, more than ever before, that self-care should be an essential part of our daily routines. By taking some down-time, doing things you enjoy and immersing yourself in some relaxing activities, even for as little as for 10 minutes each day, you could help to limit the effects stress could ultimately have on your system. Again, passiflora is a lovely herb to add to your self-care regimes.
Then when it comes to immune health, herbal remedies can also be a useful addition to help ward off any potential ill-effects of stress, should they occur, with echinacea being particularly relevant.
Echinaforce echinacea is a traditional herbal remedy which can be taken at the first signs of infection, whilst also helping to support your immune system by maintaining your body's resistance.
References
1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31504084/
2. http://pni.osumc.edu/KG%20Publications%20(pdf)/167.pdf
