You may not realize this but stress drains so much of your energy that your body doesn’t have enough energy to fight off viruses and disease.
In other words, your immune system is compromised. In fact, stress is associated with many health problems and diseases.
Here are just a few of them:
Weight and Fat Gain
Binge or stress eating creates extra fat cells to store. That’s why many people who reduce stress in their life find it so much easier to lose weight.
Heart Disease
Your risk of heart disease is increased. It could be because chronic stress exposes your body to persistently elevated levels of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. But studies also link stress to changes in the way blood clots, which increases the risk of heart attack.
Diabetes
Stress can worsen diabetes in two ways. First, it increases the likelihood of bad behaviors, such as unhealthy eating and excessive drinking. Second, stress seems to raise the glucose levels of people with type 2 diabetes directly.
Depression and Anxiety
One recent study found that people who had stress related to their jobs – like demanding work with few rewards – had an 80% higher risk of developing depression within a few years than people with lower stress.
Accelerated Aging
There’s actually evidence that stress can affect how you age. One study compared the DNA of mothers who were under high stress – they were caring for a chronically ill child – with women who were not. Researchers found that a particular region of the chromosomes showed the effects of accelerated aging. Stress seemed to accelerate aging about 9 to 17 additional years.
Gastrointestinal Problems
Stress doesn’t cause ulcers. However, it can make them worse. Stress is also a common factor in many other GI conditions, such as chronic heartburn (or gastroesophageal reflux disease, GERD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Premature Death
A study looked at the health effects of stress by studying elderly caregivers looking after their spouses – people who are naturally under a great deal of stress. It found that caregivers had a 63% higher rate of death than people their age who were not caregivers.
As you can see, stress not only robs you of your energy but it also robs you of your health! It’s why I’ve spent so much time studying the subject.Â
If you’d like to learn how to effectively reduce your stress and increase your energy go here.