Improves immunity, memory and willpower
Everyone knows that stress is bad for your health. In fact, stress is the main culprit that harms your health. It has been linked to weight gain, heart disease, and hair loss. However, there are also not a few studies showing that stress received in a short time is beneficial to health.
Experts say, “Excitement is not always bad,” and “our body’s fight-or-flight response during stress can be interpreted as a way to protect itself.” For example, if your hands are wet with sweat before giving an important speech, it’s good to take it easy. This is because it is proof that the body’s natural defense response is working properly.
When stress is chronic or out of control, it negatively affects our health and well-being. Stress that can occur every day or very short-term anxiety can be beneficial to our brains and bodies. The US health and medical media ‘Prevention’ and ‘Health.com’ introduced the health benefits of stress.
Increase short-term immunity
In response to stress, the body prepares for possible injury or infection. It temporarily enhances defense by producing more interleukin, an immune mediator secreted by cells in charge of immunity. A research team at Stanford University in the US found that several types of immune cells were mobilized in large quantities in the bloodstream of mice subjected to light stress.
△ Increases recovery speed
The stress of undergoing surgery speeds up the body’s recovery. The stress hormone cortisol causes the body to release immune cells into the bloodstream. In addition, it induces these immune cells to gather in the skin or lymph nodes, which are areas that need healing. This is because the original function of stress hormones is to prepare and respond to the event of injury.
△Increases a sense of belonging.
It connects you to other people. It turns out that short-term stress promotes the secretion of the hormone oxytocin, which enhances bonding. Oxytocin dilates blood vessels, lowers blood pressure, and suppresses the production of stress hormones such as adrenaline.
△ Improves memory
When you are in a stressful situation, your perception and memory sharpen. This is because stress hormones stimulate the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for cognition and emotion in the brain. As a result, the ability to solve problems and process sensory information is enhanced with ‘working memory’. Although some studies have linked chronic stress to Alzheimer’s disease, short-term stress increases your ability to recall memories.
△Helps prevent cancer
Chronic stress lowers immunity and causes various diseases, but short-term stress helps prevent skin cancer. According to the study, among mice exposed to cancer-causing ultraviolet rays for 10 weeks, the group that received a short period of stress had a lower tumor incidence than the control group. One theory to explain this is that stress causes genes that activate immunity to switch on, causing immune cells to flock to tumors and suppress their growth.
Increases adaptability and willpower.
Stress, such as losing a job or having trouble in a marriage, also has some benefits. A recent study of 2,400 people by psychologists found that people who have experienced divorce, bereavement, or natural disasters are actually more adaptable than those who have had smooth lives. The research team explained, “The experience of having to deal with difficult things appears to temper and make us stronger.”
It also improves willpower. Experts cite the training of the US Navy SEALs as an example. By continuously exposing soldiers to stressful events, they develop physical and mental self-discipline, giving them an indomitable will that doesn’t give up easily even in real combat situations.
motivate you to succeed
Good stress, known in the scientific community as positive-resulting stress, is what you need when you’re at work. Experts say, “Think about the deadlines of your work. “It’s better to view stressful situations as challenges you can encounter rather than impassable obstacles,” he says.