The Dangers of Stress

Stress has always accompanied people, and has, to a certain extent, a protective role

Corina Cristea, 13.12.2024, 13:00

Stress has always accompanied people, and has, to a certain extent, a protective role. However, problems arise when stress becomes chronic, lasts for too long, and ends up disrupting the proper functioning of the body. The immune system can be affected, which makes us more susceptible to infections and other conditions. And all chronic stress can lead to the emergence or worsening of diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, digestive, or cardiovascular disorders. University professor Diana Păun, MD, explains the repercussions of chronic stress:

“Continuous stress increases the secretion of cortisol. Cortisol is a very good hormone for us, it is a life-saving hormone, but when it is secreted for a long time, continuously, it also produces adverse reactions. It induces a whole series of pathologies. It induces high blood pressure, it induces diabetes, it induces insulin model obesity, that belly obesity, which is also associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, it increases cholesterol and blood lipid levels, so it basically induces what we call metabolic syndrome. All these changes shorten your life, so they have repercussions over time, which is why the body subjected to prolonged stress must rest”.

If we subject our glands to stress too often, at some point they lose their compass, explains Diana Păun, recalling that this stress hormone, cortisol, is produced by the adrenal gland, and released in situations of danger, in moments of stress, to help the body adapt to the respective situations:

“It is a so-called dysprotection syndrome, which was described by Romanian endocrinologists, and which today somehow finds its definition in what we call burnout. After a long period of work, stress, concern, worries, the adrenal gland no longer wants to respond and goes to bed, falls asleep. Now, this condition in which the adrenal gland no longer reacts means chronic fatigue equivalent to burnout syndrome. In which, basically, you don’t feel like doing anything anymore, you are permanently tired, so it’s like depression.”

In order to maintain an optimal level of cortisol in the body, it is important to adopt a holistic approach, a healthy lifestyle, which includes a balanced diet, regular exercise, and enough time for rest and relaxation. Also, techniques such as meditation, yoga, or deep breathing can help reduce stress levels and implicitly decrease excessive cortisol production. All of this can help maintain hormonal balance, essential for good health and well-being. Hormonal secretions are not like tap water, you turn it on and the hormone flows, they all have a pulsating quality, a biorhythm, explains university professor Dr. Diana Păun, and the most obvious biorhythm is the most important hormone, the stress hormone:

“Cortisol has a biorhythm, a circadian rhythm, meaning the highest cortisol level is in the morning, at 8:00, when we should be very active – a work day begins, we need resources, and so cortisol secretion is increased. After that, throughout the day the cortisol level begins to gradually decrease, and in the evening at 9:00 it collapses. This cortisol biorhythm, which is very interesting, usually sets in around the age of two in a child, not right from birth, and is maintained throughout life, the cortisol biorhythm being a sign of the normal functionality of hormones, of the endocrine system. There is also a wake-sleep biorhythm, a light-dark biorhythm, whose main hormone is melatonin – a hormone that has been studied a lot but is unfortunately very little known. It is a hormone that induces sleep, because it is discharged in dark conditions. If you want to fall asleep faster, you can take a melatonin tablet, which is a natural hormone that can help induce sleep, provided that the person stays in the dark after administration. A normal secretion of this hormone explains the soothing, restful sleep that any of us should have.

Diana Păun adds: “Unfortunately, everyday stress, all the conditions in which we live and work today, disrupt our sleep and disrupt these biorhythms, which is why a series of diseases appear. Lifestyle medicine, which is increasingly being talked about, is estimated, however, to be able to prevent 80% of chronic and non-communicable diseases. It is based on six pillars: nutrition, constant physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances, and positive social connections.