by: Tracy Thomas
The body is a collection of systems. Systems like neural, cardiovascular, autonomic, immune and metabolic; they all work in concert together for sustained health and, you guessed it, happiness.
Conventional wisdom has always held that stress kills. We all know (and feel) what stress is, right? But other than that ‘stressed out’ feeling, what else is going on, especially with these aforementioned systems?
Allostasis literally means “achieving stability through change”. When our bodies become stressed, system harmony is affected. This is called allostatic load.
A recent study from The Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, The Rockefeller University, NY, NY finds indicators that show that under stress, our brains change their ‘geography’, they shrink, if you will. That’s right, the brain, the very plastic organ that houses all of these systems, morphs under the load of our daily grind just like our backs, knees and feet.
I don’t know about you, but a sore back or feet are one thing, a brain, quite another.
The brain sees stress as a threat. So, that being said, the brain sees no difference between a bear charging toward your campsite or a bear-market charging at your 401K. The brain triggers the same set of chemicals to try and re-acquire allostasis. One chemical is a hormone called catecholamine. Catecholamines increase heart rate and blood pressure to aid the body in its fight (or flight). Looking back at the bear analogy, a charging bear may happen once and is over in moments. A bear-market may last for months. Whichever your predicament, catecholamines are going to do their thing. Chronically increased blood pressure and heart rate wear at cardiovascular system, taking it out of balance, or, increasing the allostatic load.
One system out of whack causes other systems to drift out of balance as well. This is because the body releases more chemicals to stabilize the ones that are over stimulated. This adds to more stress and increased allostatic load.
You see where this is going? No wonder the brain changes. It is trying to survive. To survive, it must adapt or evolve. This happens in animals as well. Environmental disruptions can affect mating and hibernation cycles due to elevated cortisol levels in ‘stressed’ animals. Cortisol is usually referred to as the “stress hormone” as it is involved in response to stress and anxiety. It increases blood pressure and blood sugar, and reduces immune responses. Freak, springtime snowstorms or being held captive at a zoo are stressors that can interrupt mating and hibernation cycles in animals; what if they added hyper connectivity, smoking, taxes, work place pitfalls and war? Well, humans adapt, right? Yes we do. Our brains change under undue loads of stress spewing out reactionary chemicals that shorten our lives in both quality and quantity. YUCK!
Our stress, or allostatic load, isn’t just a sensation we endure and lament to friends over coffee. It is an all-systems-go fight to reestablish balance. The victims of this fight are glucose response, sleep cycles, depression, memory, abdominal obesity, anxiety, learning, blood pressure and, oh yeah, a shrinking brain.