The benefits of stress
We hear over and over again that stress is unhealthy. It’s only when stress becomes chronic, or when we feel we’re no longer in control of a situation, that it negatively affects our health and wellbeing. Stressing about stress is getting out of hand. But there is actually another way to think about stress. There is an alternate, but equally true reality in which stress can make a positive influence in our lives.
Types of stress can be roughly grouped into 3 categories:
Positive stress elicits a moderate and short-term response and is a normal part of healthy development in mastering a new skills or dealing with frustration.
Tolerable stress elicits a stronger and longer-lasting response (such as in the case of the death of a loved one), but social support helps us to cope.
Toxic stress responses occur if we are placed under severe and prolonged stress, such as in cases of extreme poverty or domestic violence. Toxic stress in children affects brain development, and may lead to physical illness and mental health difficulties without appropriate intervention.
Here are 5 ways in which stress can benefit us:
- It helps boost brainpower. Low-level stressors stimulate the production of brain chemicals called neurotrophins, and strengthen the connections between neurons in the brain. In fact, this may be the primary mechanism by which exercise (a physical stressor) helps boost productivity and concentration. Short-term psychological stressors can have a similar effect, as well. Plus, animal studies have suggested that the body’s response to stress can temporarily boost memory and learning scores.
- It can increase immunity in the short term. When the body responds to stress, it prepares itself for the possibility of injury or infection. One way it does this is by producing extra interleukins—chemicals that help regulate the immune system—providing at least a temporary defensive boost. Research in animals supports this idea, as well.
- It can make you more resilient. Learning to deal with stressful situations can make future ones easier to manage, according to a large body of research on the science of resilience. Repeated exposure to stressful events gives you the chance to develop both a physical and psychological sense of control, so when you’re in actually combat you don’t just shut down.
- It motivates you to succeed. Good stress, also known in the scientific community as eustress, may be just the thing you need to get job done at work. Think about a deadline: It’s staring you in the face, and it’s going to stimulate your behavior to really manage the situation effectively, rapidly, and more productively. The key is viewing stressful situations as a challenge that you can meet, rather than an overwhelming, unpassable roadblock. Eustress can also help you enter a state of “flow,” a heightened sense of awareness and complete absorption into an activity.
- It can enhance child development. Moms-to-be often worry that their own anxiety will negatively affect their unborn babies—and it can, when it’s unrelenting. But a 2006 Johns Hopkins study found that most children of women who reported mild to moderate stress levels during pregnancy actually showed greater motor and developmental skills by age 2 than those of unstressed mothers. The one exception: the children of women who viewed their pregnancy as more negative than positive had slightly lower attention capacity.
References
http://www.ulifeline.org/articles/450-good-stress-bad-stress
