Or can a modern person still benefit from stress and the whole point is how to use it for his own benefit?
What is stress?
Contrary to popular belief, stress is not only nervous tension and anxiety. Scientists consider stress as a universal reaction of the human body to any strong impact. Stress occurs as a result of psychological or physical trauma, illness, dietary restrictions, playing sports, or watching an exciting movie. Even such positive moments in life as marriage, the birth of a child, receiving a diploma, winning a competition - all of them are accompanied by a stress reaction of the body.
The founder of the theory of stress, Canadian physiologist Hans Selye, said: “Stress is a nonspecific response of the body to any demand presented to it. From the point of view of the stress response, it does not matter whether the situation we are faced with is pleasant or unpleasant. What matters is the intensity of the need for restructuring or adaptation.”
What does “intensity of need for restructuring and adaptation” mean? The fact is that the stress reaction goes through three stages in its development. Initially, a feeling of anxiety and excitement arises, which is aimed at mobilizing the body’s capabilities. Then comes the stage of resistance, which is characterized by maximum tension of all the body’s forces and the development of a response to stress. In the end, the body’s capabilities are exhausted and if the stressful situation is not resolved, adaptation fails, functional disorders arise, and a variety of diseases develop.
Positive stress
Today, scientists distinguish two main concepts of stress.
Eustress or beneficial stress, which can be caused by positive emotions and experiences or dosed physical and mental stress.
Distress or destructive negative stress that the body cannot cope with undermines health and leads to disease.
If the morning does not go well, the coffee runs out on the stove, the trolleybus disappears from under your nose, a huge bill for long-distance negotiations arrives, a strong, healthy person full of optimism can easily cope with mild stress, will mind his own business, and will not even pay attention to annoying little things. It’s another matter if all this happened against the backdrop of illness, the loss of a loved one, or troubles at work. In this case, the bad mood will become even worse, depression will be replaced by apathy, irritability will intensify even more, and then heart pain, shortness of breath and a cold are just around the corner.
Positive stress strengthens the body
Dosed stress is good for health. In the first seconds of stress, the content of adrenal hormones, cortisol, adrenaline and norepinephrine increases in a person’s blood. The action of stress hormones leads to an increase in heart rate, a jump in blood pressure, increased muscle tone, increased breathing, oxygen saturation of the blood, and mobilization of the body's energy reserves. All these reactions are aimed at mobilizing the body’s strength to combat stress. In primitive society, they allowed a person to quickly run away from a tiger, fight an enemy, or kill a mammoth. Modern man is deprived of the opportunity to hunt and in most cases he has no one to run from, so the body quite quickly curtails its actions and brings the changed physiological parameters back to normal. As a rule, this takes 5, maximum 10 minutes. But this time is enough for stress to start the process of adaptation of the body to the new situation. The immune system is put on alert, resistance to infections increases, and the risk of developing cancer decreases. Cardiovascular training helps strengthen the heart and blood vessels. Metabolism is activated, cell restoration processes are launched. All this leads to rejuvenation of the body and increasing its resistance to negative stressful situations.
Chronic stress leads to disease
If a person has to constantly be in a stressful situation, the level of cortisol in the blood is high. Since the body has no time to repair cells, in war conditions the restoration processes in it are suspended. Constant stress leads to weakened immune defenses and depleted energy reserves. As a result, a person quickly gets tired, plunges into a state of depression, ceases to be interested in the opposite sex, and begins to catch colds often.
High blood pressure leads to the development of cardiovascular diseases. A decrease in the cells' ability to process glucose ultimately leads to diabetes. The slowdown of reparative processes is reflected in dryness and increased sensitivity of the skin, the appearance of acne, deterioration of complexion, and the formation of premature wrinkles.
What is the conclusion?
It is clear that chronic stress leads to premature aging of the body and various diseases. It is necessary to take all possible measures to avoid adaptation overstrain: rest more, switch gears, not concentrate on difficulties and generally have an optimistic attitude towards life.
At the same time, a quiet, stress-free “swamp of life” is not a place for human health and psychological well-being. You should not completely avoid stressful situations; overcoming them will be beneficial. Dosed stress will strengthen not only character, but also health, and will give strength to overcome difficult life situations.
Thus, the reaction to stress inherent in nature continues to help people in critical situations, and the only thing that is required of a person is to learn to neutralize its negative consequences.
Based on materials from: pravda.ru.
The site provides reference information for informational purposes only. Diagnosis and treatment of diseases must be carried out under the supervision of a specialist. All drugs have contraindications. Consultation with a specialist is required!
Stress that benefits you
Research shows that sometimes being stressed can have a beneficial effect on your health.Brief experiences, such as passing an exam, can strengthen a person's immune system. But long-term stress, such as disabilities, on the contrary, according to the study authors, can make you more susceptible to infections. Dr. Susan Segerstrom and Dr. Gregory Miller report their findings to the popular science journal Psycological Bulletin.
