How often do you hear someone say they are “stressed out”? You may be surprised to find that some stress is actually good for your immune system. New research uncovers the good and the bad of stress and how it affects you.
According to one particular study, your immune system can actually benefit from short spurts of stress. A new study that was published in the journal Psychological Bulletin found out that the type of stress that you experience when you take a test for instance could surprisingly be beneficial to your body. The researchers, Dr. Suzanne Segerstrom and Dr. Gregory Miller found out that this type of short-term stress is actually pretty good for your body whereas long-term continual stress, on the other hand, is not really beneficial to your body. The two researchers evaluated 300 scientific papers that involved around 19,000 participants for this particular study.
This is the type of stress you are under when ,for instance, you care for an elderly person, lose a spouse or a life-partner, struggle with a serious disability, or even undergo a lengthy court battle. The ill and the elderly people are particularly vulnerable to all of these negative effects of the bad type of stress, that is continual.
Another different study by Dr. Shelley Taylor of the University of California shed some light on the stress response factor and why stress can sometimes leads to a ramped up immune system in your body. It is not exactly clear how stress makes you ill, but the items of the immune system that are activated when there is an inflammation are actually also activated when you are feeling stressed out. This study’s purpose was to determine whether or not the stress of personal conflicts and competitive sports would trigger the release of cytokines, which are the molecules that are usually associated with inflammation.
There were 122 young adults who participated in this particular study and they all kept diaries about their activities over an eight day time span. In this study, the participants were told to focus on their interactions with other people and whether they found them to be negative or positive experiences. The participants were also given tests in a laboratory setting where each person had a saliva samples taken before and after these tests to measure biological markers for inflammation and the release of cytokines in their body. When the participants had negative interactions with others, they also had an increase in their cytokine levels. This usually followed arguments and other uncomfortable interactions they experienced with other people. Surprisingly, competitive sporting events did not actually have the same effect.
The researchers concluded that low-grade inflammation in the body will contribute to the buildup of plaque in the vessels and also contributes to disorders that are linked to a poor immune system, like asthma. So there you have it, stress is good for immune system stimulation but bad for overall health.
The Good Stress And The Bad Stress
Most stresses elicit the ‘fight or flight’ response in people. It is sometimes speculated that this is an instinct that we humans have had all the way back from the cave man days. When humans were threatened by predators, they either ran or fought the threat. This response mechanism is very much alive and well today and it even boosts our natural front-line defense against our trauma and infection from things like bites, scrapes, and other types injuries. Long-term stress, however is said to be bad for your immune system and your overall health.This is the type of stress you are under when ,for instance, you care for an elderly person, lose a spouse or a life-partner, struggle with a serious disability, or even undergo a lengthy court battle. The ill and the elderly people are particularly vulnerable to all of these negative effects of the bad type of stress, that is continual.
Another different study by Dr. Shelley Taylor of the University of California shed some light on the stress response factor and why stress can sometimes leads to a ramped up immune system in your body. It is not exactly clear how stress makes you ill, but the items of the immune system that are activated when there is an inflammation are actually also activated when you are feeling stressed out. This study’s purpose was to determine whether or not the stress of personal conflicts and competitive sports would trigger the release of cytokines, which are the molecules that are usually associated with inflammation.
There were 122 young adults who participated in this particular study and they all kept diaries about their activities over an eight day time span. In this study, the participants were told to focus on their interactions with other people and whether they found them to be negative or positive experiences. The participants were also given tests in a laboratory setting where each person had a saliva samples taken before and after these tests to measure biological markers for inflammation and the release of cytokines in their body. When the participants had negative interactions with others, they also had an increase in their cytokine levels. This usually followed arguments and other uncomfortable interactions they experienced with other people. Surprisingly, competitive sporting events did not actually have the same effect.
The researchers concluded that low-grade inflammation in the body will contribute to the buildup of plaque in the vessels and also contributes to disorders that are linked to a poor immune system, like asthma. So there you have it, stress is good for immune system stimulation but bad for overall health.
Sources & Links
- Dotinga, R. (2012). Study shows how stress triggers immune system. Retrieved from: www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=153899
- MedicalNewsToday.com (2004). Stress is good for your immune system. Retrieved from: www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/10335.php
- Photo courtesy of tzofia on Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/tzofia/270800047