Stress affects everyone at some point in their lives, but constant stress or having to deal with more new stressors every day can have serious effects on the immune system in several ways. Stress that is allowed to continue increases your risk of infection and illness.
Function
The body's reaction to stress plays an important role in survival. During initial stages of stress, your body generates a "fight or flight" response. Your heart rate increases to pump blood and nutrients to your muscles to either fight or run. Energy is directed to your brain, while your immune system is stimulated to increase production of white blood cells. However, your body cannot maintain this "fight or flight" response for long. If the stress continues, body systems begin to wear down.
Significance
Chronic stress lowers your ability to produce certain antibodies, which attach to invading organisms, slow them down and mark them for destruction by white blood cells. Chronic stress also depletes the number of white cells in your body, specifically the number of natural killer cells, which attack cancer cells and cells infected with viruses and bacteria. Unless you take steps to reduce the levels of stress in your life, or find ways to better deal with it, you risk increased infection and illness.
Types
There are two types of stress: eustress, or "good" stress, and distress, or "bad" stress. Good stressors include events like weddings, planning parties and starting a new relationship. Bad stressors include losing a job, dealing with a death in the family and getting sick. If you are getting married, moving and dealing with the death of a pet all at the same time, both the good and bad stress combine to wear down your defenses.
Prevention/Solution
Eat a healthy diet including plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and cold-water fish. Nutrients in fresh fruits and vegetables enhance white blood cell activity. Cold water fish like salmon and halibut and whole grains like quinoa also contain nutrients that support immune health. Avoid caffeine and alcohol, which can exacerbate feelings of stress or anxiety and also wear down the immune system.
Engage in mild to moderate exercise, which can build the immune system. Some forms of exercise, like tai chi or yoga, can also help to calm the mind and ease the psychological effects of stress, which also affect immune function.
Considerations
If you seem to have more stress than people around you, consider talking to a psychologist or counselor who can help you to change the way you view the events or issues you face. How you view an event plays a strong role in the impact it has on you. If you see an event as a positive challenge and something you can learn and grow from, it will impact your health much less than if you consistently view events and issues as uncontrollable threats to your life and well-being.
Tags: immune system, wear down, white blood, your body, blood cells