Scientists have long known that stress negatively affects the human body. Now an American and Canadian couple from the universities of Kentucky and British Columbia argue that psychological stress can be beneficial. They reviewed nearly 300 scientific papers on the subject, including cases from 19,000 patients.
Beneficial stress
As it turns out, stressful situations that don't last long trigger the fight-or-flight response we inherited from early humans who were frightened by predators. This reaction benefits a person in that it increases the protective barrier against infections that enter the body through bites and scratches. But long-term experiences have the opposite effect.Incidents that caused prolonged stress and turned a person’s life upside down had a detrimental effect on health.
Stressful situations such as caring for the mentally retarded, losing a partner or spouse, and childhood abuse wear down the immune system and leave a person vulnerable to infections.
Another important indicator was the awareness that the stressful event would soon end. Some people have proven to be more prone to stress than others. Elderly people and people suffering from any disease were subject to weakened immunity to the greatest extent.
Philip Hodson, a member of the British Association of Psychotherapists, said the research confirmed what was already known. “We all need some kind of incentive in life. And stress exists so that we can be at our best in the most critical situation, be it chasing a saber-toothed tiger or a difficult interview.”
Boosting immunity
Dr. Hodson also fully agreed that stress can strengthen the immune system. Experiencing any stressful situation serves, to a certain extent, as training; after stress, we relax - later this leads to a feeling of greater relief, and the immune system does not have to work hard for a long time.But incessant stress, on the contrary, according to the doctor, is harmful to our health.
"Modern lifestyles push our immune system into overdrive, so when we relax, it needs to relax, too. And as soon as we go on vacation, we catch a cold or feel unwell," says Hodson.
Is stress good or bad for the human body?
As a rule, when the word “stress” is used, a person has unpleasant associations associated with overstrain of the nervous system. Stressful situation It is usually considered as negative, inconvenient for a measured life, exciting, unsettling. But let's look at stress from different angles. What is anatomy of stress? Why did nature come up with this state of the body? Why shouldn't a person look at the world around him with equanimity?
The instinct of survival and self-preservation is inherent in human nature for a reason. Initially, the environment is considered by the body as hostile, and therefore it must always be prepared for its changes, no matter what nature these changes take (in the direction of improvement or deterioration of the body’s condition). It is believed that stress is the body’s natural response to external stimuli. Such stimuli may already be well known to the person, or may be of an unusual, extreme nature.
Author of modern stress concept Canadian Hans Selye expressed the opinion that a person cannot be completely free from stress, for him it is death. The same opinion is shared by scientists who consider stress in a narrow sense, that is, only as a factor in the body’s adaptation. Since the environment is in constant dynamics, the body is forced to constantly adapt to these changes, even if they are not noticeable at first glance. The fact is that a person experiences some minimal stresses naturally and practically painlessly, without paying special attention to them.
Factors causing stress, are defined as stressors. Stressors are different in nature; they can be physiological or psychological in nature. It follows that stress has a psychological or physiological origin. Extreme physical stress on the body, exposure to low and high temperatures, hunger, pain, psychological overload associated with an intense flow of information, including negative information, conflict situations and similar “inconveniences” trigger an adaptation mechanism. Adaptation occurs in three stages: anxiety, resistance, exhaustion.
The anxiety stage is the beginning of the adaptation period. It is directly related to the mobilization of the functions of the adrenal glands, immune system, cardiovascular system, and gastrointestinal tract in the body.
The resistance stage is possible only if the body has sufficient reserves (capabilities) to compensate for the load caused by the stressor.
The stage of exhaustion occurs when the body's reserves of capabilities gradually decrease and it can no longer resist external stimuli.
Human adaptive capabilities are not limitless, but each organism is endowed with them to varying degrees. In addition, these capabilities are primarily associated with the set of genes inherited by each individual during the evolution of his body, and secondly, they can be developed during life, depending on his environment. And these acquired adaptive capabilities are influenced by early stress, which in turn also modifies the degree of adaptation and its possible variations. An example of such a change can be cases when children who grew up in single-parent, dysfunctional families feel less confident in life than children who grew up in prosperity, and on the other hand, these same children in adulthood may turn out to be more adapted to certain psychological traumas if they have already experienced similar stress and their body is better prepared in terms of adaptive defense.
Russian scientists supplemented the theory of Hans Selye, proving that the main role in regulating adaptation processes in period of stress belongs to the nervous system. The nervous system “tells” the body that it is dealing with stress. And it is the nervous system that is responsible for how adequate the body’s response to stress will be.
