Stress affects the whole body, including your
behavior and your ability to reason and see things in perspective.
Stress shrinks areas of your brain that help you
cope while increasing the size of an area that makes you feel more anxious.
When you’re stressed, your body releases a hormone called Cortisol. Cortisol
shrinks the hippocampus, the part of your brain that is critical for learning,
memory, and emotional regulation, as well as shutting off the stress response
after a stressful event is over.
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Cortisol also shrinks your prefrontal cortex, the
part of your brain that helps with decision-making (no wonder stressed people
have poor sense of judgement), memory and impulse control. While your
prefrontal cortex shrink in response to cortisol, that same hormone causes
your amygdala to increase in size. The
changes cortisol creates increase negative emotions such as fear, anxiety and
aggression.
Stress cycles cause weight gain in most people.
Dealing with stress should be your first step in a weight control effort. Even
5 minutes exercise (like a brisk walk) is effective at eliminating stress. If
you start busting the stress immediately you notice the onset, you will become
more effective in managing it completely. The factors causing stress don’t
leave it’s all in how you handle them.
Just five minutes of exercise can help protect your
brain from the negative effects of stress. Five minute bursts of exercise are
actually ideal for protecting your brain from stress. That means a quick walk
can do the trick. If you find yourself stressed at work, maybe propose that an
upcoming meeting be a walking meeting rather than one where you’re confined to
an office or a conference room. Kids stressing you out? Try a short family walk
around the block/house or even a two-song dance party in the living room. That
way you get to enjoy your favorite music whilst keeping fit. It’s important to
have an effective stress management plan ready for home and at work. Do you
catch yourself grinding your teeth? Bite your tongue really hard. This teaches
your body it is not good. Break stress habits today!
As soon as you notice that you are stressed, you
need to change your behavior to reduce the stress. Move away from the stressful
situation, even if only for few minutes. A quick walk (again), a power nap,
listening to a song, watching a funny video clip, laughing with a friend,
saying “ I love you” to a loved one. These are all positive ways of reducing
stress. Your brain cannot do both at once. Choose!
Take life seriously enough to get the most out of
it, not to take the most out of it. And that is as all around anatomy as it
gets!
Thanks for reading!
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