Prolonged stress, how does it affect the body?
Stress is a common complaint that is often felt by many people, especially when faced with stressful situations. Some people may be able to handle the stress they experience. But for some others, stress can be long-term and recurring. Therefore, you are encouraged to learn how to control stress so that it does not have a negative impact on your health.
Negative impact of stress on health
Stress is the body’s response to environmental changes,in the form of a physical, mental or emotional response. This reaction is known as “Fight or flee” which causes the heart rate to increase, breathing to quicken, muscles to tighten and blood pressure to rise. So, how does stress affect the state of the body? Here is the answer.

1. Central Nervous System and Endocrine
The central nervous system is most responsible for responding to stress,after the stress first appears until it disappears. In addition to generating a response “Fight or flee“, the central nervous system sends commands from the hypothalamus to the adrenal glands to release the hormones adrenaline and cortisol.
When cortisol and adrenaline are released, the liver produces more sugar in the blood (glucose) to provide energy to the body. If the body uses up all the extra energy,it reabsorbs the glucose. For those prone to type 2 diabetes, glucose cannot all be absorbed, so levels rise.
The release of the hormones adrenaline and cortisol causes the heart rate to increase, breathing quickly becomes and the blood vessels in the arms and legs remove. What if the stress starts to disappear? The central nervous system commands the body to return to normal state.
2. On the respiratory system
When you are stressed, breathing becomes faster because the body needs to circulate oxygen throughout the body. For people with asthma and emphysema, these conditions can cause more serious problems.
3. On the cardiovascular system
In addition to the fact that the heart quickly knocks, can long term stress the blood vessels leading to the large muscles and heart enlargement. This causes an increase in blood pressure and the volume of blood pumped through the body. As a result, long-term stress can increase the risk of hypertension, heart attack,and stroke.
4. On the digestive system
Stress can cause a person to experience heartburn, acid reflux, nausea, vomiting and stomach pain. Stress affects the movement of food in the intestines, which increases the risk of diarrhea and constipation.
5. On the skeletal muscle system
In chronic stress, i.e. it occurs in the long term, the muscles do not have much time to relax. As a result, these tense muscles can cause headaches, backaches and pain throughout the body.
6. On the reproductive system
Human produce more testosterone during stress. This condition can increase sexual arousal in the short term. If this continues for a long time, levels of the male hormone begin to rise and testosterone decrease, which disrupts sperm production which may increase the risk of erectile dysfunction or impotence. What about women? Long-term stress can affect the menstrual cycle.
7. On the immune system
Long-term stress stimulates the body to produce cortisol (stress hormone) that can inhibit the release of histamine and the inflammatory response to fight foreign substances. As a result, someone who experiences chronic stress is prone to infection (such as the flu) and makes it difficult for dogs to heal