Stress also changes your behavior in ways that can make you lose weight.įor example, you may skip lunch because you’re behind on a project at work, or you may be so preoccupied with a problem in your life that you forget to eat. These symptoms can make it difficult to eat, causing you to lose weight over time. Side effects of stress on digestion include:
However, if you’re under chronic stress, consistently high cortisol levels can cause digestive problems that make it difficult to eat. This is your body’s natural stress response, and it makes sense: when you’re in immediate danger, it’s more important to think and move than it is to digest.īrowse our curated collection of fan-favorites and discover your new favorite snack or supplement. When you feel threatened, your body releases the hormone cortisol (sometimes called your “stress hormone”).Ĭortisol redirects blood flow away from your digestive system and toward your brain and muscles. The change is more significant than you might think, too - fidgeting while sitting increases energy expenditure by 20-30%, and some studies even suggest that fidgeting protects against obesity. Your brain still interprets these stressors as threats, so if you’re chronically stressed, your body stays in a low-level state of fight or flight.įaster heart rate and breathing, muscle tension, nervous movement, and other symptoms of chronic stress can burn calories over time, causing you to lose weight. It worked well for our ancestors - it’s great if you’re running from a tiger - but today, most of us deal with less immediate, more long-term psychological stressors (from work, relationships, finances, and so on). This process is called your fight or flight response. Adrenaline gets your body ready to deal with a threat: it speeds up your heart rate and breathing to send more oxygen to your cells and increases your muscle tension so you’re ready to fight the threat or run away from it. When your brain senses danger, it tells your adrenal glands to release epinephrine (adrenaline). Here are a few of the ways that stress can cause weight loss. Together, these changes can lead to sudden, unhealthy weight loss over time. Stress causes changes to both your biology and your behavior. These are all signs that your stress levels are higher than usual, and that stress could be behind your unexplained weight loss. Short-term memory problems (forgetting your keys, missing appointments, etc.).Nervous movement (fidgeting, tics, etc.).Gastrointestinal problems (diarrhea, constipation, stomachache, nausea).
Be on the lookout for sudden, unintentional weight loss, as well as any of the below symptoms of anxiety or stress: It’s not always easy to recognize when you’re stressed. This article will also cover what you can do to relieve stress and stay healthy, even when life gets hard. Read on to learn about how stress affects your body and behavior and why it can cause weight loss. You’re in! Check your email to get started with the program.Įither way, chronic stress is unhealthy, and sudden changes in your weight can be a sign that you’re under more stress than usual.
0 kommentar(er)
