Stress is inevitable in life. You might have a project deadline next week which is nowhere near completion. You might have booked a flight to Egypt for a vacation when you got a call requesting you to join back at work due to some emergency. Or the cause of your stress might be your demanding child. Anything and everything in life could be stressful and a part of it depends on how you carry it. That is, if you are a workaholic, the workload will not tire you.
A majority of people around the world are in quarantine due to the spread of coronavirus. Being at home might seem relaxing in the beginning. However, this changes when you have been stuck at home for more than two weeks.
Humans are social beings. The present situation restricts us from interacting with other people and this will affect us negatively. Added to the stress caused by quarantine, some of us have to also deal with the unavailability of some basic materials like toilet paper. The panic created by this pandemic has made people collect even basic things that we need, which led to its shortage.
All of these factors contribute to stress, which is not good especially during this situation. How is stress affecting you? Let’s look at how stress and immunity are related.
Can Stress Affect Your Immune System?
Not many know how stress can lead to low immunity. Both short and long-term stress will influence the immune system. This article will show you how they are connected and how to overcome them.
The symptoms that are associated with stress begin with a nervous system response which later affects our organs and other bodily functions. Thus, when something makes us nervous (which can also be caused by our thinking pattern), the autonomic nervous system sends out signals for the release of stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine. This causes the heart to beat faster and makes us to breathe quicker. This affects our organs and their functions.
When you are stressed for a long time, your immune system will be severely affected. If your stress is only short-lived, your body will automatically go back to homeostasis.
How Does Chronic Stress Affect Health?
While short stress occurs every now and then, chronic stress happens when you are under pressure, for days, weeks, or months. This pushes your body to a stage where it cannot come back itself to homeostasis. The main symptoms of chronic stress include
- depression
- constant anxiety
- digestion issues
- frequent Headaches
- Sleep interruptions
How Does Stress Influence the Immunity System?
Do you know how our immune system works? The central nervous system, when it senses any pathogen, will send signals directly to the immune system to release necessary antigens to protect the body.
Once stress is detected by the body, the autonomic nervous system starts functioning and quickly sends signals to the immune system to fight the threat. Over time, when the situation does not change, our bodies will become tired and will be vulnerable to harmful pathogens.
How Can Sleep Be Affected?
It is a well-known fact that sleeping is not easy when under stress. The loss of sleep will result in the overproduction of cytokines which will cause inflammation. Without sleep, T-cells, which usually function the best at night, will grow weak. The cortisol level in the blood increases causing inflammation and gut problems.
How To Fight Stress?
Stressing, as you can see, does no good for your body. Thus, there are many ways to handle situations such that you are not stressed. Over-the-counter medicines are usually the first choice, which obviously is harmful over time. There are also other methods like:
Meditation- calming your mind for around 30 minutes a day will help you cope with the tension outside.
Exercise- Moving your body will keep your mind busy and body healthy.
Sleep- As said before, sleep is an important factor.
Balanced meals- Healthy food is what you need during stressful times. It will pacify your senses and give your body much-needed nutrition.
Sometimes, you cannot do any of these. You might resort to medicines at the end. Why not try a natural medicine then?
CBD has been around for around 2 years now and it has been proven useful in soothing people.
CBD For Stress
Many are already using CBD for stress at work. CBD indirectly reacts with the endocannabinoid system of the body and creates a relaxing effect inducing sleep and acts as a destresser. It can also combat the inflammation caused by stress. The benefits of CBD also include maintaining a healthy appetite.
Moreover, you do not have to worry about how to take it. CBD products for stress are available in different forms. CBD vapes, CBD edibles like chocolates, CBD topicals are a few of them. There are also different spectrums of CBD- full-spectrum, broad-spectrum, and isolate. You can choose any type and spectrum of CBD according to your need and like.