stress

[amoeba]

why is stress bad for your health - i mean - what physically happends to the body that is so damaging?

[amoeba]

Im thinking more about the fact that increased stress leads to a heartattack - how??

[sft42]

Constant elevated blood pressure isn't a good thing...this is one bad point along with the endorphines the body releases at time of stress again in higher quantities for prolonged periods are not condusive to good health....though it has to be said some people seem to strive on stress it can prematurely age you....look at Toady Blair!

[Kit]

Stress is not simply a mental phenomenon. It has effects on just about every part of the body.
A brilliant book that explains all of this far better than I'm going to: "Why zebras don't get ulcers", Robert Sapolsky. He explains that the effects on the body are extremely logical if you're a zebra on the veldt about to be eaten by a lion. The need to go to the toilet more often are a way of reducing weight to enable you to run away faster, various hormones such as adrenalin activate the "fight or flight" response, and unfortunately although we no longer have to flee from predators, we're stuck with a set of body responses that think we still do.
The complication is that the stress response is only intended for short-term escape. Whereas the zebra goes from calmly chewing grass, to running like heck, to calmly chewing grass again, if we're stressed out we're on heightened alert 24/7.
As to how the heart is affected - the stress response raises the blood pressure and heart rate to get you ready to escape, and the heart and blood vessels basically wear out with the constant pressure on them to perform. Gradually the linings are damaged, so they are no longer smooth and allow circulating fatty acids etc to lodge there. This gradually blocks up the arteries, and coupled with more viscous blood (as a result of the sympathetic nervous system) means things are likely to clog - leading to a coronary or stroke. Sudden death from heart attack is thought to be the result of sudden disorganised rhythm on an already diseased heart (although obviously it's a difficult thing to study and there are exceptions.)

[Greedyfly]

Stress is a terrible thing. When you are stressed your eating patterns change, your sleep patterns change, your moods change and your outlook on life changes. therefore your body reacts to this and is quite frankly a little peeved.

[amoeba]

thanks kit (and everyone) but if you are saying that stress puts pressure on your heart to perform - and as a result will wear the heart out - why then is exercise considered good for the heart ? - why do we not say that exercise will wear the heart out? And also on the back of that question - if you are stressed can you balance out the damaing effect by doing exercise at the same time?

[Kit]

The heart is a muscle, and can be strengthened like any other. This is why gradually increasing exercise is so important after heart attacks, to get the damaged muscle strengthened up again. Exercise in itself is beneficial to the heart because generally it is short-lasting, with a rest afterwards to allow the heart rate, blood pressure etc to return to normal.
However, the blood vessels are another matter - the linings are easily damaged by high blood pressure and the vessels start to fur up. This has two effects - the vessels that supply blood to the heart muscle itself (the coronary arteries) may clog up, so the heart is starved of oxygen. Secondly, the arteries carrying blood away from the heart and out to the body may also block, causing back-pressure on the heart, so every time it pumps it's having to work twice as hard. Although it can compensate to a certain extent by strengthening, it gets to the stage where it can't work any harder and starts becoming flabby and inefficient. Heart attacks are caused by a combination of clogged up arteries and a heart struggling to cope with the demand. Stressed out, in fact.

[Kit]

And the answer to the second part of the question - yes, you can compensate for stress to an extent by exercising. Not only is a fit body more able to cope with the demands placed on it by stress, exercise also causes the production of endorphins, which are what make you feel good after exercise (once the exhaustion has worn off, in my case...) Exercise also puts you in control. You decide what you're going to achieve, you either get there or can measure improvement, which is good psychologically.
Psychology has a tremendous part to play in stress - stress is the inability of the individual to cope with the demands placed on them, and ability to cope will vary from person to person depending on their circumstances. Feeling in control of a situation makes it easier to cope with, ie less stressful. Maybe this is why the dentist gives me the heebyjeebies - he's doing things that I can't see and that are totally outside my control - the only control I have is rather negative, and that's to squeak when it hurts. Just thinking about it makes my palms go all sweaty. And that's the power of my brain to control my body chemistry.
Oops - digressed a bit - but the answer is, yes, exercise is a Jolly Good Thing if you're stressed. As long as you're not too competitive.