Stress And How It Affects You

You, like many others, must have witnessed those stress levels when giving up seems to be the only solution.

However, studies say that instead of building up that stress inside you, you should do something about it before things worsen. We instinctively know that stress is bad for our health; it makes us fatigued, affects our mood, and hinders our sleep cycles, but studies now show that its implications are much more grave. Chronic stress for longer periods gradually deteriorates the physical health of a person. Studies over the years show the following effects of workplace stress on our physical well-being.

  1. Headaches: People experiencing higher stress levels have higher number of headaches at a constant rate.
  2. Heart Attacks: Studies also state that people with stressful jobs are more likely to have a heart attack.
  3. Acne: Researchers have also found a significant increase in acne during stressed times, especially in students.
  4. Insomnia: Taking more stress at work leads to disturbed sleep cycles. People tend to oversleep or are not able to sleep at all.
  5. Digestion: People during stressed times can also develop multiple digestive problems as stress can disturb the delicate balance of microorganisms in our guts.
  6. Hair Loss: In a study conducted by researchers, it was found that women who experienced more stress had critical thinning and hair loss.
  7. Fat & Sugar cravings: Animal studies have shown that increased stress levels lead to elevated hormone CRF which makes people crave for sweet foods.
  8. Memory: Damaged glutamate receptors and impaired memory were found to be the major consequences of chronic stress in animal studies.
  9. Worsened Asthma: 5000 adults participated in a study in which it was found that chronic levels of stress can double your risk of having an asthma attack.
  10. Sex Drive: Elevated cortisol levels due to increased stress appear to affect the sexual function. With this interference, it gets difficult to get aroused, as suggested by the studies.
  11. Belly fat: Elevated cortisol levels have also been linked to excess fat in the abdominal region, in chubby as well as thin women.
  12. Blood pressure: Higher blood pressure, which itself leads to a host of health problems like heart attack, is also a consequence of taking too much stress.
  13. Aging: Chronic stress also tends to affect telomere length, a key indicator of premature ageing.
  14. Immune system: It has been observed that it is the duration of the stress which matters more and not the severity of the stress. Long term stress can result in weak immunity in our bodies.
  15. Blood sugar: Hormones like adrenaline and cortisol are released in our bodies in times of stressful situations, which cause our blood sugar to rise. People under high stress are more likely to develop Type II Diabetes, as shown by a study.

Recognizing that stress is a grave problem is the first and foremost step to cure. You can’t always avoid the stress and tension that occur at a workplace, but you can surely take some steps to deal with workplace stress.

Himanshu Kumar , Head - Product & Marketing working with 1to1 Help.net Pvt. Ltd. 1to1 Help is the pioneer and market leader for Mental Wellness in India, in the industry. The company provides services in the following fields, employee assistance program, Counseling and Wellness services, Prevention of Sexual Harassment, D&I(Diversity & Intrusion) and Shift Lag. Primary focus through these services is to Enable individuals to make positive changes in their lives offering these services via Corporate HR’s.

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