How Stress Causes "Dis-ease" in the Body
Chronic stress shifts our nervous system into fight or flight regularly. The stress response is supposed to be activated for acute situations only - dealing with the threat and then quickly recovering. This chronic call for more cortisol is causing the breakdown of the following systems:
The nervous system (anxiety, depression, insomnia)
The endocrine system (hormones - thyroid, adrenal, gonadal)
The immune system (inflammation, infections, allergies, pain)
Stress is also among the underlying causes of cancer, metabolic syndrome, heart disease, stroke, autoimmunity, and gastrointestinal distress.
Although Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), Candida, SIBO, and parasites may be lurking in the digestive tract, one of the main reasons for bloating, gas, loose stool, constipation, or acid reflux is stress.
Stress is much more than a sense of feeling overwhelmed. Factors include caregiving, illness, work, relationships, finances, inflammation, infections, and environmental toxins.
Intestinal permeability - “leaky gut” - means that the tight junctions in the gut lining open up and allow particles and pathogens to enter our bloodstream. Alcohol, caffeine, sugar, medications, fried and ultra-processed foods, and chemicals in our water supply, exacerbate leaky gut causing increased insulin resistance, blood glucose levels, blood pressure, resting heart rate, and respiratory rate.
Increased cortisol (stress hormone) is directly correlated with the destruction of the mucosal lining of the gut wall, leading to poor digestion, lowered nutrient absorption, impaired sleep, and a weakened immune system.
Stress should be acute and finite, not chronic and ever-present!
How Chronic Stress Leads to Irregular Sleep and a Lowered Immune Response
Continuous exposure to the stress hormone cortisol can disturb many bodily processes regulated by the Hypothalamus Pituitary Adrenal (HPA) axis. When the HPA axis is overactive, it disrupts the sleep cycle. Lack of sleep causes more cortisol to be released during the day to mimic "awakeness," which perpetuates the cycle.
Additionally, when you sleep, your body creates cytokines. Cytokines are chemical messengers between immune cells and can be pro or anti-inflammatory. Lack of sleep lowers the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines, leading to increased inflammation in the body.
High cortisol levels also impair the production of T-cells. T-cells are a type of white blood cell which are essential in the body's immune response. The T-cells called TH1 Helper Cells aid in the body's defense system. During the stress response, these TH1 cells are suppressed and fall out of balance with their counterparts, TH2 cells.
Unbalanced hormone secretion from chronic stress and lack of sleep can lead to a lowered immune response and elevated levels of inflammation. Because a healthy immune system is of the utmost importance, incorporating healthy ways to improve hormone balance and sleep is essential.
The Gut-Brain Axis
The hypothalamus signals the pituitary gland to ramp up the stress response causing an increased heart rate, body temperature, and blood pressure (vaso-constriction). This stress response also leads to retaining sodium (swelling/water retention), diminishing potassium, and reducing HCl (reflux & poor breakdown of food/absorption). Stress (high cortisol) can draw calcium into the bloodstream, which may eventually lead to osteoporosis and plaques in the arteries.