The essence of stress is that it affects various levels of the body's response, disrupting the biochemical balance of substances in the body. The endocrine system is the first to fight stress when the adrenal glands begin to release the hormone adrenaline into the bloodstream and speed up the functioning of the cardiovascular system. Adrenaline narrows the lumen of blood vessels, thereby increasing blood pressure and heart rate. Blood vessels contain so-called baroreceptors that control blood pressure levels. The baroreceptors themselves are controlled by the nervous system, sending it impulses. And these same baroreceptors, moving into a zone of high pressure during prolonged stress, tend to adapt to conditions of high pressure, that is, they stop noticing it. And since blood pressure takes part in the transport of useful substances to all systems of the body, it is responsible for the metabolic process.
A well-functioning functional system itself maintains a level of blood pressure in the body that is optimal for metabolism. But prolonged disruptions associated with stress bring discord into this process. And the longer the failure lasts, the greater the deviation from the level that ensures normal metabolism in the body’s tissues.
Another hormone, cortisone, is released by the adrenal glands a little later to bring the body to a pre-stress, normal state. Simply put, the nervous system begins the body’s work on stress, and it also finishes it.
In nature, in animals, an increase in pressure is a short-term thing, regulated automatically. But it should be borne in mind that animals in natural conditions are less susceptible to long-term stressful situations, unlike humans.
To summarize the above, it is necessary to note: to what extent the body will suffer or return to normal depends on the duration of stress. And interrupting a protracted stressful state depends on how much a person is able to independently control this process. Short-term stress allow the body to survive and adapt most successfully to the surrounding world, and prolonged, uncontrolled stress leads to weakening and exhaustion of the body and, at best, provokes diseases, and at worst, leads to death.
Daniela Kaufer is an assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley. She studies the molecular biology of stress and how the human brain responds to anxiety and traumatic events.
Her latest research shows that some types of stress can, surprisingly, have a positive connotation. And later in the article, with the help of Dr. Kaufer, we will explain the difference between good and bad stress and tell you how to respond to emotional stress with health benefits.
Most of us think of stress as something bad. Can stress be good?
In modern society, it is common to perceive stress as something that has negative consequences. People are afraid of this condition. But recent research has shown that experiencing a moderately stressful situation can be beneficial, as it can help us respond appropriately in the future when something potentially threatening happens. That is, thanks to this, it will be easier for us to cope with what is happening and learn from it.
Ms. Kaufer's research shows that moderate, short-term stress can be beneficial - it can increase alertness and productivity and even improve memory.
How can you evaluate the effects of stress?
Dr. Kaufer says that in their laboratory they are studying the results of this condition in rats and observing the growth of stem cells in the hippocampus (the so-called paired structure of the brain that is involved in the stress response and, very importantly, in memory consolidation).
Thus, it was observed that when rats are exposed to moderate stress for a short time, they stimulate the growth of stem cells that form neurons, or brain cells. And after a couple of weeks, tests already show improvements in learning and memory. Thus, it can be concluded that specific cells generated during a state of tension are activated. However, if animals are exposed to chronic or intense stress, they produce fewer brain cells.
Can controlled amounts of stress strengthen a person's brain?
Researchers believe the same thing happens in humans. Managed stress increases the body's capabilities and, by encouraging the growth of stem cells that become brain cells, improves memory.
Increasing stem cells and generating neurons makes sense from an adaptive perspective. That is, if an animal encounters a predator and avoids death, it is important for it to remember where and when this encounter happened in order to avoid it in the future. The same applies to a person who needs to remember how to avoid this or that unpleasant situation.
The brain constantly reacts to stress. If it is too severe or becomes chronic, it can have negative consequences, but moderate and short-term is regarded by the body as preparation for an exam - it improves cognitive abilities and memory.
When too much stress becomes harmful
People differ in how they respond to stress. The same situation can be tolerated quite calmly by one and turn out to be insoluble for another. People who feel resilient and confident will not react heavily to a problem.
Another factor is control. Stress is much less dangerous if a person has some control over what is happening. If he feels helpless at this moment, the consequences will most likely be negative.
Early life experiences also shape how people respond to stress. If a person has had a lot of experiences early in life, they may be more vulnerable to its harmful effects. Thus, a study by Rachel Yehuda, a scientist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center in New York, found that Holocaust survivors have elevated levels of stress hormones. And evidence shows that even the descendants of Holocaust survivors have higher levels of stress hormones.
Does stress affect other body systems besides the brain?
According to scientists, chronic stress can constrict blood vessels and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. In addition, excessive stress can suppress the immune system and reduce the ability to produce healthy offspring in animals. For example, female mice have decreased libido, decreased fertility, and increased risk of miscarriage.
Additionally, excessive stress can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder. As mentioned above, it is important to remember the dangers that await us. But it is equally important to be able to forget about them when new experiences arise.
Let's say a man with a long white beard scared you as a child, and it's good to forget about it when, as you grow up, you discover that people with long white beards are not inherently dangerous. But the problem with PTSD is that people can't forget. They cannot leave traumatic memories behind. Why? There is no answer to this question yet.
