How Stress Affects the Nervous System

Its what controls your body, and thus it is responsible for the response your body goes through when you stress for too much, too long. Your nervous system includes all your nerves, spinal cord, and brain. It can communicate with your body in two separate ways, first through chemicals known as hormones and second through electrical impulses that travel directly through your nerves.

When you start stressing, your nervous system will first induce the “fight or flight” response. The problem is that while a stressor long ago could be easily solved by fighting or running away, today some stressors tend to follow us around; we can’t fight them and we can’t escape them very easily either. This response stimulates certain hormones, which can cause problems if they become too numerous. The catch is that its acting on impulse; you stress, it does what it is supposed to.

If you continue to stress, nerve cells can begin to degenerate because of all the excess chemicals and hormones released into your body. What’s more, as you age, the more you stress, the more likely your body is to have trouble in forming new neurons. Again, this is due to the hormone levels created by stress. However, once you ease or stop stressing, your brain can go back to creating new neurons.

You must find ways of countering stress if you want to avoid detrimental consequences to your body and mind. This system is an extremely important part of your body; so take care of it by finding help for your stress.