Info

You are currently browsing the archives for the Stress category.

May 2012
M T W T F S S
« Apr    
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031  
Categories
Links

Archive for the Stress Category

Running on empty ?

I have just broken down on my own drive (actually half way up the shared drive-embaressing but at least I was home) and the reason for this-my petrol tank is empty !

How could this happen I ask myself ? This has never happened before in 23 years of driving. What has been different this week ? How did I forget to fill up ?

I started to think about health & these thoughts prompted me to write a blog post & think further about

  • how often do we run our bodies on empty ?
  • what are the signs that we are running on empty ?
  • how do we fill our bodies tank up when we feel like we are running on empty ?
  • how does it affect our health ?
  • how does it effect our families ?

Fortunately my lack of petrol is fairly easily solved, but that is not always the case with our bodies, health & relationships . How often do we take our health & relationships for granted and forget to fill up our ‘fuel tanks’ ?

I welcome your comments & ideas.

How running has changed my life

At the start of this year I took up running after reading on the internet that it was a brilliant way to handle stress and improve your psychological health. I was never really in it for the physiological benefits.

At first I started with just walking and running a few short distances - then gradually I progressed and started being able to run further without a break. It gradually gets easier and easier, and I found it was a great was to release the stress accumulated from a school day. The psychologicasl benefits are great - its like going to sleep and waking up fully refreshed. Indeed exercise is speculated to downregulate cortisol, the hormone which is released into the blood stream in response to stress. The more precise mechanism is that stress causes the hypothalamus to release adrenocorticotrophic releasing hormone (ARH), which then causes the pituitary to release adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH). The ACTH then travels in the bloodstream to the adrenal gland, located above the kidneys and causes it to release adrenaline (epinthrine) and Cortisol.

I have read that Cortisol is known to kill neurons (nerve cells) and this is believed to be why chronic stress gives rise to depression. Cortisol harms brain cells in three ways: firstly it interferes with the neurotransmitters, secondly it interferes also with the brains supply of glucose and thirdly it cause the calcium ion channels to open and therefore a sudden influx of calcium ions into the neuron. The calcium ions create free radical molecules which then kill or signifcantly damage the cell.

This loss of nerve cells has been linked to loss of concentration, which prevents adequate memory. So in fact less stress may = greater intelligence.

Im starting to get hooked on sport and have taken up rowing and badminton, as well as joining a running club, in which there is no stopping until  everyone stops.

Health issues in the news recently

A recent long term study of 30,000 people has suggested that the development of Parkinsons disease may be related to low levels of Vitamin D

Find out more about this story at BBC health

High stress levels may reduce fertility in women & delay conception. A recent study by Oxford university experts of 274 healthy women between the age of 18-40 has shown for the first time that high stress levels in women may delay pregnancy & that relaxation may help.

Read more about this research at BBChealth

Read more fertility related issues at UK Fertility Blog

|