How Does Stress Affect the Immune System + Gut Function?
Did you know Americans are said to be one of the most stressed-out populations on the planet?!
According to the American Psychological Association study in October of 2022, Around 76% of adults reported that stress negatively impacted aspects of their lives. Specifically, their mental health, eating habits, physical health, and interest in hobbies/activities were negatively impacted by stress. The effects of stress on the brain, immune system, gene expression, susceptibility to physical illness, mental illness, and subsequent peoples' ability to engage in necessary daily tasks can be long lasting, and even intergenerational."
Feeling stressed for long periods seriously impacts your health (and gets passed along to future generations). Many of us aren't even aware we are experiencing chronic stress because we've been learning to cope with it for so long. High-stress levels increase anxiety, depression, feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, and inability to get through everyday tasks. We are running on fumes!
What's worse is chronic stress's effects on our nervous, digestive, and immune systems.
How does stress affect our nervous system? When we remain in a constant state of heightened stress, the parts of our brain associated with metabolism, memory, and emotions shrink. This poses a challenge with resiliency when another stressor enters our life. As we become more sensitive, anxiety and depression become easier to slip into.
Chronic stress alters the formation of neurons in the brain, meaning it kills off neurons in charge of sending and receiving messages throughout the body to nerves, muscles, and glands. We struggle to recall information quickly, we are slower to respond, act, and feel, and other systems in the body work less efficiently.
How does stress affect our digestive system? Our gut is often called our "second brain," mostly because of its ability to communicate with our brain.
Stress triggers a "flight, flight, or freeze" response in our body because it believes it is in danger. This is why you may feel anxious, jittery, have a pit in your stomach, or cannot "turn off." This response causes the digestive process to halt so the body can conserve energy and protect itself.
When the digestive process is stopped, you may experience indigestion, bloating, acid reflux, and nausea as the contents are no longer being assisted through the digestive tract. Since the body is trying to lighten its load to escape the perceived danger, you may experience cramping or a quick release of the bowels.
Chronic stress (stress felt to extremes over long periods) can trigger this response enough to lead to chronic inflammation of the gut, which can cause IBS, Leaky Gut, Stomach Ulcers, and an increase in food sensitivities because the gut barrier is overly irritated.
How does stress affect our Immune System? Have you ever felt run down or sick after a big work project, an emotional event, or an unpleasant unexpected circumstance? That's because stress affects how our lymphocytes (white blood cells) act. When we are stressed, there is a decrease in lymphocytes being pushed around in the body. The lower your lymphocyte levels, the more prone you are to illness and infection.
Also, since roughly 70% of our immune system is located in the gut, if there is an imbalance or disruption in our digestive processing, our immune system is directly affected.
What to do if you have been experiencing chronic stress: Be more mindful of how stress creeps into your life and your self-talk - Become more observant and curious about what triggers the stress response in your body. The more awareness you develop, the easier you'll have to navigate your response to the stress, how it will (or will not) consume you, and how to choose to let it affect you instead.
Manage stress more effectively - By setting clearer boundaries (with work, other people, and how you manage your time) and prioritizing spending time alone decompressing. When we don't manage our time wisely, time feels like it just slips away from us. When we operate from this place, we feel rushed, frantic, and like, "I have no time." Sure you do! Try writing out your schedule to see where you can schedule self-care dates for yourself or set reminders to take deep breaths or get up and take a break. Small sparks of effort will make a bigger difference in the long run than zero effort.
Avoid eating when stressed - This helps avoid digestive discomfort and pain. Since the digestive process is stopped, you will have difficulty moving food through the body efficiently, and nutrients from the food will likely not be absorbed. Over time, you can experience weight gain as a result. Try doing 20-30 minutes of yoga, stretching, or light walking when stressed. This physical activity can help get things moving in the body (where stress slows or stops things from circulating).
Practice pausing and breathing - Many of us are bad at breathing because we are too busy thinking about other things to notice. When we don't breathe properly, our bodies feel tighter, and our lungs can't expand to their potential; oxygen is then suppressed, which makes it more challenging to think, circulate fresh blood, air, and antibodies, and relaxing is nearly unattainable. This can heighten that panic response. When s*** feels chaotic, just pause and take a few conscious breaths. Notice how your body and mind feel.
Schedule a massage - Massage Therapy is a stress-reducing self-care practice, and it is available to everyone. A 60-minute massage at least helps you disconnect from your devices, the outside world, and other people. (Although, a 90-minute massage is where it's at if you really need to disconnect because, on average, it takes someone 20-25 minutes to settle down). Try an Abdominal Massage or Digestive Massage to help alleviate any discomfort in the belly. We offer Digestive Massage as an Add-On to any Therapeutic Massage or Relaxation Massage or try a Lymphatic Drainage Massage, which comes with abdominal attention. (Learn more about Lymphatic Drainage here)
