Health Final Exam - Stress Management/Stress

Ways to avoid negative stressful consequences

Eliminate some stressors (amygdala), Change your interpretation of the stressor, Use relaxation techniques (cortisol)

Ways to relax

deep breathing exercises, focus, progressive relaxation, stretching exercises, laughing, finger holds, meditation, yelling or crying, body scanning, yoga exercises, exercise, autogenic training - visualize relaxing images

The Stress Model

1. a new or potentially unpleasant situation

2. you interpret the situation as threatening

3. your emotional response

4. your physical response

5. the negative consequences

Flight, Flight or Freeze

Adrenaline is released

Physiological effects of stress

1. When you see/hear a stressful situation, your eyes or ears send info to the Amygdala

Amygdala is a part of the brain that deals with emotional processing - interprets the images and/or sounds

2. When the Amygdala perceives danger, it sends a distress signal to the Hypothalamus

Hypothalamus is the command center of the brain - it communicates with the rest of your body via the ANS (Automatic Nervous System)

The ANS controls involuntary body functions like breathing, heart beats, blood pressure, dilation/constriction of blood vessels, bronchioles in your lungs

3. Hypothalamus receives the distress signal and activates the sympathetic nervous system by sending signals through the autonomic nerves to the adrenal glands

Two Components of ANS - the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system

The sympathetic nervous system functions

The sympathetic nervous system functions like a gas pedal in a car - triggers the fight or flight response providing the body with a burst of energy to respond to perceived dangers

The parasympathetic nervous system functions like a brake (in a car) - calms down the body after the danger has passed.

Adrenal Glands - Response

The adrenal glands receive the signals from the ANS nerves

The glands respond by releasing the hormone called epinephrine (also known as adrenaline) into the blood system

As the epinephrine circulates in the body, it triggers a number of stress responses such as: faster heartbeat, more blood to the muscles and vital organs, breathe faster, broncioles (in lungs) open wider for more oxygen sending more oxygen to the brain, senses become sharper, release blood sugar (glucose) and fats from temporary storage sites in the body to supply energy to all part of body

So, Amygdala and Hypothalamus send signals to the ANS to react followed by the adrenal glands to push out the Epinephrine hormone.

Cortisol

released from the Adrenal Glands as secondary response to stress (after adrenaline) when stress is prolonged

Allostatic Load

the cumulative effect on your body of trying to balance increasing stressors over time. Your allostatic load can impact the health of all your systems.

Telomeres

live at the end of each strand of DNA and protect our chromosomes

Long and strong telomeres keep us feeling young and health (when shortened or frayed = cells age faster, making us more susceptible to disease and dementia)