Stress is a common feeling that most of us may have on a day-to-day basis. Stress can be found in many different aspects of our lives. Whether that is, you have a packed schedule without time to breathe, your child is at home sick but you have to still try to work and no one to watch them, or you have a big project due at school and feel like there is just no way you are going to be able to complete it cause you are busy or you don’t even understand it. All these situations can cause stress levels to increase and even small things that just continue to pile up can cause stress. Unfortunately, stress is always there almost every day, but can it be good? Can there be good stress and bad stress? Can our bodies utilize stress level for our benefit? There is some good news in everything!
What is good and bad stress?
Most of the time stress is chalked up to just be a bad thing because it does not usually make us feel good. But there is a difference between good stress and bad stress. The difference is, how long we feel stressed for.
Short term stress is classified right there in the name. Stressors that are short lived. They can be seen as a specific stressor and can cause a fight or flight response. It is typically classified as intense stress, also known as hormesis. And overall can be a part in living longer.
Long term stress does in fact damage our bodies and ultimately leads to the statement “stress kills”. Some of those long-term stressors can be family changes, deaths, births, marriage, divorce, family issues. Along with work life, financial problems, major illness or injuries, and or losing a job, becoming homeless. All of these are major life stressors that if not managed properly can cause some significant health problems.
The Biological and Chemical Parts to Stress and the Unknown
Two components to our stress response system that may only be known as scary or bad are oxidation and free radicals. These two words are not always known to be used as good things. But biologically they can be.
Oxidation
Oxidation is the chemical process in which a substance loses an electron. It is the addition of oxygen or removal of hydrogen. Typically, and more commonly, people hear oxidation and immediately think of the breakdown and destruction of metal (a car rusting) but in all reality it is rather important in your energy production and process. Cellular respiration is when glucose is oxidized to produce energy in cells. Glucose is broken down into what is called Adenosine Triphosphate or more commonly known as ATP. Now ATP is our source of energy and without it we are dead. Our bodies MUST have ATP to function. So therefore, oxidation is really energy production.
Free Radicals
Free radicals are molecules that have an unpaired electron that are highly reactive. Having an unpaired electron causes these molecules to be unstable. All free radicals are not necessarily unstable or damaging. While some are, many are not. They are in fact essential to our long-term survival. Some people may have a knowledge base of free radicals being bad because they are typically talked about with DNA. These free radicals that are typically discussed are called hydroxyl radicals and they can break DNA strands causing mutations. But just like with everything else these days there are good and bad. Good free radicals are found in a couple of different ways in our body. A few examples of those are as follows.
These good radicals are typically produced in times of short-term stress whereas damaging ones are produced in long term stress.
How does this all work together?
Hormesis type stress (short-term) triggers the body to produce internal defenders called antioxidant enzymes. These enzymes are super oxide dismutase and catalase, they are made from protein, which is another important reason to implement a lot of protein into your diet. While these enzymes are working to defend your system free radicals are working as messenger signals, telling your body that you need to adapt to reduce the threat. Again this becomes damaging when production outweighs the body’s ability to produce the counter attack.
Methods to Combat Stress
So how can we combat stress? There are many ways to lower your stress level and increase the good free radicals and ATP production. At times it can seem more overwhelming than helpful doing some sort of activity, especially if you have a crammed schedule, if this is the case there are activities that will help but just give you time to decompress. Some examples of good stress relief methods are:
Sun exposure– essential to your well-being. Helps produce serotonin (mood regulator), Melatonin (sleep hormone), vitamin D, lower blood pressure and improve mental health.
Weightlifting– builds muscle, strengthens the body, reduces injury, improves heart health, boosts mental health, improves energy and quality of sleep, improves mental health.
Fasting– weight loss, blood sugar control, more efficient use of energy, immune system improvement, cell regeneration.
Sitting in a sauna– reduces stress while promoting relaxation, improves heart health, improves respiratory tract function, reduces inflammation, relaxes muscle and mind, aids in sleep.
Getting in a cold plunge– reduces core body temperature, eases muscles, improves focus, enhances sleep quality, decreases inflammation in the body.
Hyperbaric Oxygen– increases oxygenation of the body’s tissues, time to decompress, improve blood circulation, accelerate healing, increased formation of collagen which supports connective tissue in the body.
The Bottom Line
In all reality can we be stress free all the time? No, we really can’t. Short term stress is good for us and helps prolong our lives. Which can be rather difficult to believe. While long term stress can be damaging, with the right coping mechanisms we can work through long term stress and let it be released as short-term stress, which in the end is beneficial to our bodily systems. Being more aware and conscious of how our bodies take in stress and convert it biologically and chemically is important when understanding how important it is to manage our stresses throughout our lives. We can live long healthy lives if we come to better understand the unknown and change our outlook on the “bad” to the good.
