The Mental and Physical Impact of Stress on our Health
When facing a challenging or threatening situation, we feel what is known as stress. It triggers the release of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, which prepare the body to take action to deal with the situation. This feeling has always existed, although, nowadays, it can be triggered by many circumstances and some people tend to experience it on a daily basis.
Does stress affect our health?
It has been proven, and we can also experience, how stress has a significant impact on both mental and physical health. Stress is a natural response to certain situations and a part of many people’s day-to-day life. As mentioned above, it is how our body reacts to situations that may be perceived as dangerous, threatening or challenging and it activates our body’s “fight or flight” mode.
However, feeling excessive stress over a long period of time can have negative effects on both, our mental and physical health. This is why it is so important to be aware of what we are going through and learn about stress management techniques, what helps us in these situations and how we can maintain our overall well-being.
The effects stress can have on our health go from weakening our immune system to affecting our mood or worsening existent health conditions.
In this article, we will talk more about stress, our body’s response to it and what practices could help us in these situations. So, if you would like to know more about all of this, keep reading!
Symptoms of Stress
Since stress can affect us in many different ways, sometimes we will be stressed and will realize it right away and others we will keep going without recognizing the signs. These signs and symptoms will also vary for each person, but some common ones include:
- Physical symptoms such as headaches, tension, fatigue or sleep problems.
- Emotional symptoms like mood swings and anxiety.
- Cognitive symptoms, including difficulty concentrating.
- Behavioral symptoms and change in habits.
In today’s fast-paced world, there are many situations that can lead to feeling these (or other) symptoms and can affect how we feel and act. Some usual stressors in today’s society are:
- Work demands and time pressures
- Financial problems
- Relationships, which include friends, family and partners
- Heath issues
- Environmental factors such as noise, pollution or crowded places.
If you feel like stress is affecting your daily life, although you may be experiencing different symptoms, it is important to speak with a mental health professional to develop effective coping strategies. Also keep in mind that what may cause stress for one person, may not have the same impact on another.
The Body’s Response to Stress
The response our body gives when facing challenging or stressful situations is known as the “fight or flight” response. At this moment, there are several changes happening in our bodies.
First of all, we release the “stress hormones”, cortisol and adrenaline, into the bloodstream, which increases our heart rate, blood pressure and breading. These changes happen so quickly that we don’t even realize it, this is why when encountering a stressful situation, we can act without thinking or knowing exactly what we are doing.
These physical responses are a “short-term” solution for our bodies to deal with stress as soon as we start feeling it. Now, if this keeps happening for a prolonged time, then, it can negatively impact our overall health and well-being. Some people even suffer from chronic stress and are not able to find breaks or a way to stop feeling this way.
How to lower and cope with Stress
There are a number of things we can do to reduce our cortisol levels and manage stress. Practicing mindfulness techniques such as meditation or breathwork on a regular basis will help reduce cortisol levels in the body while self-care strategies like taking breaks away from work or engaging in creative activities will help promote good mental health overall. Additionally, having strong social connections with supportive friends and family members provides an important source of emotional support when dealing with difficult times which ultimately leads to improved psychological well-being.
Nowadays, we have the advantage to count on many devices, therapies and services that help us manage the stress and anxiety we feel in our daily life. In this case, the tools we have created at Radiance can greatly help in these situations. Our products use infrared light which, apart from reducing fatigue and enhancing recovery, also helps with stress and tension relief in the body. When this light starts working, it helps the muscles relax, improves circulation and, since it penetrates your skin, stimulates your cells and makes the whole process more efficient. Studies have shown that regular use of even low doses of infrared radiation can have a positive effect on mental state and overall well-being.
Here we leave a few reasons why you may want to try these tools yourself and how they help with stress management:
Infrared Sauna Blanket
This tool has very similar effects as an infrared sauna and, the best part, you can use it wherever you want. To start using it, you will only need to turn it on, choose the temperature, get ready and enjoy the moment of deep relaxation and recovery you will spend in this blanket.
The heat of the blanket will help your body to produce endorphins, also known as “happy hormones”, which calm our bodies and minds.
PEMF Mat
Another product you can find on our website is the PEMF Mat, a tool that combines two incredible healing technologies and helps you feel grounded, relaxed and resets your entire body. This is a great tool to also use during your workouts, meditations or even while sitting on your desk chair.
On the website, you will find two mat options, the regular PEMF Mat that you can place on your floor and lay on it and the PEMF Go Mat, which is smaller and can also be used on a chair since it has a partition on the middle that allows it to fold and stay in that position easily. Both use infrared heat and the same technologies which make them the perfect tools to meditate, relax and manage stress.
Infrared Lamp
And last but not least, we have a two-sided infrared lamp. That is right, it has two sides, two different types of light and it brings many benefits to our bodies. One of the sides is for bright/daylight and the other one radiates red light, which contains red and near-infrared light. Again, these penetrate the skin and stimulate our cells so recovery and relaxation are more efficient.
This lamp is also very convenient and completely portable. You can use it on your whole body and wherever you want. These kinds of lamps are sometimes compared to infrared light masks so if you have doubts about what device would be the best for you, we have an article dedicated and more in-depth about the difference between infrared facemasks and lamps.
Conclusion
We hope all the details we have given about stress, our body’s response to it and ways to manage it have been helpful. As we have seen it is inevitable to feel stress but it is important to notice what our bodies and minds are going through and take action to manage it and help ourselves feel better.
Acute and persistent stress can lead to mental and physical health problems so it is also important to talk to experts when we need it. Everyone’s feelings are valid and the way a person gets affected by a certain situation may not be the same for everyone else so each of us needs to do what works best in each case for ourselves.
Infrared Light treatments, although they are not the only solution to cope and manage these situations, have been proven to be very helpful in many cases. The far-infrared energy helps to stimulate cellular metabolism and helps the body relax more quickly and deeply. This type of relaxation leads to improved mental health and well-being, as well as helps to reduce stress levels in the body. But if you would like to know more about this process and how the tools we offer help, you can always contact us and we will try to help you as much as we can.
Source:
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240003927?gclid=CjwKCAiA3KefBhByEiwAi2LDHKPxTZ3fxZCKTF5xtuE5KgA4IbCI-zo2sc6fC1xl3iJ66uUkUC1c0hoCbPMQAvD_BwE
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/stress/signs-and-symptoms-of-stress/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response