How Stress Can Lower Your Energy Levels & What To Do About It

If you are a person who suffers from low energy levels on the daily bases, you may find yourself asking the following questions: Why do I constantly feel tired or get tired very easily? Do I have an undiagnosed disease causing this? Is it my age, gender or diet? Or am I not sleeping enough? While the cause could be a result of multiple factors, most people would not associate stress with being one of them.

Excessive stress can have a long lasting effect on your energy levels. Stress can be a positive state to a certain degree. When it becomes excessive, it can drain your energy away. How does this happen? Stressful situations trigger a warning system in our bodies often called the flight stress response. This is part of our sympathetic nervous system. Being stressed means that our brain has set a chain of reactions allowing our bodies to be saturated with the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones prepare us to run away or face the triggering factor. This process will result in higher blood sugar levels and heart rate, which brings more oxygen and energy to muscles. That is a good thing, right? Not necessarily in our modern busy lifestyle! Our bodies can interpret some of the day-to-day situations as threats; consequently, we have high levels of cortisol circulating in the blood for long periods of time, and that takes energy! Here are some facts:

Stress causes fatigue by:

Affecting the endocannabinoid system: The endocannabinoid system is involved in energy level and alertness regulation, fighting stress, fear, pain, and anxiety, and starting and stopping our body’s stress response. When stress is frequent and prolonged, it loses its abilities and effect on the body.
Imbalancing neurotransmitters: Neurotransmitter imbalances do not usually just develop for no reason. It could be a sign of an underlying issue. Chronic stress reduces levels of serotonin and dopamine, which are important players in regulating our mood, tension, energy, and motivation. Low levels of either of these neurotransmitters can contribute to depression, anxiety, binge eating, addiction, and many more.
Decreasing thyroid hormones: When it comes to energy, thyroid hormones are a major player. If your thyroid hormones are low, the ability of all your cells to produce energy will reflect that.
Sugar cravings: Sugar cravings can lead to making poor food choices. Consuming refined sugar can lead to low production orexin, which is the single most important neurotransmitter when it comes to wakefulness and energy levels.
Suppressing Your Immune System: Many types of viruses also specifically attack the mitochondria, thus causing a big hit to our cells’ ability to produce energy. High levels of stress lower the protective ability of your immune system.

Tips and treatments to combat stress!

How Can PhysioChiroWellness Help?

At PhysioChiroWellness Integrated Health Centre our highly-skilled practitioners work together to create fully integrated health solutions that may include physiotherapy, chiropractic, massage therapy, acupuncture, naturopathy, medical aesthetics amongst others. Our professionals will work together towards achieving an optimal health for all our patients through a holistically approach when treating any condition or pain they may present. This service is provided in our Ajax, Mississauga, Newmarket, & Vaughan clinics and can be booked at any time.

Social Media

Directories

How Stress Can Lower Your Energy Levels & What To Do About It