With two years into pandemic life and the holiday season in full swing, many of us are feeling stressed. While we typically experience stress as an emotional state, stress has a physical effect as well. It’s important to put into perspective how stress effects the body because no matter how much green juice you drink and how many workouts you do, if you’re not working on managing stress in your life you may find health issues lingering.

Stress, though much maligned, is an advantageous adaptation that helped our ancestors survive predators. The rate of evolutionary change happens on the scale of millennia not centuries, and the humans alive today are, for all intents and purposes, the same as the humans who lived thousands of years ago. Our bodies don’t differentiate between a tiger attack and public speaking — the same stress response happens. The stress response was evolved to respond to acute instances that would occur and then be over. But these days many common stressors don’t have a clear ending. Worry about finances, the pressures of the pandemic, work-related stress — these are examples of stressors that can persist for weeks, months or years.

Your body responds to stress by releasing hormones, increasing heartrate and breathing and prepping the body for physical action. But if stress levels stay elevated, these physical changes can take a toll on your health.

Muskuloskeletal system

When the body is stressed, muscles tense up. Muscle tension is the body’s way of guarding against injury and pain. Once the stress is over, those muscles relax, but if you’re constantly under stress, your muscles may not get the chance to relax. Chronic stress causes the muscles in the body to be in a constant state of guardedness. When muscles are taut and tense for long periods of time, this may trigger other reactions of the body and even promote stress-related disorders.

For example, headaches and migraines are associated with chronic muscle tension of the shoulders, neck and head. Musculoskeletal pain in the low back and upper extremities has also been linked to stress, especially job stress.

Cardiovascular System

The physical stress response — the fight/flight/freeze state — includes dilation of the blood vessels to the large muscles and the heart, increasing the amount of blood sent to these parts of the body and elevating blood pressure. Once an acute stress episode has passed, the body returns to its normal state.

Chronic stress can contribute to long-term problems for heart and blood vessels. The consistent and ongoing increase in heart rate and elevated blood pressure takes a toll on the body. Long-term stress can increase the risk for hypertension, heart attack, or stroke.

Immune System

Stress stimulates the immune system, which can be beneficial in immediate situations by helping you avoid infections and heal wounds. But over time, stress hormones will weaken your immune system and reduce your body’s response to foreign invaders. People under chronic stress are more susceptible to viral illnesses like the flu and the common cold, as well as other infections. Stress is also a factor in how long it takes to recover from an illness or injury.

Hormones, Energy, and Digestion

During times of stress, the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland and the adrenal glands all work together to produce hormones in response, the primary one being cortisol. Cortisol is produced daily and maintains the natural energy cycle: increasing energy at the start of the day and winding down at the end of the day. Cortisol also helps regulate the immune system and reduce inflammation. During stress events, cortisol works to increase the amount of available energy by mobilizing glucose and fatty acids from the liver. This provides the energy needed to deal with an extreme challenge, but elevated cortisol can eventually lead to impaired immune function and chronic inflammation, as well as chronic fatigue. The endocrine system also plays a role in digestion, and the changes in hormones during times of stress can change the gut microbiome, leading to changes in mood, and digestive issues.

Stress Reduction Strategies:

It can be difficult to ease the stress response, but focusing on the basic building blocks of a healthy life like eating a balanced diet, making time for physical movement and getting adequate sleep can go a long way toward downregulating.

• Get your sleep: Elevated cortisol levels are exacerbated with irregular sleep patterns. As much as possible try to sleep and wake at the same time each day and sleep at least 8 hours per night.

• Eat and drink: If you’re experiencing stress and muscle pain be sure to stay well hydrated. In addition, eat a balanced diet focusing on whole foods and avoiding too many processed carbohydrates.

• Move: Movement activates a different set of hormones and biological processes that specifically work to lower stress and increase resilience. Movement can also help complete the stress cycle. The body will perceive that all the signals it has released to fight the stressor or run away from danger have been received and acted upon. After some movement the body may feel safe enough to deactivate the stress signals.

• Get support: Maintaining a healthy support network can really help during times of stress. Try to find a few minutes in your day to text/talk to a friend, or schedule a time to go on a walk with a loved one and get your movement time and social time all in one go! Talk therapy either in person or online is also a valuable stress reduction tool.