Don’t Stress It (...yeah, okay)

Stress is good. And bad.

Stress has holistic symptoms on your body and is a normal situational reaction – but we were not created to live in stress from wake to sleep.

How stress works

Your adrenal system releases adrenaline and cortisol into your bloodstream when triggered by stress.

These combine into a powerful cocktail that gives:

• A football player the ability to beat a defender to the end zone for a game-winning touchdown

• A soldier the ability to fight at a high level for a long period of time, staying alert when they should be falling asleep

• You the sudden ability outrun that loose dog that you encountered on your morning jog (that actually happened to me once)

But our bodies are not designed to live with these hormones coursing through our veins all day, every day.

Cortisol puts your body into “fight-or-flight” mode.

According to the Mayo Clinic, cortisol increases your blood sugar and helps your brain to use that sugar, along with giving resources to your muscle tissue for quick repair. 

It also slows down your “non-essential” functions in a fight-or-flight scenario, such as your immune system, digestion, reproductive system, and parts of your brain that manage your mood and fear levels.

Cortisol is really useful when you need it but is harmful when it is present all the time.

The real trouble with chronic stress is that if the stressor doesn’t go away, our body begins to strain over time.

Every major system in your body is affected by stress.⁸ Cardiovascular, nervous, digestive, muscular, reproductive, and immune systems are impacted by chronic stress. It’s no wonder that the average age of Americans is dropping every year!

You need your business to be healthy.

This is from Profit Hiker: 11 Trails to gain lasting elevation in your business. Find the book right here and the program over there.