How Does Stress Impact Your Physical Health?

By: Kelsey Pukala, dietitian at Nourishing Minds Nutrition

At Nourishing Minds Nutrition, we talk about stress a LOT.  It’s actually one of the “big four”… sleep, nutrition, exercise and stress.  The intersection of these areas has a huge influence on overall health, which is why I’m diving into the stress response in today’s post.  I think it’s easier for us to understand the emotional/mental side effects of stress, while drastically under-estimating the impact of stress on our physical bodies.  

Stress can impact our mood and emotions in a variety of ways through anxiety, restlessness, lack of focus, overwhelm, irritability, sadness and/or depression.  But it can also affect our physical bodies through headache, muscle tension/pain, fatigue, stomach upset, GI issues and sleep problems.

Our physical bodies feel and “work through” the stress we experience.  Also, the degree to which we experience stress/trauma in our bodies depends on so many factors!  Two people can experience the same stressful event, but have completely different reactions, which is perfectly okay.  Stress and trauma impact everyone differently… sometimes it’s more about the actual impact of an event than the event itself.  This is an excerpt from the incredibly insightful book, The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk (highly recommend!): 

“Under normal conditions people react to a threat with a temporary increase in their stress hormones.  As soon as the threat is over, the hormones dissipate and the body returns to normal. The stress hormones of traumatized people, in contrast, take much longer to return to baseline and spike quickly and disproportionately in response to mildly stressful stimuli.  The insidious effects of constantly elevated stress hormones include memory and attention problems, irritability, and sleep disorders. They also contribute to many long-term health issues, depending on which body system is most vulnerable in a particular individual.”

I don’t include this quote to scare you, but I think it’s important to understand that stress has physical consequences on our bodies and those consequences are not always easy to see or understand!  Quick side note, the words “trauma” and “traumatized” may seem unrelatable, but restricting food, over-exercising, disordered eating and eating disorders are traumatizing to the body.

How exactly does stress impact the body?  There are so many body systems impacted by stress, and I’m going to include a few here:

Reproduction/Menstruation: I wrote a detailed blog post last year about how stress impacts the menstrual cycle, so I will be brief here.  Everyone has a different threshold for stress and if you surpass that threshold, the body responds by activating its fight-or flight system.  This system is extremely helpful and necessary for short-term stressors, but if its activation is chronic, your body will divert energy away from the reproductive system to creating more cortisol (a stress hormone).  Cortisol affects luteinizing hormone (LH), which is required for ovulation (you need to ovulate to have a menstrual cycle). Also, cortisol can suppress progesterone production, which can lead to other issues. Basically, stress (in the form of under-eating, over-exercising, not sleeping, perceived stress etc.) can temporarily turn off the reproductive system because energy is diverted to other body systems in an attempt to deal with the stressor.

GI System: Stress and anxiety can absolutely affect the GI system and in practice, I often address this before discussing potential food triggers.  If the brain is perceiving stress (around food, exercise, body image or any stressful event), it will “borrow” energy and blood from the gut as it deals with the stressor.  This is an excellent (and amazing) way our bodies cope with stress. However, when the gut becomes overly taxed because the brain is constantly relying on the gut for energy, the gut will suffer.  Pain, nausea, gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea and other symptoms can arise as the gut struggles to keep up with the demands of the brain.

Physical pain/Musculoskeletal: I’m still learning about how the body can literally “hold” pain, anxiety and stress over time, but I find it fascinating.  With stress, muscles can tense up for long periods of time. This can trigger other reactions like migraines and tension headaches.  Pain in the low back and shoulders has also been linked to stress.  

Respiratory System: Stress can bring on shortness of breath and rapid breathing relatively quickly (which some of you may have experienced).  Some research shows that acute stress can actually trigger asthma attacks and/or panic attacks in those prone.  

What can we do about stress when it often feels out of our control?

Stress is normal and inevitable.  However, there are some ways that may help decrease the impact of stress on the body.

Deep Breathing/Breath work: Slow, deep, relaxed breathing techniques provide physiological benefits to the body like slowing heart rate and rapid breathing.  Yoga, meditation and massages are good examples of how breath work can be a powerful tool in stress management.

Gentle Movement: This is tricky, especially if you’re healing your relationship with movement.  The key word here is gentle.  Mindful movement can release endorphins and help relieve stress.  Too much movement or movement that is rigorous can perpetuate the stress response.

Sleep: Getting enough sleep is crucial as it can help balance hormones.  If you have trouble sleeping due to anxiety/racing thoughts, I would recommend talking to a professional and discussing strategies for restful sleep.  I’m a huge fan of nighttime routines ☺

Healthy Social Networking: I’ve never had a client who decreased or eliminated social media (even temporarily) come back and say it wasn’t worth it.  Setting boundaries with social media can have enormous benefits for sleep, stress and anxiety levels.

Eating Enough: Under-eating and/or restricting food or dieting is traumatizing to the body.  If you’re struggling with your relationship with food, it can be helpful to seek professional guidance to help minimize the body’s stress response. When your body starts to feel the impact of stress, what are some other things you do to help minimize this?

This blog post is SO helpful Kelsey, thank you so much! You can learn more about Kelsey and our services at Nourishing Minds Nutrition here.