Yes, Stress Can Truly Impact Your Health — Here’s the Science Behind It

Rachel Goldman, PhD FTOS, is a licensed psychologist, clinical assistant professor, speaker, and wellness expert focusing on eating behaviors, stress management, and health behavior transformation.

Life is filled with challenges ranging from relationship struggles, financial worries, academic deadlines, to workplace demands. While stress is an unavoidable part of life, persistent stress without relief can seriously harm your health.

Chronic stress triggers continuous cortisol production, leading to inflammation throughout the body. This inflammation weakens your immune system by lowering white blood cell counts, which are essential for fighting infections.

Stress also disrupts sleep quality and can aggravate existing medical conditions. Additionally, coping mechanisms like overeating, alcohol consumption, or other unhealthy habits may increase susceptibility to illness over time.

The most effective way to counteract stress and its physical effects is to address the underlying causes. When that’s not possible, adopting healthy stress reduction strategies becomes crucial.

How Chronic Stress Affects Your Well-being

Can Stress Actually Make You Sick?

Research confirms that stress is linked to 60% to 80% of visits to primary care providers, indicating its significant role in health issues.

Dr. Julia Kogan, PsyD, a health psychologist specializing in neuropsychology, chronic stress, sleep, and health behaviors, explains that chronic stress suppresses immunity and increases illness frequency for several reasons.

When stressed, the body releases cortisol, a hormone that in the short term helps fight infections by triggering inflammation. However, prolonged cortisol elevation causes immune dysfunction, making infections more common and worsening chronic diseases like arthritis, IBS, and fibromyalgia.

Chronic stress reduces lymphocytes—white blood cells that combat pathogens—resulting in greater vulnerability to colds, flu, and other infections.

Sleep disturbances caused by stress further impair immune function, as restorative sleep is vital for immune health.

Dr. Patricia Mills, a holistic MD specializing in physical medicine and functional medicine, highlights that excess cortisol disrupts sex hormone production.

“Cortisol shares precursors with estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Elevated cortisol depletes these building blocks, leading to hormonal imbalances that can cause menstrual irregularities, infertility, menopause symptoms, low testosterone, and conditions like PCOS, fibroids, endometriosis, and erectile dysfunction,” explains Dr. Mills.

How to Determine if Stress Is Causing Your Illness

It’s difficult to attribute illness solely to stress because individual bodies respond differently, and multiple physiological systems interact to maintain health.

Stress can worsen existing health problems, so even if it isn’t the root cause, it can exacerbate symptoms.

Dr. Mills emphasizes that since stress affects everyone, learning effective coping strategies is essential for health maintenance.

Julia Kogan, PsyD

“Chronic, intense stress diminishes immune function, so monitoring stress levels is vital for managing both emotional and physical health,” says Dr. Kogan.

Excessive stress is a leading contributor to chronic diseases in modern life. Daily pressures like work, family, finances, intense workouts, or traumatic events such as loss can accumulate physical and mental stress.

If you experience ongoing stress alongside physical, emotional, or cognitive symptoms, it’s important to evaluate how stress impacts your overall health.

“Understanding and managing stress is key to preserving well-being,” advises Dr. Kogan.

Recognizing Stress-Related Illness Symptoms

While it’s challenging to isolate stress as the sole cause of sickness, certain symptoms often signal stress-related health issues:

• Rapid heartbeat
• Elevated blood pressure
• Blood sugar irregularities
• Increased frequency of colds and flu
• Lowered libido
• Headaches
• Muscle tension
• Poor sleep quality

Effective Ways to Reduce Stress and Protect Your Health

To minimize stress and prevent illness, it’s essential to rethink your response to unavoidable life stressors. Since retreating from life isn’t realistic, developing new coping strategies is necessary.

Dr. Mills explains that oxytocin, the relaxation hormone, counterbalances stress, whereas dopamine, released by many common coping habits, can create addictive cycles.

Typical stress responses like overeating, drinking, smoking, excessive exercise, shopping, or drug use trigger dopamine, which provides temporary pleasure but can lead to dependence.

“Focus on activities that stimulate oxytocin release to promote relaxation and break the dopamine-driven stress cycle,” recommends Dr. Mills.

Incorporate these oxytocin-boosting activities into your daily routine, dedicating at least five minutes in the morning, evening, and as needed:

Meditation

Meditation calms racing thoughts and reduces anxiety. Apps like Calm and Headspace offer guided sessions and tutorials.

Breathwork

Simple deep breathing exercises, such as five deep belly breaths at the start and end of your day, activate the body’s relaxation response. Techniques like diaphragmatic breathing and progressive muscle relaxation are effective.

Gentle Yoga

Yoga serves as a powerful stress antidote. Begin with two slow sun salutations in the morning and two moon salutations in the evening.

Outdoor Walks

Physical activity enhances mood, improves sleep, and strengthens immunity. Take mindful walks, practice deep breathing, and enjoy your surroundings.

Dancing

Dancing is a joyful way to relieve stress and increase circulation. Whether solo or in a class, dance to your favorite music and shake off tension.

Essential Oils

Aromatherapy with lavender or Roman chamomile oils can soothe stress. Add 10 drops to warm water and inhale the calming scent.

Important Note

If stress feels overwhelming and persistent, consult a healthcare or mental health professional. They can assess your condition and provide personalized stress management guidance.

Explore more on stress relief and health at Living Well, Stress Management, and Effects on Health.

Sources:

1. Nerurkar A, Bitton A, Davis RB, Phillips RS, Yeh G. When physicians counsel about stress: results of a national study. JAMA Intern Med. 2013;173(1):76–77.
2. Salleh MohdR. Life event, stress and illness. Malays J Med Sci. 2008;15(4):9–18.
3. Sharma K, Akre S, Chakole S, Wanjari MB. Stress-induced diabetes: a review. Cureus. 2022;14(9):e29142.

By Katharine Chan, MSc, BSc, PMP
Katharine is the author of three books and creator of '60 Feelings To Feel: A Journal To Identify Your Emotions.' With over 15 years in British Columbia’s healthcare system, she brings deep insight into wellness.

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