Let's Talk About Stress

Our bodies are under a constant stream of stimuli and stress in modern society and that can have a detrimental effect on our both our short and long term health.  Stress triggers our bodies sympathetic nervous system- responsible for our fight-or flight response, and decreases our parasympathetic nervous system- responsible for our rest and digest response.  
 
Let’s talk about the consequences that stress has on our health and how that can lead to adrenal fatigue.  Acute or short term stress causes our brain to release hormones called epinephrine and norepinephrine into our blood stream which leads to constriction of our blood vessels, increased blood pressure, increased muscle tension and a changes in heart rate and heart rate variability.[1]  This fight-or-flight response is really important when we react to threatening stimuli i.e. seeing a snake on the footpath in front of our foot.
 
Chronic stress can lead to long term activation of our sympathetic nervous system which can result in overload and eventually exhaustion of the hormonal, cardiovascular, neural and muscular systems. This is also called ADRENAL FATIGUE and its becoming increasingly prevalent in society. [2] Long term consequences of stress can lead to impairment of our immune function, delay of healing processes and musculoskeletal overload which increases the risk of injury.1
 
Signs to look out for if you think you may be suffering from chronic stress or adrenal fatigue can include:

1. Needing caffeine or other stimulants in the morning or throughout the day to keep going,
2. Decreased energy and stamina,
3. Difficulty focusing and concentrating,
4. Not feeling rested or refreshed after 8hrs of sleep,
5. Increased perimenopause or PMS symptoms,
6. Feeling overwhelmed,
7. Craving salty foods,
8. Increased frequency and severity of respiratory illness,
9. Decreased short term memory,
10. Decreased libido.

 
if you are experiencing any of the above symptoms, you could be suffering from adrenal fatigue! At Sprouting Health, we assess all the different stressors that may be affecting your health to help support you to be the best version of you.

References
[1] Michels, N., Sioen, I., Clays, E., De Buyzere, M., Ahrens, W., Huybrechts, I., Vanaelst, B., & De Henauw, S. (2013). Children's heart rate variability as stress indicator: association with reported stress and cortisol. Biological psychology, 94(2), 433–440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2013.08.005

[2] Wilson, J.L., 2014. Clinical perspective on stress, cortisol and adrenal fatigue. Advances in Integrative Medicine, 1(2), pp.93-96.