Stress: Too bad for you

Washington, Jan 11 (UNI) Stress is bad for you, to an extent that it can even kill you, a study suggests.

Stress can cause everything from deteriorating your gums to your heart and can make you more susceptible to everything from the common cold to cancer, the study reveals.

The stress hormone cortisol has been considered one of the main culprits in the stress-illness.

Stress hormones also inhibit neuron growth in parts of the hippocampus, a brain area forming new memories, resulting in memory impairments. Putting it in a way, too much stress can make you forget that you are stressed out.

These brain changes are considered as the link between stress and depression and are called as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the Science Daily reported.

Stressors may vary from little things like traffic, workplace politics, noisy neighbours, a long line at the bank which can add up and have a similar impact on our well-being and health.

But the best known of stress's health impacts are on the heart and can directly cause coronary heart disease.

For instance, men who faced chronic stresses at work or at home ran a 30 per cent higher likelihood of dying, revealed the study by Michael Meaney at McGill University in Montreal.

Ailments as diverse as intestinal problems, gum disease, adult-onset diabetes and even cancer can be linked to stress.

It also showed that optimistic people have lower incidence of heart disease, better prognosis after heart surgery and longer life.

UNI XC PD RN1717