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Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Health The Connection Between Stress and Illness

Posted by Brendan Kiley on Tue, Apr 10, 2012 at 11:40 AM

People have been saying there is a correlation between stress and illness for years, but I'd never read thing about the possible causation until yesterday's NYT:

Chronic stress and illness are intertwined. It is well known that psychological stress raises the risk of heart disease, cold and flu, and even allergies.

But how does one lead to the other? New research suggests that the hormone cortisol plays a critical role. Released in greater amounts in times of stress, this hormone provides the body with a burst of energy. It also helps suppress the body’s immune response to infections like the flu, keeping inflammation responses like coughing, sneezing and fevers in check... Chronic stress may raise the risk of sickness by fostering resistance to cortisol.

So take a day off! Call it a pre-sick day.

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Comments (12) RSS

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DUH.

Posted by Soupytwist

on April 10, 2012 at 11:43 AM

Yeah. Common sense.

Posted by Cephalodude on April 10, 2012 at 11:54 AM

Um yeah, animal physiologists have known about the effects of cortisol on immune response for a while...what took human researchers so long to catch up?

Posted by lone locust on April 10, 2012 at 12:17 PM

Pfft, NYT... I learned that from daytime TV commercials peddling anti-cortisol pills.

Posted by Jenny from the Block on April 10, 2012 at 12:20 PM

@3 Well chimps Can use their feet much like hands, sooo maybe they could cut their lab workload, like, by half.

Posted by knobtheunicorn on April 10, 2012 at 12:28 PM

Why give up stress when it's so friggin useful?

Posted by imcarey on April 10, 2012 at 12:35 PM

I would, but negotiating time off is stressful.

Posted by Zebes

on April 10, 2012 at 12:43 PM

I call it an (I'm) sick (of you) day.

Posted by shannathefiery on April 10, 2012 at 1:14 PM

I refer to it as calling in well.

Posted by bobbelieu on April 10, 2012 at 2:42 PM

I call it a mental health day.

Posted by keshmeshi on April 10, 2012 at 3:33 PM

If you've never read anything about the mechanisms by which stress causes illness, then you'll really enjoy Robert Sapolsky's Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers, written 18 years ago.

I haven't read the extra material in subsequent editions, but as far as I'm aware, everything from the first has held up, despite lack of mention in the Health & Lifestyle sections of daily papers.

Posted by robotslave on April 10, 2012 at 9:33 PM

@11 (robotslave): If I had to guess why zebras don't get ulcers, I'd say:

(1) their GI tracts aren't infected with Helicobacter pylori; and

(2) they've never seen the documentary on African wild dogs that scarred my young psyche. (The dogs didn't bother to kill the zebra before they started feasting on it. Show a zebra that, and I guarantee you it's going to get ulcers, H. pylori or no.)

Posted by PCM on April 11, 2012 at 3:42 PM