PSYC1101 savannah tech Discussion 8
*** ONLY NEED RESPONSES TO PEER POSTS***
CHAPTER 11:
Read the article below, then respond to this question:
What “anecdotal evidence” (observations or personal experience) do you have for or against the claim that stress makes you more vulnerable to colds?
Really? Constant Stress Makes You Sick
BY ANAHAD O’CONNOR
Chronic stress and illness are intertwined. It is well known that psychological stress raises the risk of heart disease, cold and flu, and even allergies. However, how does one lead to the other? New research suggests that the hormone cortisol plays a critical role. Released in more significant amounts during stress, this hormone provides the body with a burst of energy. It also helps suppress the body’s immune response to infections like the flu, keeping inflammation responses like coughing, sneezing, and fevers in check.
However, when cortisol levels remain elevated, the body may become less sensitive to it, in the same way that elevated insulin levels can lead to insulin resistance. Carnegie Mellon scientists tested this idea. In one experiment, 276 healthy adults were exposed to cold viruses and then quarantined and monitored for five days. According to a study in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, subjects who had recently experienced stressful experiences were most likely to show resistance to cortisol and more likely to develop colds.
In a second phase, the researchers found that the participants who were more resistant to cortisol also produced more cytokines, components of the immune system that promote inflammation and heighten the severity of symptoms.
“Because inflammation plays an important role in the onset and progression of a wide range of diseases,” the study said, this process “may have broad implications for understanding the role of stress.”