Are there any helpful strategies for ensuring that stress is beneficial rather than harmful?
According to Dr. Kaufer, if a person tends to have a positive perception of what is happening, it is much easier for him to survive stress than someone who is tuned to the negative. Another important factor is social support. If you have friends and family you can turn to for help during a stressful time, you'll be more likely to cope without too much trouble.
Social support helps solve problems. This is something most of us know intuitively. But researchers are now beginning to understand this at a biological level as well. They identified a hormone called oxytocin that reduces a person's stress response. According to psychologist researcher Kelly McGonigal, the production of this hormone is enhanced precisely by social contact and support.
Another powerful buffer in such situations is exercise. Evidence of this is seen in animal studies. Rodents that are allowed to run are more likely to create new brain cells in response to stress than sedentary animals. Ms Kaufer says the same thing could work for humans. Active people tolerate stress more easily. And physical activity after a stressful experience helps mitigate its effects.
What should you do when life gets stressful?
Now you know what exactly helps a person cope with stress. Physical activity, yoga, a positive attitude towards what is happening, as well as the ability to make friends - all this can help you not only survive difficult moments in life, but also benefit from them, turning the situation into a kind of simulator for brain cells.
Lecture 8. Stress. Gaining stress resistance in business communication.
With effective conflict management, its consequences can play a positive role, that is, be functional and contribute to the further achievement of the organization’s goals.
Just as no leadership style can be effective in all situations without exception, none of the discussed conflict resolution styles can be singled out as the best. We must learn to use each of them effectively and consciously make one or another choice, taking into account specific circumstances.
1. Concept and nature of stress
2. Causes and sources of stress.
3. Prevention of stress in business communication
4. Individual strategy and tactics of stress-resistant behavior.
5. The influence of a person’s self-esteem on her resistance to stress.
Literature
1. Psychology and ethics of business communication: Textbook for universities / ed. prof. V.N. Lavrinenko. – M.: UNITY-DANA, 2003. – 415 p.
2. Solyakin A.V., Bogatyreva N.A. Business conversation. – M.: “Prior-izdat”,
2005. – 144 p.
3. Titova L.G. Business conversation. – M.: UNITY-DANA, 2005. -271 p.
4. Urbanovich A.A. Psychology of management. – Minsk: Harvest, 2004. – 639 p.
Word stress translated from English means voltage. This term was introduced into scientific circulation in 1936 by an outstanding Canadian physiologist Hans Selye(b. 1907), who developed the general concept of stress as an adaptive reaction of the body to the influence of extreme factors (stressogens).
The extraordinary popularity of both the concept itself and its leading concept is apparently explained by the fact that with its help many phenomena in our ordinary, everyday life can easily be explained: reactions to emerging difficulties, conflict situations, unexpected events, etc.
The concept of stress according to the classical definition of G. Selye, stressis a nonspecific response of the body to any demand presented to it, and this response represents the body’s tension aimed at overcoming emerging difficulties and adapting to increased demands.
The term nonspecific in this case means something common to all adaptive reactions of the body. In the cold, for example, we try to move more to increase the amount of heat generated by the body, and the blood vessels on the surface of the skin narrow, reducing heat transfer. On a hot summer day, the body, on the contrary, reflexively releases sweat, increasing heat transfer, etc. These are specific reactions that respond to specific environmental requirements for the body. But in any case, it is necessary to adapt to the environment and restore a normal state. The general need to rebuild the body, adapt to any external influence - this is the essence of stress. It does not matter whether the situation we are faced with is pleasant or unpleasant. Oddly enough, cold, heat, sadness, joy, and medications, according to G. Selye, cause the same biochemical changes in the body. Something similar exists in our electrical household appliances: a refrigerator, heater, lamp, bell change the physical environment in different ways (cold, heat, light, sound), but their work is determined by a single factor - electricity. In the same way, the stressor effect from external influences does not depend on the type of specific adaptive responses to them. The essence of such answers is the same.
In the dynamics of stress response G. Selye sees three phases:
1) alarm reaction, manifested in the urgent mobilization of the body’s defenses and resources;
2) resistance phase allowing the body to successfully cope with stress-causing influences;
3) exhaustion phase, if too prolonged and too intense a struggle leads to a decrease in the adaptive capabilities of the body and its ability to resist various diseases.
Physiological and biochemical nature of stress has been studied quite well to date. Schematically, the physiological underside of the stress response looks something like this. Under the influence of any stress factor (conflict, unexpected event, etc.), an intense, persistent focus of excitation is formed in the human cerebral cortex - the so-called dominant. Its appearance triggers a kind of chain reaction: one of the most important structures of the diencephalon, the hypothalamus, is also excited, which in turn activates the closely related leading endocrine gland, the pituitary gland. The latter releases a portion of a special hormone into the blood, under the influence of which the adrenal glands secrete adrenaline and other physiologically active substances (stress hormones), which ultimately give a well-known picture of a stressful state: the heartbeat increases, breathing quickens, blood pressure rises, etc. .
