Stress Is Weathering Our Bodies From the Inside Out

In the short term, all organisms can tolerate adverse conditions by fighting, hiding, or fleeing from an impending stressor. All of us are built for dealing with short-term bursts of stress. When the event is over, the body normally returns to balance within hours, increasing its energy levels and restoring its vital resources. But when the stress

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When stress hormones stop insulin from storing glucose for extended periods of time, we are at greater risk for diabetes and obesity. When they make the heart pump harder and the blood vessels constrict for months on end, we become prone to cardiovascular disease. And when inflammation goes unchecked, the immune system can become overactive—so eage

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and cortisol, which sets off a cascade of internal processes, including increased respiration, fast heartbeat, and blood vessel dilation in the arms and legs, which triggers our digestive system to increase our bloodstream glucose levels to deal with the emergency. Once the emergency is over, everything returns to normal.4 However, if it continues

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When we are highly stressed, the emotional brain gets aroused, which in turn stimulates the thinking brain to work harder to resolve our concerns. We create a vicious cycle where the baseline brain activity is geared to a higher than normal level, with increasing vigilance, fear, stress, and anxiety. Over time this extra effort depletes our energy,

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