Put Your Work Down Right Now: Why You Need to Give Yourself More Breaks

I feel like stress has been a central part of my life lately, and there is no way at least one person in the world isn't feeling the exact same way. With that, I have had at least some time to really hyperfixate on stress itself, and that turned into a hyperfixation on chronic stress.

Chronic stress is actually a very big issue for multiple reasons. Before we get into the reasons themselves, let's explore what chronic stress even is: chronic stress is defined by Yale Medicine as "a consistent sense of feeling pressured and overwhelmed over a long period of time". With this definition, plus the fact that it has been recorded that ~77% of people have reported to experience the physical symptoms of stress, it seems like the information from this blog post may be necessary. With that, let's get into the reasons why you need to give yourself a break:

Chronic Stress Can Cause Memory Loss

You read that right: chronic stress can actually have extremely negative effects in the memory department. That is due to the fact that when you experience chronic stress, your brain will actually undergo atrophy (withering) in different areas. Some of those areas include the hippocampus, which is responsible for your memory retrieval, and the amygdala, which is responsible for functions like long-term emotional memory storage. Along with atrophy, these areas may also experience a decrease in the number of neurons and reduce dendritic branching (dendrites are responsible for receiving information from neurons). Overall, the reduction in volume, branching, and neuron count in these areas of the brain result in an extreme reduction in memory performance overtime.

Chronic Stress Can Cause Eczema

It can cause eczema? You mean that skin condition that causes painful rashes and itchiness? Yes, I am talking about that exact condition. Basically, when you experience stress, your body releases a hormone called cortisol, and when you experience chronic stress, your body releases very large amounts of cortisol. According to Pfizer, when your body releases all of this cortisol, that hormone suppresses your immune system and increases bodily inflammation. This bodily inflammation can translate to skin inflammation and lead to amplified eczema symptoms. Now, I don't know about you, but that seems like a situation that would make me even more stressed than I already was to begin with. So, let's just prevent that all together, and go on a walk with some really nice music.

Chronic Stress Can Cause Stomach Ulcers

We've already talked about how chronic eczema can weaken your immune system because cortisol absolutely hates it when you're healthy. Ok, I'm just kidding. Cortisol is not all bad, but it does weaken your immune system when released in large quantities, and this causes a whole load of bodily havoc. One of the results of a weakened immune system is an increased likelihood in the formation of stomach ulcers.

If you don't know what stomach ulcers are, they are basically sores that form in the lining of your stomach. They can also form in your esophagus (throat) and small intestine, but they're commonly referred to as "stomach ulcers". These are caused by an imbalance between your digestive juices (mainly gastric acid) and other things that protect the lining of your stomach, esophagus, or small intestine. Now, when your immune system takes a hit due to chronic stress, this increases the likelihood for these to occur and impacts your body's healing process on top of that (read more here).

There are a lot of other symptoms of chronic stress where that came from, like impaired cognitive function overtime (basically your brain doesn't work as well in the learning area), insomnia, and weight gain. So, take it from me (someone who is chronically stressed), and give yourself a break. Whatever you're working on, whether it is an essay, studying for a really hard exam, a scientific publication (wink wink), or anything else, it can wait for you to grab yourself a snack and maybe take a nap.

If you would like to read more about chronic stress, I would recommend this publication. If not, go take a break, and I will see you next time.