THE NEUROSCIENCE OF STRESS
What is stress?
Stress, and the body’s ‘stress system’, developed very early in our evolution as a natural biological reaction to perceived harm or uncertainty. Life is full of stressors; whether we are struggling to make an upcoming deadline, stuck in traffic, or we are overwhelmed with uncertainty as plans keep changing.
When we experience stress our heart and breathing rates increase, blood vessels constrict, we stop digesting food and our levels of adrenaline and the stress hormone cortisol increase. This is our body’s way of preparing us to either fight or take flight (run away).
Funnily enough, in the past few thousand years our society has progressed more rapidly than our biology has had a chance to keep up with, so we react to a complex range of emotional and cognitive stressors with an often-irrelevant physical response and anxiety. Interestingly, when our brain senses anxiety in others we become more anxious. This is especially relevant in the workplace. That’s why breaking the stress cycle early is the key to managing your own and others’ stress!
What are the consequences?
Stress isn’t all bad. A little bit of stress can actually be beneficial because it can increase our focus and energise us to achieve goals.
However, chronic (long term) stress is detrimental to our physical and mental health and reduces our brain’s capacity to think clearly. Under stress, we revert to habitual ways of thinking rather than being rational and making good decisions, which leads to errors, and in turn creates more stress.
Thankfully, there are a variety of strategies that we can apply to break the cycle of stress before it becomes chronic. I have a whole workshop dedicated to understanding and managing stress, but by reading this article you’ve already taken the first step.
Strategies
Reduce the likelihood of experiencing stress
The most effective ways to avoid unnecessary stress are to:
Exercise regularly.
Get high quality and consistent sleep.
Have clear communication to reduce feelings of uncertainty.
Because stress is a ‘fight or flight’ response, the brain prepares the rest of the body for exercise. So when we’re stressed but don’t exercise, all of those stress molecules build up and make things worse until they’re flushed out of the system with exercise, especially if we get sweaty.
How to reduce the impact of stress when it does happen
Sometimes life just happens, and stress can't be avoided. The following tips can help you deal with stress and break the cycle early before it becomes chronic.
Predict stress
New research has shown that being able to predict stress actually minimises its impact. So notice how the physical signs of stress feel in your body, and when you experience things like increased heart and breathing rate, sweating or a dry mouth, and let that be an early warning sign. Then once you predict and notice stress have a simple plan in place to manage your reaction. This should be something that works for you as an individual. It can be as simple as sipping on a warm drink (but note that caffeine may increase some symptoms of stress), going for a short walk, calling a friend or taking 10 minutes to lay down or meditate.
Breathe
The most well established tool to effectively reduce the stress response is breath work. We automatically do a very simple breathing technique called the physiological sigh, but we can consciously do it when we notice those early warning signs of stress. It involves two short quick inhales and a long, extended exhale (and repeating it).
We all experience stress and anxiety throughout life. The key ways to prevent excessive stress include exercising regularly, sleeping well, and communicating clearly about plans. But when stress and anxiety do occur, there are ways to reduce their impact. The key strategies include identifying the physical signs, having your own stress response techniques, and using breath work.
By: Neuroscientist Dr Hayley North, founder of Understand Your Brain