Here's how stress affects your immune system, according to doctors
Your stress levels and general well-being are more closely linked than you think.
While the Covid-19 pandemic continues to go beyond the country, people do everything they can stay healthy, stay at home to clean up everything they touch throughout the day. However, there is an essential component of this coronavirus safety routine that is too often neglected:Your stress levels. If you have already noticed that you tend to get sick when you are stressed, you do not imagine things. In fact, a 2015 study published inCurrent Notice in Psychology unveiled thatChronic stress can have a prejudicial effect on the immune system of a person. But how does stress affect exactly your immune system?
Well, according to the psychiatristHeathman Jared, MD, stress raises the amount of hormonal cortisol in a person's bloodstream, which can lead to aWeakened immune system.
The imbalances of stress-related cortisol encourages an increase in glucose production, which "causes a situation in which the assassins [immune system] are submerged ... [Causing] a delay in the assassins killing the bugs that make us sick" , ExplainHans Watson, Make a psychiatrist toElite Pllc University. Similarly, low blood glucose rateDeprive the immune system of adequate nutrition, "The person remains sick longer than normal," says Watson.
However, it's not the only wayStress can make you vulnerable to disease and infection. Heathman notes that, since stress can lead to insomnia, it is alsoweakens the immune system overtime.
The good news? Even in crisis, you can always limit your stress levels, keep your immune system healthy and reduce your risk of getting sick. Heathman recommends "to participate inRelaxation techniques such as meditation, deep breathing exercises and visualization techniques. "
He also suggests exercising to helpStrengthen your immune system-In, according to a meta-analysis of 2014 published in theKorean newspaper of family medicine, people who exercised regularly wereless likely to go down with colds that their more sedentary counterparts.
So, wash your hands, move and try to enjoy a few minutes of consciousness whenever possible - it could help you help you with the battle against Covid-19.