Stress Awareness Month

What is Stress?

Stress is a physical response that your body undergoes when it is under attack, which is also commonly known as flight or fight mode. We release a range of hormones and chemicals such as adrenaline and cortisol for our bodies to undergo physical actions. As the hormones release, we may get a surge of energy, a racing heart, and heavy breathing; this allows us to focus, enabling us to respond to situations quickly. However, stress becomes a challenge when your body is in fight or flight mode frequently and unnecessarily. When we become tired, we can't think straight, potentially affecting our personal and professional lives. Thus, long term stress can have an impact on our health. Increased cortisol levels can also result in increased sugar and blood pressure levels (1).

Symptoms & Prevalence of Stress

Symptoms of stress can include physical, mental and behavioural changes such as:

- Headaches

- Muscle pain

- Chest pain

- Difficulty concentrating

- Constant worry

- Forgetfulness

- Feeling overwhelmed

- Being irritable

- Eating too much or too little

- Avoiding certain people and places

- Drinking or smoking more

- Erratic sleeping patterns (2). 


Censuswide conducted a survey in the UK and found on average, a typical adult feels stressed approximately 8.27 days a month. That’s more than twice a week. Nearly half (49%) of adults admit to feeling stressed five or more days each month. 18–24-year-olds feel stressed for more days a month than any other age group, and 45-54-year-olds experience the most stress on a daily basis. Some of the biggest stressors found were lack of sleep, finances, work and workload demands (3). Stress plays a role in our mental health e.g., anxiety/depression, it can also lead to health problems such as heart disease, immune system issues, sleep deprivation and digestive issues (4).

How does Nutrition Impact Stress?

When we don’t consume enough nutrient rich foods, we can become deficient in some vitamins and minerals such as iron or vitamin D. This in turn can affect our mood and how our brain functions. Carbohydrates, one of the main macronutrients, break down into glucose providing us with energy and focus. These foods include fruits and vegetables, cereals, bread, rice and potatoes. Opting for complex carbohydrates such as wholegrains, vegetables and fruits, legumes and lower fat dairy foods can contain fibre and other nutrients such as calcium and B vitamins. Some vitamins and minerals that can affect our mood include iron, B12, B1, B3, folate and selenium (5).

Our gut microbiome interacts with our brain (gut brain axis) through neural, hormonal signalling and inflammatory pathways. The role of the gut microbiome can modulate processes that regulate our brain and emotions. Consuming a diet that is low in fibre and high in saturated fat can have a negative impact on our cognitive health and gut. Consuming a diet high in fibre, fruits and vegetables, wholegrains, small amounts of dairy and unsaturated fats can improve our gut flora and reduce inflammation (6). 

Support

There are many actions we can take to improve the way we cope with stress:

- You can get free psychological therapies on the NHS and always see your GP if you are struggling to cope with stress.

- Exercise is vital for our optimum wellbeing whether it's yoga, or doing your favourite form of movement, replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts, taking a break from social media, practising gratitude and practising optimism and resilience can all play a role in alleviating stress (7).

- Take a look at the stress management society which is a non-profit organisation helping you to reduce stress - https://www.stress.org.uk/about-us/y 

- Take a look at MIND, a charity that provides support and advice to help those experiencing mental health challenges - https://www.mind.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/

Written by: Gopika Chandratheva (RNutr)




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