Biochemical changes during stress are the body’s defensive reaction to an external threat, formed in the process of long-term evolution. Its physiological meaning is the instant mobilization of all the body’s forces necessary to fight the enemy or escape from him. But modern man, unlike primitive man, does not so often solve his problems with the help of physical strength or fast running. So hormones that have not found use circulate through our blood, agitating the body and preventing the nervous system from calming down. If they were immediately spent on some kind of physical activity, stress would not have destructive consequences. But a person leading a modern lifestyle has few such opportunities. Therefore, his body falls into a kind of stress trap: an emergency release of stress hormones into the blood depletes their supply in the adrenal cortex, which immediately begins to intensively restore them. That is why, even with relatively weak repeated emotional arousal, the body reflexively reacts with an increased release of hormones. This is the biochemical nature of stress, which is behind the scenes of nervous, inappropriate human behavior.
A stressful state is dangerous not in itself, but because it can provoke a whole bunch of organic disorders in the form of cardiovascular, allergic, immune and other diseases.
Not to mention the fact that a person’s performance, vitality and creative activity drop sharply. Seemingly causeless lethargy, passivity, insomnia or restless sleep, irritability, dissatisfaction with the whole world are typical symptoms of stress. Here the question naturally arises: is it possible to do something about all this? Is it possible to avoid stress?
The answer to the last question must be absolutely negative. Stress cannot be avoided in principle. Because their nature is reflexive. It is the body's automatic response to difficult or unfavorable situations. Such reactions are mechanisms of human natural biological defense, a purely natural way of adapting to a changing environment.
To destroy them means to extinguish the life in a person, to make him insensitive to external stimuli. As the founder of the doctrine of stress, G. Selye, emphasized, stress is an essential component of life. It can not only reduce, but also increase the body’s resistance to negative factors. To differentiate these polar functions of stress, Selye proposed to distinguish between stress itself, as a mechanism necessary for the body to overcome adverse external influences, and distress, as a condition that is certainly harmful to health. (The word distress can be translated as exhaustion, unhappiness.)
Thus, stress is tension that mobilizes and activates the body to combat the source of negative emotions. Distress- this is excessive stress that reduces the body’s ability to adequately respond to the demands of the external environment.
At the same time, it would be a mistake to unambiguously associate distress with the manifestation of a person’s negative emotions, and to declare all positive emotions as a protection against it. It happens differently. Any emotional upheaval in a person is a stressor (source of stress). The body's resistance to adverse external influences increases due to the resulting tension!
Stress mechanisms are designed to ensure the body's resistance. Distress occurs when these mechanisms are not effective enough. Or when they deplete their resource due to prolonged and intense stress on a person.
Thus, the state of distress actually corresponds to the third of the stress response phases identified by G. Selye.
This is precisely what we need to fight against, or rather, try to prevent stress from turning into distress. Stress itself is a completely normal reaction.
Thus, understanding the nature of stress should lead us to the conclusion that the desire to avoid stress in general is the wrong strategy of behavior. And it’s not just that it’s practically impossible. Much more important is that in the phase of resistance to a source of stress, the human body is more resistant to adverse external influences than in a state of complete rest and relaxation. It is useful to harden the body not only physically, but also emotionally, since our emotions act as triggers for stress reactions.
Nature and functions of stress
This video presentation explains the basics of the new StressEraser technology.
1. Combating stress and preventing stress by naturally balancing the nervous system.
2. Chronic dominance of stress, accumulation of stress, imbalance in the body.
3. Relaxation, changes in heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia and the vagus nerve.
4. Relaxation, proper breathing and concentration with the help of StressEraser.
5. Real-time biofeedback. How does StressEraser work?
6. Dictionary of abbreviations
Part 1: Managing and preventing stress by naturally balancing the nervous system.
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) controls our unconscious functions, such as heartbeat, breathing, and digestion. Two parts, two branches of this system - sympathetic (SNS) and parasympathetic (PNS) - maintain our body in a state of balance.
The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for a person's "fight or flight" behavior in a dangerous situation, known as the "stress response" (Figure 1). The work of the parasympathetic nervous system is “relaxation and restoration of performance” (Fig. 2). The parasympathetic nervous system is regulated by the longest nerve in the body, the vagus nerve, which runs from the brain to the lower spine and further to the internal organs and heart. When the vagus nerve is exposed, the body activates a relaxation reaction, compensating for the effects of stress. If the vagus nerve is inactive, relaxation does not occur.
The typical functions of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system are detailed below:
Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS)
Stressors large and small give rise to the “fight or flight” stress response.
