Reading about stress research is never the most pressing thing on my to-do list. However, stress management is probably the most important thing you can do for your health and your success in the gym.
***
Arousal and physiological toughness - life in a mechanized world can easily result in insufficient physical demands, so that natural toughening is not fostered and the neuroendocrine systems associated with arousal are not maintained near the optimum point of their genetic ranges. In other words, you need an adrenaline spike to stop you from using your cortisol system all the time, which is bad for your health
Chronic stress and the HPA axis - most of the research that has been done into how stress affects us long-term has been done on the HPA axis. This meta-analysis looks at how the HPA axis has been observed in response to a variety of stressors and what scientists think is going on
Psychological stress and the immune system – this recent meta-analysis surprised me by revealing how little we still understand about how stress affects the immune system. While we know it does make a big difference, we are still struggling to find out why
Centralisation of body fat - Obesity is a huge health issue today. Many estimates suggest that obesity and its associated complications are now the leading cause of death in the developed world. But why does being obese kill people so effectively? Why does it lead to so many of these horrible “Western” diseases? Per Bjorntorp explains
Affirmation of personal values buffers psychological stress responses - it’s amazing the things that have significant impacts on stress responses and the damage that they do to the body. You won’t believe it but this study demonstrates that there is real power in positive thinking
***
Still can’t find what you’re looking for? You can always contact me for help…
