We all know that stress is not something you want to have too much of in your life. But you might not be fully aware on exactly what it might actually be doing in your mind and body. Not having a full understanding of what stress might be doing to you could mean that you are not going to find it quite as easy to take steps to keep it at bay, and for that reason alone this is something that you will probably want to look into. As it turns out, there are some particularly surprising things that an overabundance of stress - or even just a little of it - might be doing to you in your daily life. Let’s look now to some particular examples, so that you might feel more resolved about doing something about the stress in your life.
Worsened Memory
If you find that you cannot remember as much as you used to be able to, or not commit information to memory quite as easily, you are not alone. A lot of people find this as time goes on, and it can be down to a number of factors - including things as diverse as lack of sleep, overuse of mobile devices and cognitive problems. But one thing that is bound to make your memory worse over time is stress, particularly if you are subjected to a high degree of it over a long period of time. The way this works is clear. Stress produces spikes in the chemical cortisol, which can be useful in the short-term as an evolutionary way of encouraging your body to make a move in a potentially dangerous situation, but is also damaging in the long term. There have been many problems linked to long-term increased cortisol levels, and worsened memory is one of the most common. In fact, it has such a pronounced effect here that being stressed is one of the main causes of dementia in later life. That’s one very good reason to keep your stress - and cortisol - levels down.
Dulled Senses
It would be no kind of life at all if you found your senses gradually or rapidly getting worse, but for a lot of people this is exactly what does happen. Again, there are a huge number of factors which might prove to be relevant here, but one of the most important that you need to consider is stress. If you find yourself being stressed out routinely, this will inevitably mean that the way your senses function is not as full or complete as it could be. It affects everything, from your taste to your sight and even your hearing. Thankfully, you can easily find affordable hearing aids these days without trouble, but you will still rather avoid such problems in the first place if you can help it - and you can help it, by making a point of managing whatever stress might be present in your life as well as you can.
Acne
Skin problems are not quite the serious problem as something like dementia or lost hearing, of course, but for many people they can still make life difficult. If you have ever had a long period of bad skin, you will know full well that it leads to a lower self-esteem, which could even result in a considerable episode of depression for many. There is also the social stigma, which can be particularly bad amongst certain groups such as the young. Being stressed has a direct link to having acne, given the way in which stress causes inflammation of the body, and in which inflammation causes acne and other skin problems. You should therefore make sure that you are mastering your stress in whatever way you can if you wish to have clear, and healthy skin.
Teeth Problems
Oral issues are the kind of thing which crop up for everyone from time to time no matter what they do, but as is always the case there are many things which you might be doing to make this worse without knowing it. If you have a considerable amount of stress in your life, it is almost certainly worsening any dental problems you might have, and possibly even creating some new ones. One of the ways this happens is that when you are stressed, you might be clenching your jaw in your sleep, possibly to the point of creating cavities. Moreover, stress is also strongly linked to gum disease - and given that gum disease is itself a likely precursor to Alzheimer’s, this is certainly something you want to avoid.
So take up meditation, learn some deep breathing exercises, or better yet - do away with your source of stress altogether. You’ll find you are much healthier on the whole.
honesty is the best policy
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