10/28/2014

5 Surprising Ways Stress Wreaks Havoc On Your Health

5
Surprising
Ways
Stress
Wreaks
Havoc On
Your
Health

MENTAL
HEALTH

Amy Rushlow
October 25, 2014

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Most people get that stress contributes to the most common

and most threatening health problems, including biggies
such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. But what
you might not realize is that recent research shows that stress
affects nearly every system in the body, often in unexpected
ways.
Making matters worse, while a majority of adults admit that
managing stress is important, 44 percent say they dont do
enough to keep it in check, according to an American
Psychological Association survey. So if youre looking for a
reason to build de-stressing time into your day (exercise,
meditation, regular massages), these five health concerns
should provide plenty of motivation.
1. It shrinks your brain.
Stress may change your brain in ways that make you more
susceptible to depression and addiction, according to
research from Yale University. In one study, Yale researchers
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10/28/2014

5 Surprising Ways Stress Wreaks Havoc On Your Health

asked subjects about stressful past life events. They

compared the survey results with the subjects brain scans.
People with a history of adversity had less gray matter in
areas of the brain involved in stress, emotional regulation,
and impulse control. The consequence? We dont really
know for sure, but the idea is that you lose your ability to
moderate how stress affects you and you become more
reactive because you have less brain matter to respond, said
neuroscientist Tracy Bale, PhD, from the Perelman School of
Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Related: From Stressed to Depressed: Teen Girls
Suffer More
2. It throws off your gut bacteria.
Your gut is full of beneficial bacteria that play a key role in
your immune system and help you metabolize nutrients. The
number of bacteria in your gut is 10 times greater than the
number of cells in your body.
"If youre stressed, the nerves in your gut directly release
neurotransmitters into that environment," Bale told Yahoo
Health. "That alters the environment in your gut and the
diversity of the bacteria that are there, so different species
can come in and deplete the beneficial bacteria."
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Stress is also believed to affect the barrier function of the

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intestinal wall. This so-called leaky gut condition may

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formation in blood vessels, some research suggests.

3. It triggers inflammation throughout your body.
Inflammation is your immune systems normal reaction to a
threat to the body, such as an infection. But stress also
triggers inflammation in low levels throughout your body,
research shows. One study even found that everyday
stressors such as mental math calculations and public
speaking can spike markers of inflammation in the blood.
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levels of inflammation have been linked to cardiovascular

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4. It lowers your sperm count.

A study released last year in the journal Fertility and Sterility
examined the sperm of about 180 men, half of whom were
going through in vitro fertilization for the first time.
Compared with men who had the lowest stress levels, guys
who reported the highest stress had lower sperm counts and
a reduced concentration of sperm in their semen. The

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10/28/2014

5 Surprising Ways Stress Wreaks Havoc On Your Health

stressed mens sperm were also more likely to be deformed or

less mobile, or to have breaks in their DNA. Stress decreases
levels of the sex hormones testosterone and luteinizing
hormone, which may lead to sperm changes, the researchers
noted.
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