How Stress Affects Our Bodies

updated 01/10/2008

What is Stress?

Stress is the body's natural response to intense situations that require some action on the part of the individual. Some stress, called eustress, is good. Some say that it can actually improve the immune system. Bad stress, however, weakens the body's immune system, and intestinal disorders may develop or become more severe. It can manifest as fear, anxiety, anger or depression.

Stress & Your Colon

The colon is very responsive to stress and is easily disrupted when the hormones are activated. Negative emotion of bad stress becomes a problem for the body if it persists. It can cause the production of the stress hormones including corticosteroids, which can accelerate or restrict the movement of waste through the colon.

Over time, negative emotion stress can lead to increased appetite, thus giving your colon excessive food to process. This can lead to unwanted weight gain as well.

Busy, stressed people have a tendency to put off going to the bathroom. Withholding bowels is a seriously bad practice because it can lead to constipation which brings about a toxic colon condition.

Busy people tend to skip meals or eat on the go which is not good for proper digestion. They often times maintain a fast food diet of too much meat and fats, and not enough fruit, vegetables and fiber. A regular, healthy eating schedule helps to promote regular bowel movements.

Amplifying the Effects of Stress

Inadequate amounts of exercise and lack of sleep are two factors that affect stress levels. Follow the process. The lymphatic system aids in the elimination of waste materials by cycling waste out of and nutrients into cells. It gets is power from exercise. Without proper exercise the lymphatic system can't do it's job so the body is retaining those toxins, and depression can follow. Depression can diminish the urge to exercise. And so the cycle turns on itself. Also, lack of exercise increases constipation by allowing bowels muscles to become weak. This lessens the chances for complete waste elimination.

Lack of sleep disrupts the appetite regulating hormones, allowing people to overeat. It causes people to make poor food choices leading to the consumption of empty food stuff, lacking proper fuel and nutrients, and adding more toxins to the colon. Also, sleep deprivation causes the body to produce more stress hormone which can cause or aggravate bowel disorders, like constipation and Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Traumas on the job can cause the colon to malfunction. It's not only the mental stress of monotonous repetition on the job, or the deadlines that can stress your body. Improper posture or spinal misalignment can overload the colon and impair the digestive process.

Vacations are important because they give people time to regroup and regenerate themselves away from stressors of work. As Americans, we allot the least amount of time to vacation of all the other industrialized countries. And the employees in other countries have a comparatively better health record.

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