Think stress is just in your head? This is how stress affects your body

Psychological stress is a biochemical process that takes place in the head. It is triggered by an imbalance between the demands of the outside world and one’s own ability to meet those demands. Stress therefore arises from within the person rather than from outside. Here you can find out exactly how stress affects your body and what you can do about it.

Stress is a primal response of the human body, which has ensured our survival, since prehistoric times. Our ancestors used stress as an early warning system in order to be able to react instinctively to dangerous situations. This is known as fight or flight. A stress reaction is triggered in the body. This has been the same since ancient times and can be divided into 4 stages:

We have all experienced various stressful situations in life. You too have probably noticed that there are many different types of stress. Some are short lived and only last a moment, others are long-lasting and occupy you for several hours. There is negative stress, but there is also positive stress. You can find out here what exactly the different types of stress are all about.

The transitions between eustress and distress are fluid. Experts are convinced that humans can convert any stress that hits the body into something positive. So you can learn from any stressful situation and come out stronger. You decide for the most part for yourself whether a situation is perceived as eustress (positive) or distress (negative). That is, through the attitude with which you approach the situation. If you approach the situation with motivation and belief that you can cope with it, and the result is right in the end, then you can draw positive effects from the situation and increase your performance.

However, if you believe from the start that the situation is overwhelming and that you will not cope with it, then the effect is clearly negative for your body. If you only use the positive effects, the stress helps you to become more efficient and to develop a lower feeling of stress. Of course, this effect cannot be applied to every situation. An accident shouldn’t be compared to a competition or an interview. In addition to positive effects, you can also strengthen your “backbone”. You can train the resistance and restoration of your hormonal balance. The more resistant you are, the less stress you expose your body to.

Over time, the form that these daily stressful situations take has changed for us. While humans used to have to flee from bears, the enemy is now our busy everyday life especially the psychological pressure: office, family, social media , hobbies and sports leave little room for relaxation.

People have become more and more perfectionist and self-critical over the years. Weight, food and appearance are particularly critical issues in today’s society and are associated with a lot of stress.

Inparticular, long-term, constant stress has consequences for the body. But when does it become dangerous and what can happen if the stress level is too high? We have summarized the important symptoms and consequences in a table.

• Headaches
• Tiredness – can lead to complete exhaustion and burnout
• Difficulty concentrating
• Insomnia – no regeneration possible, although there is an increased need for regeneration for the body under stress

• Cardiovascular problems and common diseases like metabolic syndrome or diabetes as well as chronic fatigue (loss of function of the adrenal gland)
• Autoimmune diseases
• Due to the chronic exhaustion, the motivation to move decreases considerably (tonic dopamine level), which reduces energy consumption accordingly (= metabolic performance). This is a common cause of weight gain and mental illness such as depression
• Inner restlessness and tension (neck tension and back pain)

Weight gain and stress can be closely related. The body’s hormonal balance is very sensitive and can be thrown off easily. The number of overweight people and people struggling with weight problems has increased in recent years. This is not only due to the fact that there are so many delicious treats, but also because of the high level of stress that people are exposed to almost permanently nowadays.

Stress can drive you into the following cycle:

1. Loss of insulin receptor function
2. Schlechtes Blutzuckermanagement, sinken des Dopaminlevels
3. Decrease in motivation to move and in energy use, poor sleep
4. Increased appetite
5. Fat and sugary foods are consumed, but cannot be procesed properly because the blood sugar management is destroyed

Solution: Leave out sugary and fatty foods consistently, if you break part of the chain you have a good chance of getting out of the cycle.

The hormone balance is one of the most important prerequisites for losing weight. Your metabolism can only run at full speed when your hormones are optimally balanced. When you are under too much stress, your body sees the current situation as a bad time to run down its “emergency reserves”. Rather, it is a signal for your body that fat reserves should be stored more. Stress is usually interpreted by your body as a threat.

In the event of stress, whether psychological or physical, the adrenal cortex increasingly releases the hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Cortisol ensures that blood sugar levels rise and more glucose can be absorbed by the muscles and the brain. This function of the body helped people in the Stone Age to escape or hunt down dangerous animals. Nowadays, this behavior helps us in a dangerous situation or for example in a sports competition (excitement counts as positive stress).

During a stressful situation, including the release of cortisol, all processes in the body that do not contribute to surviving a dangerous situation are switched off or put on the back burner. This includes digestion and the production of growth hormones. This process has been human’s rescue system since ancient times. Because the level of movement remains unchanged nowadays with everyday stress, the body cannot metabolize the increased glucose provided for the anticipated physical work. The excess energy is then stored as fat. “Stress fat” likes to collect on the stomach in particular.

Today, stress is no longer caused by predators or dangerous situations, but by pressure from our boss, deadlines, time pressure, perfectionism and much more. These modern reasons for stress have one thing in common – they trigger psychological stress.

Regardless of whether psychologically or physically – they trigger the same described reaction in the body. There is only one type of stress in the human brain. The only difference is that mental stress does not require physical activity / performance.

Another important difference is the duration of the stressful situation. The escape from the saber-toothed tiger may have taken a few minutes. It would have taken 15 minutes of extreme stress and physical exertion to escape from the animal. Today’s “modern” stress is chronic and can persist for years. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but it is always there. Additional stress factors in everyday life also affect the body. This includes artificial lights, mobile phones and harmful emissions. There is therefore the risk of a permanently increased blood sugar level in the body if there is insufficient resilience.

When digestion is on the back burner due to stress, nutrients cannot be digested and processed sufficiently. This can lead to increased food cravings and a bloated stomach. These consequences often lead to poor sleep and thus insufficient regeneration. However, especially in stressful situations, the body needs more regeneration phases in order to reduce stress. As you can see, you are quickly slipping into an unhealthy cycle.

Stress-related weight gain can be quickly found on the stomach in particular. This is because most organs are in the mid section of the body and there are a lot of cortisol receptors in that area.

1. Multitasking
2. Pressure to perform and dissatisfaction
3. Permanent availability through digitalization
4. Improper diet
5. Lack of exercise

Your diet can support the stress levels in your body, but it can also make them worse. We want to show you how you can help your body reduce stress with the right foods. Healthy nutrition is the be-all and end-all!

It has been scientifically proven that certain foods have a positive and stress-reducing effect on the body. This is mainly due to the ingredients and their composition in the food. We have put together a list of “anti-stress foods” for you.

Stress and a healthy diet are closely related. An unbalanced and unhealthy diet can be stressful for the body, even if you are feeling well. An inadequate diet with a lot of processed foods and ready-made meals prevents the body from absorbing enough essential nutrients. When you’re stressed, changing your diet can make a big difference. An individual nutrition plan will help you. Having healthy foods and “brain food” in the house is a great place to start. It would also be very advisable to put fruits, vegetables, and nuts on your weekly shopping list.

In addition to a healthy and balanced diet, regular everyday routines are also important in order to adequately regenerate and reduce stress. We cannot avoid getting into stressful situations. So it is best to try to turn any stress into positive stress. Use the positive effect and the energy stress can have. Our motivation guide, which you can find alongside other guides and ebooks in our Upfit Shop, can be helpful. We give you a few more pieces of advice with which you can reduce and prevent stress:

• Get enough sleep, at least 7-8 hours
• Find a relaxation technique that suits you: yoga, walks, meditation
• “Refuel” with vitamin D in the sun
• Get outside in nature, enjoy lots of fresh air
• Pursue hobbies and leisure activities
• Daylight (especially in the morning right after getting up)
• Breathe calmly and evenly
• Massages
• Strength training
• Avoid excessive calorie deficits, no deficits over a long period of time