8 Unexpected Side Effects of Long-Term (Chronic) Stress
Have you ever heard that stress is bad for your health? Well, a lot of people haven't — and it's true. Stress contributes to everything from depression to heart disease. Here, we'll talk about 8 unexpected side effects of long term (chronic) stress.
1. Bradycardia (slowing of the heart rate)
Bradycardia is a condition that occurs when your heart rate drops below 60 beats per minute. Bradycardia is a common side effect of long-term (chronic) stress, so if you're experiencing this condition and are also under significant amounts of stress, it's worth looking into how to reduce your stress.
Studies have shown that people with high levels of chronic stress are more likely to experience bradycardia than those who don't suffer from chronic stress. This is because the body's sympathetic nervous system is responsible for the fight-or-flight response, which is what causes your heart rate to increase when you're in danger or perceiving danger. When you're under chronic stress, however, the sympathetic nervous system becomes overactive, causing it to release hormones that decrease blood pressure and slow down your heart rate.
Which can be dangerous to you, if left untreated.
2. Damage to the stomach lining
Stress can damage the lining of your stomach by increasing the production of gastric acid and reducing your body's ability to fight off infections and disease.
When you're under chronic stress, your body releases hormones like cortisol, which are designed to help you cope with danger or perceived threats. However, when these hormones get out of control, they can cause damage to your stomach lining over time as well as other parts of your body.
As a matter of fact, long-term stress is a known factor in the development of stomach ulcers.Stomach ulcers are severe complications that can occur when there is damage to the stomach lining, which can be caused by long-term stress. The cause of this damage is not entirely known, but it has been found that chronic stress actually causes an increase in stomach acid production, which may lead to ulcers or other gastrointestinal problems.
The researchers found that stress does not cause damage when it occurs in short bursts. However, when it continues over time, damage can occur. They noted that people who are under chronic stress have more active digestive enzymes than those who are not stressed chronically.
3. Muscle Tension and Pain
Tension in the muscles plays a role in many stress-related health issues, including headaches, back pain, insomnia, high blood pressure and more.
Muscle tension can lead to headaches and migraines because when our muscles are tense, they compress the nerves that run through them. This causes the nerves to send pain signals to your brain. If this happens often enough, it can result in chronic headaches or migraines.
Back pain is another common symptom of muscle tension from long-term stress. When your back muscles are tight and tense, it can cause strain on your spine which leads to back pain and eventually arthritis if left untreated.
The reason you experience these is when you're under stress, your body releases cortisol to help you get through the stressful situation. The problem is that when you're under chronic or long-term stress, your body doesn't stop releasing cortisol when the stressful situation ends. That's why people who are under chronic stress often end up feeling tense and sore all over their bodies.
4. Gastritis
Gastritis is a condition that can occur when your stomach becomes inflamed. It's often caused by taking too many antacids, or by drinking alcohol on an empty stomach. But it can also be caused by long-term stress and anxiety.
If you're experiencing gastritis as a side effect of chronic stress, you may not immediately associate the two. But if your stomach is already feeling unsettled from the stress of dealing with your current situation, it's important to know that there are many ways you can reduce those feelings so that they don't continue to cause harm to your body.
The best way to get rid of gastritis? Reduce your stress levels! You don't need to feel anxious about everything all the time. It is also better for you to take care of yourself even when things are hard, so try doing some deep breathing exercises every day and see if it helps improve your symptoms!
5. Bowel Motility Disturbance
Bowel motility disturbance can cause constipation and/or diarrhea, or a combination of both. Some people have alternating bouts of constipation and diarrhea while others have only one or the other.
The reasons for bowel motility problems are not well understood but they are thought to be related to changes in how your brain controls your gut. These changes might also affect how fast food moves through your intestines.
Researchers have found that chronic stress can affect the body's ability to regulate its own bowel movements. This means that under normal conditions, when a person experiences stress or anxiety, they may experience diarrhea or constipation as a result of their body's attempt to compensate for increased sympathetic nervous system activity.
When this compensation occurs, it can lead to either constipation or diarrhea depending on how long you've been experiencing stress and anxiety for as well as other factors such as age,gender,height,weight , etc.
6. Sleep Disturbance
Sleep disturbance is one of the lesser-known effects of long-term stress, but it can be just as damaging to your health as other symptoms.
You may think that being stressed out means that you're constantly on edge and anxious, but chronic stress can actually cause you to feel tired and exhausted even when you get enough sleep. It also makes it harder for your body to fall asleep at night, which means that you're more likely to wake up in the middle of the night or early in the morning feeling groggy and disoriented.
If you want to fix this issue, you need to address the underlying cause: your stress level. That can mean taking up meditation or yoga, as well as finding ways to manage your stress levels at work and at home each day.
7. Menstrual Problems
It's not uncommon for women to experience irregular periods, especially when they're going through a stressful time in their lives. But when you're feeling stress on a regular basis, that can cause even more serious problems with your menstrual cycle.
Stress is a normal part of life, but when it becomes chronic and pervasive, it can start to affect all aspects of your health. One of the most notable ways this manifests itself is through your period. Chronic stress can cause your periods to become more irregular or stop altogether.
The reason is that stress affects your body's ability to produce estrogen and progesterone, which are key hormones for regulating menstruation. When you're stressed out, it can be hard for your body to keep up with its production of these hormones—especially if you're under a lot of pressure during a stressful time period. This means that even though you may not realize it, your stress levels could be affecting your fertility as well as other parts of your reproductive system!
8. Mental Effects
.Long term stress can affect your memory, concentration, and ability to learn new things. These mental effects can be even more difficult to deal with than the physical ones. For this reason you need to find a solution to help let your mind relax and unwind. This can include finding a new hobby to take your mind off things, or it might involve using a Perfect Plant THCa Flower every now and again to help relax your mind.
If ignored, your memory might suffer from chronic stress. You may find it harder to remember what you read or your work responsibilities, or even where you left your keys. This can make it difficult to focus on tasks at hand, which can lead to problems at work or school.
You may also find that you have trouble concentrating on anything for very long because of constant worrying about the future or past. This could cause problems with your job performance issues if you're not able to perform well at work due to lack of concentration skills when working on task assignments.
These mental effects can cause problems in your personal life too by making it hard for you to handle everyday tasks like getting dressed or going grocery shopping without forgetting something along the way!
We need to reduce stress wherever we can—but understanding where it comes from and its effects on our bodies will be necessary if we are going to make changes.
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