Allowing stress to get the best of you is both uncomfortable and costly for your health. It’s a good idea to keep calm and continue with what you’re doing when hit with stressful situations reports Penn State News. According to researchers reacting positively to stressful situations may actually play a significant role in long-term health.
It was discovered by researchers that adults who do not maintain positive moods when confronted with the minor stressors of everyday life appear to have increased levels of inflammation. Women may be at even more risk. Inflammatory responses serve as part of the body’s capacity to protect itself via the immune system. However, with chronic long-term inflammation health may be undermined. Extended periods of inflammation may play a role in cancer, obesity and heart disease.
Sin says that with illness or exercise in the short-term the body experiences a high immune response
to assist in repairing itself. However, it may not be healthy to have heightened inflammatory immune responses in the long term. People who have problems regulating their responses to stressful situations may be at increased risk for age associated conditions such as cardiovascular disease, frailty and cognitive decline.
The American Psychological Association reports that affective reactivity to daily stressors has been found to be associated with increased inflammation. The researchers concluded that adults who do not maintain positive affect when confronted with minor stressors in daily life appear to have increased markers for inflammation. An understanding of the health implications of affective reactivity to daily stressors helps us understand the need to learn to relax more when hit with situations which are stressful.
