Stress And Its Effects On The Immune System
Stress is your body's response to any form of change, which can affect the immune system. It may slow bodily functions, increase heart rate, raise blood pressure, increase cholesterol, and suppress your immune system, potentially causing sickness. In addition, stress can increase your chances of engaging in unhealthy coping mechanisms that can further impact your immune system. Learning to manage stress healthily may help your immune system function optimally.
This article explores what the term stress means, the potential impact of chronic stress, and resources for those who’d like to speak with a mental health professional about managing their stress levels.
What is stress?
The term “stress” is defined as “physical, mental, or emotional strain or tension.”
The topic of stress has led to extensive research regarding how the body and mind react when a change occurs. When your environment changes or requires you to make a change, it can result in feelings of uneasiness. Humans, in their search for predictability, tend to like routines because they enable people to know what to expect and how they might be affected. When some form of stimulus requires you to respond, or when a situation is different from the norm or what was expected, it can lead to physical, mental, and emotional changes, otherwise known as stress.
Effects of stress in the immune system
Stress can exacerbate various health conditions, both mental and physical, including heart disease and depression. Your immune system is responsible for helping you feel your best. When your immune system is working well, it may build up antibodies and fight off germs and harmful bacteria you encounter. You may encounter various bacteria in your daily life and be unaware of them because they are handled effectively by your immune system.
The immune response to chronic stress
When your immune system is overworked, it may be more difficult to prevent you from falling ill. Prolonged stress can weaken the immune response, making the body more susceptible to illnesses and infections. You may catch a cold or flu that's going around, for instance. If your immune system isn't functioning well for an extended period, you may be affected by more serious concerns. These illnesses can harm your immune system, potentially creating a cycle that's difficult to escape.
Ensuring your immune system is in the best shape possible can often be achieved by focusing on health priorities. For example, you might benefit from eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly. You may also find value in staying hydrated, getting high-quality sleep, and washing your hands regularly. Avoiding or managing stress can also boost your immune system.
How stress might affect your body and immune function
When you experience psychological stress, your body may initiate an evolutionary fight-or-flight response. When that fight-or-flight response is incited, it may cause several reactions in the body, including releasing adrenaline and slowing down digestion. Below are a few of the impacts of chronic stress on your immune system, both in the short term and long term.
Slowed bodily functions
Stress and the release of adrenaline can impair bodily functions because your body preserves all your energy and strength to respond to the source of the stress. Once the stress is relieved, your body may struggle to catch up. In some cases, stress may lead to ulcers or chronic pain.
Increased heart rate and blood pressure
The stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline may also affect your circulatory system, including your heart rate and blood pressure. Because your heart rate may rise when you're experiencing an adrenaline rush, long-term increased heart rate or blood pressure can cause problems by straining your circulatory system. If you frequently experience increased heart rate and blood pressure as a stress response, you may increase your risk of chronic hypertension, which can be a precursor to heart disease.
Increased cholesterol
When exposed to stress, the body releases hormones like adrenaline and noradrenaline, which can influence metabolic processes, including the breakdown of fats. Chronic stress may be linked to high cholesterol levels. An excess of LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol in the blood may accumulate on arterial walls, forming plaques. Over time, these plaques can narrow arteries and rupture, potentially leading to the formation of blood clots.
Suppressed immune function and poorer immune response
Stress can increase levels of corticosteroids like cortisol in the body, potentially suppressing the immune system. When you encounter different germs and bacteria, your body’s immune response may not be able to adequately fight them off. As a result, you might experience delayed wound healing or an increased risk of infections.
Higher likelihood of unhealthy mechanisms to cope with chronic stress
Finally, there may be indirect ways that long-term stress can affect your chances of getting sick or developing an illness. People who are stressed may be more likely to engage in harmful behaviors, including eating a poor diet, using excessive substances, smoking, experiencing a lack of sleep, and lacking exercise. These unhealthy coping mechanisms may disrupt immune responses and increase the risk of illness.
If you are struggling with substance use, contact the SAMHSA National Helpline at (800) 662-4357 to receive support and resources. Support is available 24/7.
Counseling options for improved mental health
Working with a therapist may help you discover effective strategies for managing and alleviating stress. In this way, they can potentially help you boost your immune system and physical health as well.
Online therapy to reduce stress
While therapy can be helpful for many people, some find that locating a provider, scheduling appointments, and commuting to and from a therapist's in-person office can cause more stress.
If this is the case for you, you may wish to try online therapy instead through a platform like BetterHelp. Online therapy can enable you to receive the support and guidance you deserve from the comfort of your home at a time that fits your schedule.
