Tip to Reduce Stress - Learn about the Many Effects Adrenaline can have on your Body
By Frederic Baker | April 20, 2008
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
It’s happened to everyone. It begins when you’re startled, frightened, or angry. Your heart pounds, your breath is shallow, and you sweat profusely. Your intestines shut down. You feel tense, apprehensive, and ready to respond to danger. The substance responsible for all these changes is adrenaline, a hormone that your body secretes to give you the strength and alertness to fight off or escape danger. It’s the classic “fight or flight” response and it worked great when most of the dangers humans faced were physical. By fighting or running away, people both resolved the problem and worked off the tension that adrenaline produces.
Stress, Adrenaline, And The Jitters
Adrenaline also causes the jitters when you’re under stress, whether that stress directly threatens your safety or not. These stressful events could be being stuck in traffic, having a deadline to meet, or family conflicts. Even positive stresses, such as a promotion or getting married, can affect you. Unfortunately, you can’t respond to most stress by running away or fighting.
Adrenaline And Your Health
Adrenaline is necessary for survival and a certain amount of adrenaline can make you feel good. That’s why stress — the right amount of stress — seems to make some people feel more alive. But, constant stress produces constantly high levels of adrenaline, and that may affect your health. Excess adrenaline can raise your blood pressure and your blood sugar. Although no one knows for sure how adrenaline affects your overall health, high blood pressure and blood sugar can weaken the heart and many other organs. Adrenaline may be responsible for the chronic disorders people under constant stress suffer: sleeplessness, anxiety, depression, tiredness, and digestive problems.
Getting Around the Adrenaline Response
You can’t cut out all the stress from your life and you wouldn’t want to. A certain degree of stress keeps you alert and involved in your life. But, you can take steps to eliminate those stresses that are unnecessary and you can learn to control the adrenaline response to stress. For instance:
- Learn techniques such as relaxation, deep breathing, and progressive muscle relaxation, all of which help counter the production of adrenaline.
- Stay away from excessive alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco, which may all increase your adrenaline.
- Get regular exercise. Exercise gives you a mild jolt of adrenaline while allowing you to work off the extra energy it produces. Your body will become more adept at processing the adrenaline that’s in your bloodstream during times of stress.
Receive Daily Health Tips. Subscribe at: http://DailyHealthTipEmail.com/
Topics: Stress Reduction |
Comments
« Experiencing Stress Working With Difficult People | Home | Are Kidney Stones Causing Stress to You or Yours? »