Any excitement, anger or fear activates the SNS, which is expressed by the following symptoms:
Increased heart rate
-increased cardiac output
-increased blood pressure
-increased breathing rate
-increased muscle contractions
-narrowing of subcutaneous blood capillaries
-increased production of adrenaline, norepinephrine and cortisol
-increased electrical activity of the brain
-increased blood cholesterol levels
-increased blood sugar
-increased insulin levels
-suppression of digestion and excretion processes
-decreased immune system parameters (if stress is prolonged)
-suppression of cell growth (if stress is prolonged)
Parasympathetic nervous system (PNS)
The stress reaction is smoothed out and relaxation begins in the body thanks to the vagus nerve. The parasympathetic nervous system promotes calm and recovery by supporting autonomic nervous system balance and stress resistance.
The active state of the PNS is expressed by the following signs:
Decreased heart rate
-decrease in cardiac output
-reduced blood pressure
-decreased breathing rate
-relaxation of contracted muscles
- dilation of blood vessels
-production of dopamine, serotonin and acetylcholine
-increasing cognitive abilities
-stabilization of blood flow in muscles
-increased oxygen content in the blood
-increased energy storage function
-strengthening the processes of digestion and excretion
-increased parameters of the immune system (with prolonged condition)
-stimulation of cell growth (for long-term condition)
Ideally, the SNS and PNS should act in a balanced manner, maintaining the body in a state of physiological homeostasis (constancy of the internal environment) (Fig. 3). Almost always, when SNS activity increases, PNS activity decreases, and vice versa (Fig. 4). In particular, an increase in SNS activity leads to a decrease in vagal tone. The role of the SNS in the body is especially important in a state of stress, when it is necessary to make a decision - to fight or avoid risk. After the moment of stress has passed, the PNS brings the body into a state of relaxation and balances the changes caused by stress.
Part 2: Chronic dominance of the SNS over the PNS, accumulation of stress, imbalance in the body.
In the past 100 (200-300) years, there have been huge changes in our way of life. The human nervous system is not sufficiently adapted by evolution to the constant stress of our days. There is a big difference between chronic stress affecting a person in the 21st century and sudden powerful stress (meeting an enemy, an animal, a natural disaster) during the time of our distant ancestors. Small stress factors that haunt us in traffic jams, psychological and emotional stress in the office, family or financial problems accumulate, and the impact of stress accumulates. Anger, fear and anxiety activate our sympathetic nervous system. As stressful situations accumulate, the stress reaction becomes longer and longer, and the body is unable to cope with it. There is less and less room for the relaxation response, and the autonomic nervous system becomes unbalanced.
The accumulated chronic dominance of the sympathetic nervous system over the parasympathetic nervous system is called “allostatic load.” Repeated and cumulative exposure to stress factors leads to wear and tear of the body and serious illnesses. While you are healthy, your nervous system returns to normal after a stressful situation and is restored due to increased tone of the vagus nerve. But if you deal with stress every day, the stress response does not turn off in a timely manner. Allostatic load leads to a decrease in vagal tone.
As a result, your body is in a state of hyperactivity and begins to become exhausted, remaining in a constant state of “fight or flight.” Exhaustion leads to suppression of both the SNS and PNS, to an imbalance and decrease in the flexibility of the nervous system and a decrease in immunity, the general adaptability of the body to external conditions, which is the cause of many serious diseases. That is why so much attention in the medical literature is paid to the concept of the nature of stress and the connection between stress and various diseases. Statistics say that 90% of doctor visits are caused by stress.
Part 3: Relaxation, heart rate changes, beneficial respiratory sinus arrhythmia and the vagus nerve.
The most accurate, non-invasive (that is, does not invade the body) method for assessing the autonomic regulation of cardiac activity is the determination of heart rate variability (HRV), which characterizes the interaction of the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. Heart rate is never constant. The natural slowing and acceleration of the heart rate is called respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). It is usually manifested by an increase in heart rate during inhalation and a decrease during exhalation - the beating heart needs to constantly adapt to the changing volume of the chest. Despite the name “arrhythmia,” it is a normal phenomenon caused by the constantly changing influence of the parasympathetic nervous system on the heart.
Respiratory arrhythmia allows us to judge the state of the autonomic nervous system, as the root cause of heart rate variability. The higher the rhythm variability, the better. For example, a difference of 60-80 contractions per minute at rest is preferable to a difference of 65-70 contractions. The higher your respiratory sinus arrhythmia, the higher the tone of your vagus nerve, and the higher our resistance to stress.
There are various ways to measure heart rate variability - and all of them characterize the body's resistance to stress - the indicator of respiratory sinus arrhythmia remains the most important. By determining the degree of influence of the vagus nerve on the heart, this indicator serves as a measure of stress resistance (high amplitude of respiratory arrhythmia) or susceptibility to stress (low amplitude of respiratory arrhythmia).
