The Effects of Short Term and Long Term Stress on Physiological Processes Essay Example
The Effects of Short Term and Long Term Stress on Physiological processes
Stress can have many definitions, the NHS describes it as: stress is the feeling of being under too much mental or emotional pressure (2012) and some may describe it as when our demands outweigh our response. A stressor is anything that is likely to ‘set off’ your stress levels, when a person is feeling overwhelmed or they cannot cope with an event or situation (whether it be physical or psychological).
During the 1920’s Walter Cannon began to recognise chain of rapidly occurring reactions in one’s body in response to acute stress. He described this reaction as the fight or flight response which will prepare the body to either fight or flee from a threatening situation (real or imaginary). Cannon discovered that during this response a series of physiological reactions will take place such as heart and respiratory rate will increase to allow for more oxygen to be pumped around the body to prepare the muscles for action. Blood pressure will increase as the blood vessels will constrict to enable to blood to move faster and more smoothly around the body. Pupils will dilate as they allow more light into the eye therefore allowing a boarder view of the situation.
Our sympathetic nervous response to stress is our immediate response, this is an uncontrollable reflex to a stressful situation. Our hypothalamus send signals through our nerve cells to our pituitary gland to our adrenal glands, specifically our adrenal medulla. Here, the hormone adrenaline is pumped into the bloodstream causing the many physiological changes in our body. Also, noradrenaline will be release causing the non-essential systems to either shut down or slow down e.g. digestive system and immune system. As the adrenaline is coursing through our body it triggers the release of sugar from our temporary stores supplying energy around the body.
Originally founded by Seyle in 1956, general adaptation syndrome refers to the
Stress can have many definitions, the NHS describes it as: stress is the feeling of being under too much mental or emotional pressure (2012) and some may describe it as when our demands outweigh our response. A stressor is anything that is likely to ‘set off’ your stress levels, when a person is feeling overwhelmed or they cannot cope with an event or situation (whether it be physical or psychological).
During the 1920’s Walter Cannon began to recognise chain of rapidly occurring reactions in one’s body in response to acute stress. He described this reaction as the fight or flight response which will prepare the body to either fight or flee from a threatening situation (real or imaginary). Cannon discovered that during this response a series of physiological reactions will take place such as heart and respiratory rate will increase to allow for more oxygen to be pumped around the body to prepare the muscles for action. Blood pressure will increase as the blood vessels will constrict to enable to blood to move faster and more smoothly around the body. Pupils will dilate as they allow more light into the eye therefore allowing a boarder view of the situation.
Our sympathetic nervous response to stress is our immediate response, this is an uncontrollable reflex to a stressful situation. Our hypothalamus send signals through our nerve cells to our pituitary gland to our adrenal glands, specifically our adrenal medulla. Here, the hormone adrenaline is pumped into the bloodstream causing the many physiological changes in our body. Also, noradrenaline will be release causing the non-essential systems to either shut down or slow down e.g. digestive system and immune system. As the adrenaline is coursing through our body it triggers the release of sugar from our temporary stores supplying energy around the body.
Originally founded by Seyle in 1956, general adaptation syndrome refers to the