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*Health Effects of Stress (Tim McCall MD, Yoga As Medicine)

´  Increased Cholesterol

´  Increased Triglycerides

´  Heart Disease

´  Hypertension

´  Increased Blood Clotting

´  Increased Appetite

´  Weight Gain

´  Fat Deposition in Abdomen

´  Increased Resistance to Insulin

´  Increased Blood Sugar

´  Impaired Function of the immune system

´  Increased inflammation

´  Decreased Bone Density

´  Problems with Memory

´  Poorer Sleep

´  Increased Sensations of Pain

´  More Fatigue

´  Worsening of Mood

´  Adoption of Less Healthy Habits

´  Other……

Stress-short/long-term effects on the Gastrointestinal Tract (GI)

1.  Alterations in GI motility (constipation and diarrhea)

2.  Changes in appetite- compensatory craving for fatty foods>weight gain and obesity. Excess fat deposition in the abdomen has role in metabolic syndrome, CAD, and DM.

3.  Increase in visceral perception of pain/discomfort

4.  Changes in gastrointestinal secretion

5.  Negative effects on regenerative capacity of GI mucosa and mucosal blood flow

6.  Negative effects on intestinal microflora

7.  Mast cells are important effectors of brain-gut axis that translate the stress signals into the release of a wide range of neurotransmitters and pro-inflammatory cytokines, which may profoundly affect the GI physiology.

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Digestive System Summary of Stress-Related Illness

Continued digestive imbalance and the ways individuals use to cope with stress (types of foods, alcohol, smoking, drugs, coffee) can be related to:

Ø  IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)

Ø  Constipation, Diarrhea, Diverticulosis, Diverticulitis

Ø  Gastritis and GERD (reflux)

Ø  Ulcers

Ø  Autoimmune conditions (Ulcerative colitis, Crohn's Disease)

Ø  Colon Cancer (accumulation of biotoxins, altered permeability)

Chronic Stress-Reproductive System

Theoveralleffectsofchronicstressonthereproductivesystemanditsconnectionswiththeendocrineandnervoussysteminclude

´ reducedlibido´ decreasedpleasurewithsexualintimacy

´ dysregulationofovulatoryfunctionandcessationofmensesinsomecases

´  Stress per se does not cause infertility, infertility most definitely causes stress..

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Stress and Male Reproduction

´ testosteronelevelsdecrease(thiscanoccurwithjobstress,takingfinalexams,militarytraininganddeploymentetc.)

´ testosteroneleveldoesnotdroptothepointwheretherewouldbeanimpairmentoffertility

´  Instead,erectiledysfunction,stress-inducedimpotency,aswellasprematureejaculation(60% of doctor’s visits in the USA for impotency are due not to organic cases of impotency but to psychogenic, stress-related cases).

POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF STRESS: REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

´  Healthy Response: Blood is shunted away from the reproductive system to more essential functions during the fight or flight response.

´  Chronic Response: Reduction in libido, and possibly sexual dysfunction (46% of couples noted that their relationships with their spouses were strained and 50% noted an unsatisfying sex life).

´  Stress-Related Response: Possible factor in infertility. Studies show that fertility treatments are more effective when combined with relaxation techniques.

´  Stress of all sorts shuts down the reproductive system.

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Musculo-Skeletal System Response to Chronic Stress

The healthy response to stress is contraction of the large muscle groups which is effective in the fight or flight response.

´  Chronic muscle contraction results in discomfort

´  Possibly increased sensations of pain

´  Increase in fatigue

´  Decreased bone density (which can lead to osteoporosis)

´  Also be related to coping mechanisms used such as:

´  sedentary lifestyle, excess coffee, carbonated beverages, alcohol, eating disorders, female athlete triad, use of certain required medications for medical conditions (hypertension, thyroid disease, etc)

Chronic Stress Effects: Memory, Concentration & Learning

´ Memory: effects vary widely depending on whether the stress is acute or chronic

´ Decreased concentration at work and home, inefficient work patterns, accident-prone

´  Interferes with learning.