Low amplitude heart rate variability and low amplitude respiratory sinus arrhythmia are associated with the following indicators:
Anxiety syndrome (generalized anxiety syndrome, phobias)
-asthma
- chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases
-morbidity and mortality due to heart disease
-cardiac ischemia
-depression of various origins
- chronic pain syndrome
-diabetes
-spastic colitis
-inflammation
-insomnia
-headaches (migraines and pain associated with increased intracranial pressure)
- predisposition to distrust and hostility in behavior
-hypertension / hypertension / high blood pressure
-sedentary lifestyle/physical inactivity
-stress
-alcohol or drug abuse
In contrast, high amplitude heart rate variability and high amplitude respiratory sinus arrhythmia are usually associated with the following:
Sports lifestyle
-birth of healthy children
-healthy heart
-meditation, yoga, breathing exercises
-emotional stability
-increased social sustainability
-slow response to stressors
-increased level of concentration
-good general health
Part 4: Relaxation, proper breathing and concentration with the help of StressEraser.
The functioning of the autonomic nervous system is involuntary, but you can consciously control this system and activate relaxation to prevent stress. There are two ways to activate this critical reaction:
1) breathing control
2) concentration of consciousness
Using these two methods, you can achieve an increase in the tone of the vagus nerve and its effect on the heart muscle, and therefore on the degree of relaxation of the body, that is, make it possible to manage stress.
There is a growing body of medical research describing the effects of relaxation on diseases and conditions caused by stress. Slow breathing activates the vagus nerve, promoting increased autonomic control. Extended exhalation has a good effect. Slow breathing combined with long exhalation is included in most relaxation and meditation techniques. But research has shown that exhaling for too long has an adverse effect on the nervous system. It has also been proven that each person has his own individual breathing frequency, which increases the tone of the vagus nerve. Moreover, the most common complaints when practicing breathing techniques without the help of a specialist are complaints of distraction soon after the start of the exercises, which limits their positive physiological effects.
StressEraser is a tool for customizing your biofeedback, or in other words, customizing your connection to your autonomic nervous system. StressEraser is designed specifically to help you find your unique breathing pattern, optimize respiratory sinus arrhythmia, support concentration, and help enhance the influence of the vagus nerve on the heart muscle to relieve stress.
Increased variability, especially due to rhythmic changes associated with breathing, leads to increased amplitude of respiratory arrhythmia and to increased parasympathetic tone. And this, in turn, strengthens the immune system, ability to recover and resistance to stress.
Using StressEraser you learn proper breathing and concentration, which is necessary for physiological relaxation. The goal of working with StressEraser is simple - you need to change the nature of the heart rate from short jagged waves of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (Fig. 6) to high smooth waves (Fig. 7). StressEraser is a one-of-a-kind portable heart rate variability/respiratory sinus arrhythmia feedback device that allows you to manage your respiratory arrhythmia parameters in real time. When used correctly, StressEraser improves the condition of your nervous system, inducing a state of peace and relaxation.
Part 5: Real-time biofeedback. How does StressEraser work?
StressEraser measures your heart rate using an infrared sensor that is attached to your finger. The sensor is equipped with a device that detects pulsations with each heartbeat. StressEraser accurately times each beat and calculates your heart rate based on the time between the previous and next heart beats. The device display (Fig. 8) displays a heart rate graph.
By observing respiratory sinus arrhythmia, that is, heart rate variability, from one beat to another, StressEraser allows you to judge the tone of the vagus nerve.
At the next stage, StressEraser performs a frequency analysis of the variability (variability) of the heart rhythm. That is, how much the heart rhythm “listens”, adapts, accommodates, and reacts to changes in the volume of the chest caused by respiratory movements. (Figure 10).
If the wave is high enough and smooth (high variability/adaptation) you get one point. That is, if you breathe in your individual, optimal mode, your consciousness is calm and neutral - you will see a high, smooth wave on the display. One point is indicated by 3 vertical squares under the wave. Your task is to achieve the constancy of such waves.
If the wave shows satisfactory but not optimal respiratory arrhythmia parameters, you receive half a point, which is indicated by two vertical squares.
If the wave is too low, you get no points - one square (Fig. 11).
Note: Older people and beginners can use the constant waves marked with two squares as a guide.
The number of points scored per day is displayed as a number in the upper left corner of the screen.
To achieve a good three-square wave, you need to inhale until your pulse reaches its maximum frequency. This point will be marked with a downward-pointing triangle at the top of the display. The triangle indicates the moment of the onset of a surge in vagus nerve activity—the parasympathetic response. When a triangle appears, begin to exhale and focus your thoughts on some phrase that promotes concentration and calm (for example, counting slowly). Continue the exhalation until a new rise of the wave begins. After you finish exhaling, inhale until the next triangle appears. (See Figure 12 for a diagram of the interaction between the user and the StressEraser.)
