Hello Steemians! It is very important to take this important factor into account. Did you know that; Stress is one of the most widespread evils today ─ For example, 75% of adults in the United States said they suffer stress, according to the Stress in America survey ─. On many occasions, the most serious problem is how we underestimate it. To prevent that from happening, it is important to know how it affects us physically.

1. Problems in the digestive system

As the brain and the digestive tract are closely connected, stress can cause many negative effects in the latter. Among them, is irritable bowel syndrome, one of the most widespread digestive consequences of stress, although not the only one, as there are also inflammations in the stomach, ulcers and reflux, especially when stress is chronic.

2. The life of our cells

All cells have chromosomes. The chromosomes, in turn, have telomeres and these, with chronic stress, shorten. When the telomere is finished, the cell dies. In that sense, stress affects us at the cellular level, accelerating our aging or making its signals more noticeable.

3. Vulnerability of the immune system

When a person suffers from chronic stress, the hormone cortisol behaves in a strange way, elevating its presence in the body. Because of this, the immune system begins to ignore it. When that system, which is the one that defends our body from the external threat, begins to fail, the body becomes more vulnerable.

On the one hand, the danger of colds increases. On the other, common wounds may take longer to heal. And, the longer it takes to heal our wounds, the more we are exposed to environmental threats. In addition, vaccines are less effective.

4. Promotion of heart diseases

Science knows that stress can cause heart problems, although the determining factors are not well known. On the one hand, it has been related to high blood pressure, in addition to that it also affects indirectly: people with stress tend to smoke more or eat less healthily than people without stress.

Among its different consequences, stress can also cause the almost unknown broken heart syndrome. Even a woman was diagnosed with that syndrome after the death of her pet.

5. Mental disorders

Traumas in childhood can cause, in the future, develop mental illness. Even Professor Alan Brown of Columbia University found that certain early life events increase the risk of suffering schizophrenia in adult life.

But, returning to the subject of physical changes, stress can cause changes in the amygdala, especially at an early stage of our lives. Those changes, moreover, have often been related to anxiety and depression.

6. Changes in metabolism

Elevated cortisol levels can cause the brain's response to stress to increase and generate changes in metabolism. In that sense, eating disorders or sleep disorders may appear, in relation to changes in the circadian rhythm, also called internal clock.

On the other hand, stress and its changes in cortisol levels can cause damage in the hippocampus and potentiate memory or concentration problems and even Alzheimer's.

7. Problems sleeping

Stress can cause changes in our metabolism and also affect our circadian rhythms. In that sense, the problems to sleep can begin to appear, especially when we must follow a routine that requires us to get up early.

On the other hand, stress can also cause other sleep disorders, such as nightmares. In this sense, changes in metabolism make the brain more active at night and nightmares become more frequent.

Remember that before the symptoms of stress, anxiety or depression, the best decision is to consult a specialist doctor: stress should not be underestimated.