{"id":2737,"date":"2020-04-02T21:41:41","date_gmt":"2020-04-02T21:41:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.targitfit.com\/blog\/?p=2737"},"modified":"2020-04-20T02:12:59","modified_gmt":"2020-04-20T02:12:59","slug":"the-dangerous-effects-of-stress-and-how-to-stay-healthy-when-the-world-is-freaking-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.targitfit.com\/blog\/the-dangerous-effects-of-stress-and-how-to-stay-healthy-when-the-world-is-freaking-out\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dangerous Effects of Stress (and How to Stay Healthy When the World is Freaking Out)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lucky us\u2014to get hit with two pandemics at once. While everyone is hyper-focused on COVID-19, most are ignoring the rampant stress that\u2019s spreading faster than the coronavirus that spawned it. The thing about the situation that should be concerning health officials and everyone else is that all this trauma and drama affects immune systems, leaving the world\u2019s over-stressed population vulnerable to catching the disease that\u2019s causing all the anxiety and negative energy to begin with. Last week<\/a>, we shared the secret to immunity against all<\/em> diseases: exercise. No surprise, working out also battles stress. It\u2019s one way staying fit keeps you from getting ill. Let\u2019s talk about that more, along with a number of other things you can do to fight stress and stay healthy when the world is freaking out.<\/p>\n

How Stress Breaks Down Your Immune System<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a>When you get stressed out, you could experience several immediate physical reactions including anxiety, headache, restlessness, chest pain, or nausea. Those are direct results of your body flooding with adrenaline and cortisol<\/a>, a hormone that, under normal circumstances, helps you deal with stress in a healthy way by assisting with blood glucose levels, controlling your metabolism, and helping regulate blood pressure. Unfortunately, when stress hormones are released, they also signal your body to shift all its energy onto that \u201cfight or flight\u201d situation, and it ends up shutting down other necessary systems including your immune system. Again, under normal circumstances, that state is supposed to be temporary. That\u2019s why, when you\u2019re subjected to ongoing, long-term stress, cortisol levels remain elevated and begin to affect your health, causing alarming effects including:<\/p>\n