How Does Stress Weaken Your Immune System?

We all feel stress from time to time, and some of us deal with it as a chronic condition. We may feel tightness in our muscles (shoulders and neck, anyone?) and get less sleep. This affects our health, but how does stress affect our immune systems overall? Before you stress more about feeling stressed and your health, read on.

• Your brain and your immune system work together. When you have something stressful happen and you get sick afterward, it’s not simply adding insult to injury. The mental tension caused by stress triggers chemical reactions that flood the body with stress hormones. They, in turn, may clash with the body’s immune system, causing inflammation, lowered white blood cells and a higher chance of getting tissue damage and infection.

• “Fight or flight mode” affects the body in various ways. Short bursts of stress cause our body to go into that mode, releasing cortisol to help us deal with the situation. One of the side effects includes lowering a certain protein needed to signal other immune cells. This leads to a reduction in those immune cells, called lymphocytes. Lymphocytes help kill off disease-causing antigens and recognize “invaders.” With chronic stress, our lymphocytes are lowered, raising our risk of infection and disease, as well as making it harder for our bodies to heal from injuries and illness.

• Don’t stress, fight back! First, go with your gut: Make sure you take probiotics, live microorganisms that live in your gut and help support the immune system. Foods such as kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi and yogurt all have them. Practice deep breathing from the diaphragm to halt the “fight or flight” response and go back into “rest and digest” mode. Attempting to do this for 20 minutes a day can help improve the heart, brain and immune system. And, as always, a little exercise helps as well.

Bear in mind that stress doesn’t just affect us in the short term; it can take a toll on your immune system as well. To help you destress about your career, visit the experts at Medical Professionals.