At some point in our lives we all go through periods of stress, this affects us in different aspects of our daily lives and can even condition us, but do we know what the response to stress is?
Stress occurs when cumulative wear occurs in the different systems of our body after a prolonged or poorly regulated response, and the allostatic burden consists of this, which is the price that the body pays when forced to adapt to adverse circumstances.
- To prevent this from happening.
- Our body has coping processes that are implemented in the face of stressful situations.
- Aimed at regaining balance or homeostasis.
Thus, the body always tries to return to a stable state after experiencing imbalances in its homeostasis, but how does this process work in the body?
When the body detects stress, the body initiates a series of physiological and metabolic changes to adapt, these changes that the body makes appear, for example, when we perform physical exercises, also make it easier for us to assess the situation, for example. increasing our surveillance, surveillance and decision-making.
In the face of stress, the first system to activate is the autonomous nervous system (SNA). The hypothalamus, which integrates sensory and visceral pathway information, is responsible for initiating this system.
In turn, the hypothalamus is responsible for the activation of the paraventtricular nucleus, which activates the pre-ganglion neurons of the spinal cord, which activate the friendly ganglion chain, causing an increase in norepinephrine in the inert organs.
Activation of the sympathetic lymph node chain also causes the activation of the bone marrow of the glands, thus increasing the release of adrenaline in addition to norepinephrine.
The latter two activate structures not directly inert by the sympathetic nervous system and reinforce the effects previously produced by norepinephrine.
In addition, due to the action of norepinephrine on them, the salivary glands (parotics) secrete an oral enzyme called alpha-amylase, which deals with the digestion of carbohydrates and the prevention and elimination of bacteria from the mouth.
When the hypothalamus activates the paraventricular nucleus, some neurons in this nucleus release CRF neurohormone (ACTH or corticotropin release factor) into the system that connects the hypothalamus to adenopephyll, stimulating the release of the hormone ACTH into the bloodstream.
The hormone ACTH activates the formation of glucocorticoids such as cortisol, is a steroid hormone that is involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, stimulates glucose synthesis and also results in a moderate reduction in glucose consumption in cells, avoiding blood sugar.
Glucocorticoids, such as cortisol, negatively nourish the pituitary gland and hypothalamus, so they regulate the concentration of ACTH and CRF, respectively; these hormones also affect the immune system and hippocampus.
It has circadian secretion rates associated with sleep-wake periods under normal conditions, in the morning cortisol concentrations are higher and at night they are minimal.
Thus, when our body has a stress response, the hypothalamus projects this response onto the sympathetic nervous system, which has some effects on the body:
To record the response, there are two possible ways depending on the stimulus performed: systemic and procedural.
As we have seen, the stress response is defined by the onset of the different processes by which the body tries to maintain a balance to resist the adverse effects of stress, which, again, demonstrates that nature is wise.