The Human Body Isn’t Built to Deal With Chronic Stress
Short-term, acute stress is generally no problem – it’s why we have such a well-developed “fight or flight” impulse. Some people have even noticed that they have quicker reflexes and reaction times in emergency situations – this is another example of how we’re built to react to immediate, short-term stress.
But the chronic stress associated with so many contemporary lifestyles is relatively new to the human body. We’re just not built to handle it very well – unless we take steps to manage our stress levels daily, it can have serious ramifications for our health.
Managing Chronic Stress
When we talk about managing chronic stress, many things may come to mind: yoga, mindfulness exercises, even the ability to cut loose and enjoy a cocktail once in a while!
But it’s important to get practical and look at long-term causes of chronic stress as well. Things like lack of sleep and unhealthy eating habits are all too common today, and can be major causes of chronic stress.
Lack of sleep in particular can lead to overeating, according to studies(6). Meanwhile, fad and “yo-yo” dieting trends can also, perhaps perversely, make it hard for people to lose weight and keep it off in a health-conscious way, along with significantly increasing stress levels(7).
In order to manage the day to day stress of your modern life, getting enough good quality sleep and eating healthy, balanced meals are more important than ever.