´  Long-term exposure to excess amounts of stress hormone cortisol=>shrinking of the hippocampus, the brain’s memory center

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Psychological Effects of Stress

´ Difficulties in adapting to stress associated with the onset of depression or anxiety

´ Repeated release of stress hormones/HPA/altered serotonin

´ Quality of Life issues: pleasure, accomplishment, relationships

Sleep Disturbances

´  insomnia

´  secrete higher amounts of cortisol,

particularly in the evening and night

time hours

´  chronic insomnia: a disorder of

sustained hyper-arousal of the

body’s stress response system

www.creativecommons.com; scireslit.com

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HOW SLEEP DEPRIVATION AFFECTS US

´  Americans now accumulate a sleep deficit that averages five hundred hours a year per person (S. Cohen, University British Columbia)

´  Diminished mental performance

´  Sleep deprivation related obesity appears to be related to two appetite-related hormones, leptin and ghrelin

´  Increased cortisol release->increases belly fat and increases the risk for developing Type 2 Diabetes

SLEEP DEPRIVATION cont’d

´  Early aging- hastens the onset/increases the severity of age-related ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity and memory loss (Dr. Eve Van Cauter, professor of medicine at the University of Chicago)

´ Mood shifts-sleep deprivation affects the part of the brain most closely connected to depression, anxiety and other psychiatric disorders

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´  From the basic components of electronic impulses, hormones, genes, body systems, chronic sympathetic nervous system engagement (dominance) extracts a high price.

´  Stress and trauma lead to patterns that have dramatic physiological impact on our bodies and dictate the quality of life.

´  The neurochemistry that maintains a state of fight or flight results in a myriad of emerging chronic conditions.

Surfing in the middle path

“The SNS should not have a bad name…we would not want to live life without one. It is where joy, excitement, passion, eroticism come from…its where all the juice of life comes from. But it was never ever built to stay on. It was built to give us a boost of energy and then to come off of it to cruise along comfortably with energy….surfing in the middle, so to speak, where peak performance is.” ~ J. Eric Gentry, PhD

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Coming Full Circle

…The stress in our lives has become so great and so insidious that more and more people are making a deliberate decision to understand it better and bring it under personal control.

´  There is an art to facing difficulties in ways that lead to effective solutions and to inner peace and harmony-a reason we are here.

´  This presentation covered viewpoints on the Western Medical View of Stress.

´ Now is the time for the segue into more ways Yoga Therapy will provide tools to address the pervasive problem of stress.

Closing Meditation

MayI,andallBeings,experienceeaseandwell-beinginbody,mindandspirit.MayIlookuponmyselfandallBeingswiththeeyesandheartofsoftnessandcare,kindnessandcompassion.MayIandallBeingslearntoseethearisingandpassingofallthingswithequanimityandbalance.MayI,andallBeings,restwithacalmpeacefulheartandquietstillnessofmind.OmShanti,Shanti,Shanti.OmPeace,Peace,Peace.

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REFERENCES AND RESOURCES Anne Nedrow, MD, presentation, Symposium of Integrative Medicine Professionals, 2010; Core Strength: Lifestyle Medicine in

Women's Health

The American Institute of Stress; www.stress.org

Timothy McCall, MD; Yoga as Medicine, Chapter on Yoga for Stress Relief

Robert Sampolsky, PhD. Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: An Updated Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Disease, and Coping

Robert Sampolsky, PhD, Stress and Your Body, Great Courses DVD series

Andrew Weil, MD; Natural Health, Natural Medicine; Spontaneous Healing

Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD; Full Catastrophe Living; Coming to our Senses

Eknath Eawaran, Strength in the Storm: Creating Calm in Difficult Times

David Emerson and Elizabeth Hopper, Overcoming Trauma through Yoga

Susan Ferguson, RN, Anatomy and Physiology Instructor Manual, Yoga Connection Teacher Training Program

Gentry, E.J., The 10 Core Competencies of Trauma, PTSD, Grief and Loss, CMI Educational Institute

Joseph Le Page, Integrative Yoga Therapy Manual; some slide material also courtesy of Joseph Le Page

Roberta Lee, MD; presentation, Symposium of Integrative Medicine Professionals, 2010, For Women and Caregivers: New Ideas on Managing Chronic Stress

Roberta Lee, MD; The Superstress Solution: 4 Week Diet and Lifestyle Program

Roberta Lee, MD; The New Pandemic: SuperStress, EXPLORE, January/February 2010, Vol 6, No.1

Wendy Kohastsu, MD; Complementary and Alternative Medicine Secrets: Questions and Answers About Integrating CAM Therapies Into Clinical Practice

David Rakel, MD; presentation, Symposium of Integrative Medicine Professionals, 2010 GI diseases, SIMPLE conference, University of New Mexico, 2010