Page 92 - Keys to College Success

More Stress, Less Health; More Health, Less Stress

Modern science definitively shows that chronic stress increases the incidence of heart
disease and cardiac deaths, raises blood pressure and cholesterol, worsens asthma, damp-
ens immune system function, and may increase the chance of cancer occurrence. Excess
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stress can have a negative impact on your health in two general ways: 2
1. Stress can create an overactive endocrine system. When your body is under stress,
your endocrine system releases hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline that
help you cope. These hormones activate the fight-or-flight response, which is a
good thing. However, your body is designed to process a quick rise and fall of
cortisol in response to a single event, not to manage a consistently high level over
a long period of time. High levels of cortisol, often in reaction to chronic anxiety,
can cause problems such as inflammation, immune system issues, and arthritis.
2. Stress can lead to health-harming habits. When stress rises above the helpful mid-
level range, a natural response is to try to reduce it quickly. Often this means
turning to habits such as drinking, smoking, substances, and eating high-fat and
high-sugar foods that may provide short-term relief but have long-term negative
effects. In addition, high levels of stress can make helpful habits such as eating
right, exercising, and getting adequate sleep seem too hard to maintain.

The strength of this connection is good news. Because you have significant control
over many aspects of your health, you have several opportunities to positively affect
your stress level.

Manage Stress by Managing Health

First of all, know that you are on your way to becoming more healthy by simply
being in school. Scientists and researchers who study aging report that more educa-
tion is linked to a longer life, perhaps because education teaches cause-and-effect
thinking that helps people make better choices. Another link could be that educated
people tend to be more able to delay gratification, which helps you to avoid harm-
ful habits. 3
Managing time helps you to manage stress. Similarly, managing your health can
move your stress level into that mid-range zone where it will help you more than hurt
you. Although you cannot always control what happens to you, you can respond to
events in healthful ways.
Your ability to manage stress depends in part on your understanding of how it
affects you. In the Get Practical exercise, you will complete a self-assessment that asks
you how much stress you experience in different areas of your life. With the informa-
tion it provides, you will have a clearer idea of what factors to focus on as you work to
manage stress, and you will be more able to decide what strategies serve you best as
you explore ways to improve your health.

HOW CAN YOU TAKE CHARGE OF
your physical health?

The key phrase here is take charge. Your health and fitness are your responsibility.
You choose what you eat, how and when (and whether) you exercise, and how much
sleep you get—and you live with the results of your choices, both good and bad. This
section provides information about various options and their potential effects. Use it to Emotional and Physical Wellness
consider your range of choices, thinking through what risks you are willing to take to
earn the reward of a healthy body and mind.

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