Chronic Stress Research Paper
Stress, as defined by Oxford English Dictionary, is a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances. Everyone will encounter some sort of stress throughout their day to day lives. This is normal a perfectly healthy. Once stress becomes ongoing people begin to develop Chronic Stress. Chronic stress can lead to many health problems and while it still affects the body the same a regular stress it becomes dangerous due of long-term exposure. The question is what does stress do that can be so dangerous and lead it to be called a silent killer.
It is important to clarify stress in moderation is perfectly healthy and normal and everyone experiences stress at some point. Problems occur when …show more content…
The endocrine system which controls hormones may be the most important body system affected. Stress causes your body to send signals to the adrenal cortex to produce cortisol and the adrenal medulla to produce epinephrine. Cortisol is key to survival kicking you body into fight or flight mode that gives your body the energy to run from danger. It does this by causing your heart to beat faster, respiration rate to increase, blood vessels in the arms and legs to dilate, digestive process to change and glucose levels (sugar energy) in the bloodstream to increase to deal with the emergency. Epinephrine will assist in this process.
Reproductive systems of both genders are affected. In males the fight or flight response produces activates the sympathetic nervous system and testosterone which in turn creates arousal. Chronic stress can also affect testosterone and sperm production. In females high stress levels can create irregular menstruation periods. These periods also may be more painful and change in length compared to a regular menstrual period.
The musculoskeletal System will tense up and then release once the stress has passed. Chronic stress will cause the muscles to be in a constant state of tension. This constant tension can result in stress related disorders like tension headaches and migraines. Millions of individuals suffer from chronic painful conditions, many of which are a result of
It is important to clarify stress in moderation is perfectly healthy and normal and everyone experiences stress at some point. Problems occur when …show more content…
The endocrine system which controls hormones may be the most important body system affected. Stress causes your body to send signals to the adrenal cortex to produce cortisol and the adrenal medulla to produce epinephrine. Cortisol is key to survival kicking you body into fight or flight mode that gives your body the energy to run from danger. It does this by causing your heart to beat faster, respiration rate to increase, blood vessels in the arms and legs to dilate, digestive process to change and glucose levels (sugar energy) in the bloodstream to increase to deal with the emergency. Epinephrine will assist in this process.
Reproductive systems of both genders are affected. In males the fight or flight response produces activates the sympathetic nervous system and testosterone which in turn creates arousal. Chronic stress can also affect testosterone and sperm production. In females high stress levels can create irregular menstruation periods. These periods also may be more painful and change in length compared to a regular menstrual period.
The musculoskeletal System will tense up and then release once the stress has passed. Chronic stress will cause the muscles to be in a constant state of tension. This constant tension can result in stress related disorders like tension headaches and migraines. Millions of individuals suffer from chronic painful conditions, many of which are a result of