How does your brain function when you are stressed?
December 2nd 2007 03:45
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When you are stressed your brain goes into the 'fight' syndrome or else it simply packs up and goes into the 'flight' syndrome.
One way you cope with the matters in hand, both ways you cope but perhaps not in the way you want to.
No sleep is often a consequence or runs in parallel.
This all means you do not concentrate, except with the first one.
When stress is acute in an extreme situation the body does a number of things, the heart beats faster, you breathe rapidly, your face gets flushed and your palms sweaty.
Alternatively the brain takes over and you get a burst of energy, clarity of thought and fast reactions, which may surprise even you.
Your nervous system becomes activated. Adrenaline and cortisol are released into the bloodstream, glucose and fatty acids are increased and your blood pressure is increased.
Oxygen rich blood moves faster to your brain and muscles. The limbic system ( which deals with emotions) ensures your senses are acute, your memory sharper your muscles prepared and sustains your ability to cope with pain (via natural endorphins).
Other less important functions in your body are diminished to enable your energy to be expended best to handle the stressful situation.
Stress responses mean survival.
Generally, people do not suffer severe effects from acceptable levels of stress.
And I hope this short summary will give you some idea as to how your brain functions under stress. It is not all bad news although it can be.
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Comment by tlcorbin
I'm going to go crawl under my bed for a while and try to relax. Raven
Comment by katyzzz
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Have a nice hot chocolate, darlin' and a 'short' walk.
Luvs ya. I deliberately left out the hard ones, didn't want to worry people too much.