When you sign up for a platform like BetterHelp, you can specify your symptoms before matching with a therapist to ensure you get connected with someone specializing in chronic stress or other mental health concerns you may be experiencing. Note that you do not have to have a mental illness or diagnosis to receive support.
Research on online therapy for addressing the effects of stress in the immune system
While its impacts on immune functioning in particular haven’t yet been studied, research indicates that online therapy may help reduce stress. For example, consider a 2018 study that suggests that online therapy can be an effective way to address chronic stress and related challenges.
Takeaway
How your body responds to physical, mental, and emotional changes can be referred to as stress. When you frequently experience stress, it can impact your immune system and health in several different ways. Stress may slow bodily functions like digestion, increase your heart rate and blood pressure, elevate cholesterol levels, and suppress the immune system. In some cases, stress might cause someone to want to partake in unhealthy coping mechanisms, which can worsen symptoms.
Discovering and implementing healthier coping skills may alleviate stress and its effects on your immune system, potentially contributing to improved overall health. For many, therapy can be a helpful tool for learning stress management techniques.
What causes an impaired immune system?
The immune system may be impaired by a number of factors, including primary immune deficiency (being born with a weak immune system), chronic illness, an overactive immune system (allergies), or autoimmune disease. There are a number of factors that can contribute to immune alterations and exacerbation of these issues, including genetic, biological, and environmental factors.
What is one effect of chronic stress on the immune system?
There are many diseases linked to the inflammation caused by increased cortisol levels. When the sympathetic nervous system is continually online, it reduces the circulation of protective antibodies which increases susceptibility to infection and disease, and reduces lymphatic flow.
How does mental health affect the immune system?
Poor mental health is an effect of, and a contributing factor to, poor stress management. When mental health is poor, chronic stress upregulates proinflammatory cytokines which in turn reduce short term and long term ability to fight illness.
How does stress affect the immune system?
Not all stress is bad. Acute stress (short term stress) is helpful for keeping you alert and protecting you from harm. And in fact, studies show that short bursts of stress on the body (such as the stress caused by exercise) can have positive effects on adaptive immune responses, and overall health.
However, chronic stress can negatively impact the body in a number of ways, including immune consequences. Stress induced immune dysregulation can lead to lower numbers of lymphocytes, the body’s white blood cells that fight infection, increasing risk of viruses like the common cold. Too much cortisol can also cause chronic inflammation, which can contribute to the development of disorders like arthritis, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBS).
How does stress negatively affect the body?
Physical and mental health are complex and intricately intertwined. Stress is not just a part of mental disorder, but stress impacts a number of systems in the body. Immediate reactions to stressors include a fast heart rate, shallow breathing, and an increase in adrenocorticotropic hormone and other stress hormones. When stress levels remain high, these higher hormone levels lead to more inflammation in the body, which impacts cardiovascular health, can contribute to gastric ulcers and other gastrointestinal dysregulation, and decreases overall immunity to disease. Chronic stress can even increase the risk of mental decline. Limiting inflammation through stress management can lead to improved health markers across the board.
What causes the immune system to be weak?
A number of factors can weaken immune system function. Poor eating habits, sedentary behavior, chronic stress, medical conditions, and genetics can all contribute to issues.
Does sadness weaken your immune system?
As a stressor, short term sadness may not have much of an impact, but persistent sadness can weaken pathways of the immune system over time.
Why is stress the enemy of your immune system?
Calling stress the enemy of the immune system is a bit strong. Short term stress isn’t always bad…for example, the stress felt about a final exam can promote action and improve performance. And in fact, short term stress on the body like exercise can actually have a positive impact on long term immunity. However, chronic stress is unhealthy, and can have a negative impact on the immune system.
How to calm your immune system?
Studies conducted on stressed mice found that managing stress can reduce inflammation in the body and improve immune system function. Some effective ways that you can manage stress include:
- Getting enough sleep
- Practicing mindfulness exercises such as deep breathing or meditation
- Strong social support
- Healthy lifestyle habits like regular exercise, balanced eating, and sufficient hydration
If you or an ailing loved one feel overwhelmed by stress, working with a mental health professional may be able to help you manage stress in a way that not only improves mental health, but reduces inflammation as well.
Is it true that the immune system will respond to stress?
Yes, the body’s stress system can impact the function of the immune system. All the systems of the body are intricately interconnected and one of the responses to chronic stress is the immune dysfunction such as T cell exhaustion, increase in proinflammatory cytokines, and impeding the flow of the lymphatic system.
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