How Stress Affects Your Body


How Stress Affects Your Body

Stress affects everyone. Stress happens naturally as a reaction to life and experiences. For instance, during stressful moments, your body releases hormones to increase your heart and breathing rates to prepare your muscles to respond. Stress can be beneficial for immediate short-term situations. However, experiencing long periods of stress poses many health risks. As a result, long term effects or symptoms of stress present themselves similarly for most people. But, not everyone notices every effect or symptom stress causes. Some individuals may notice more effects than others. Here is a guide to recognizing how stress affects your body.

How Stress Affects the Brain

Stress may trigger or intensify tension headaches. Chronic stress takes a toll emotionally and may lead to depression. Stress may also make falling asleep difficult and therefore lead to insomnia.

How Stress Affects the Respiratory and Cardiovascular Systems

Stress causes the breathing muscles to tense up. Therefore, you experience shortness of breath. Stress causes high blood pressure and increased heart rate. As a result, chronic stress may lead to a heart attack.

How Stress Affects the Digestive System

Stomach acid production increases due to stress, causing or intensifying heartburn. Stress may lead to high blood sugar as stress causes the liver to release extra sugar in the bloodstream. Additionally, stress may cause stomachaches, nausea, and other related issues.

How Stress Affects the Immune System

Stress triggers the immune system. In immediate scenarios, this trigger helps your body avoid infections and heal wounds. Over longer periods of time, the stress hormones weaken the immune system. When the immune system weakens, your body suffers. People experiencing chronic stress become more prone to illnesses and infections.

Symptoms of Chronic Stress

Chronic stress symptoms include irritability, anxiety, illness, depression, headaches, and insomnia.

What This Means for Your Life Insurance

During the purchase of life insurance, you may be subject to underwriting. The underwriting process assesses and determines your best rate class based on many factors, including health. The better your rate class, the less your life insurance costs, and vice versa. Stress may lead to health risks, causing a worse rate class and thereby increasing your life insurance costs. In conclusion,  you need to manage your stress levels so you receive a better rate class.


Since insurance is oftentimes overwhelmingly confusing, we want to shed light on this industry by answering YOUR questions about life insurance.  So if you have any questions or concerns, comment below and your question may be the topic of our next article!

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