Your optimal breathing pattern is shown in Figure 13. Your optimal inhalation and exhalation duration varies from person to person, but usually for a person it ranges from 4.5 to 7 respiratory cycles per minute. Your unique breathing pattern (inhalation time and exhalation time) is called your resonant frequency, that is, the frequency and pattern of breathing when the desired connection between the rhythm of your breathing and your heart rate is achieved.
Breathing and heart rhythms are two of the most important stress management mechanisms. Through breathing, you can consciously change your natural heart rate to a certain extent (a phenomenon known as the "baroreflex"). Research has shown that achieving complete synchrony between breathing and heart rhythms helps strengthen and balance the autonomic nervous system. Once you learn to find your own resonant frequency mode, you will find it induces a sense of relaxation in your mind and body.
One of the most useful features of StressEraser is that it does not count points for disturbances or interruptions in the rhythm of the waves due to decreased tone of the vagus nerve. Such interruptions can have various reasons:
Exhaling too long
-strained or incorrect breathing
-excessive emotions
-a state of confusion or frustration
-fever or any illness
-taking medications that block the activity of the vagus nerve
-arrhythmia or extrasystole (extraordinary, abnormal cardiac pauses and contractions)
StressEraser recognizes such interruptions and alerts you to the violation. Let's look at the example in Figure 14.
The area indicated by the circle in the middle is usually indicative of exhalation being too long. This causes the wave to rise and fall without achieving the required variability. The smaller circle at the top right represents a wave that has sufficient height, which however, due to the slight rise and fall at the top, does not allow the user to score points. This interruption probably occurred due to inattention or extraneous emotions. Because StressEraser feedback occurs in real time, you can immediately correct your behavior that caused the failure. Typically, a wave failure is a signal of a violation of concentration on breathing.
StressEraser is a biofeedback device designed specifically to help you find your own breathing pattern that maximizes respiratory sinus arrhythmia, maintains alertness, and stimulates the vagus nerve's effect on the heart muscle.
StressEraser serves your health and helps you find peace of mind. This device can be used to relieve stress in people dealing with chronic or short-term stressors (i.e., occupational stress, public speaking), low energy, depression, or simply to improve overall health, performance, and nervousness. emotional indicators. Read the review, recommendations, testimonials, research results and decide whether you need StressEraser and its help to overcome stress and its consequences.
12.5. Nature and causes of stress
The nature of stress. Stress (from the English stress - “pull tight”) is a state of tension that occurs under the influence of strong influences. Even in the most progressive and well-managed organization, there are situations and job characteristics that cause stress. For example, a manager experiences stress because he does not have enough time to complete the entire volume of planned work. A feeling of anxiety (stress) occurs when the situation gets out of control. There is a problem and there is no alternative to solve it, but it needs to be solved urgently. This is also stressful.
Stress is a common and common phenomenon (increased irritability or insomnia before a crucial event, etc.). Minor stress is inevitable and harmless. Excessive stress is what creates problems for individuals and organizations. In this regard, it is important to learn to distinguish between an acceptable degree of stress and too much stress.
The kind of stress that relates to managers is characterized by excessive psychological or physiological tension.
Let's show the stress reaction model (Fig. 12.5.1).
Physiological signs of stress – ulcers, heart disease, asthma, etc. Psychological manifestations – irritability, loss of appetite, depression. By reducing the effectiveness and well-being of the individual, excessive stress comes at a cost to the organization.
Causes of stress. There are different theories regarding the causes of stress. The main cause of stress is change. Any change, even positive, upsets the balance that we maintain in our environment. In this regard, some employees find themselves in such a stressful situation that they are even forced to leave their jobs.
If a person is in a state of extreme stress, then he will react to the situation according to the following scheme: "fight or flight." The “escape” syndrome occurs when a person tries to escape from the surrounding situation. The “battle” response allows one to adapt to a new environment.
Once a manager has recognized that stress exists, he must begin to work to eliminate the factors that make stress excessive, so it is important to understand the symptoms of stress (Figure 12.5.2).
As managers learn to manage their own stress, they must simultaneously address the immediate concerns of their subordinates, minimizing the impact of stress symptoms as much as possible.
Of course, different individuals will react differently to each situation. Therefore, managers should try to design the workplace to eliminate sources of stress as much as possible. Anything a manager can do to reduce stress will benefit both him and the organization.
As you can see, stress can be caused by factors related to the work and activities of the organization or events in the personal life of the individual.
There are two groups of factors that cause stress (Fig. 12.5.3.).
Organizational factors. A common cause of stress in organizations is overload, those. The employee is assigned an unreasonable number of tasks. In this case, anxiety, a feeling of hopelessness and material loss arises.
Role conflict occurs when an employee is presented with conflicting demands, i.e. There are situations when an employee, on the one hand, wants to be accepted by the group and comply with management requirements, on the other. The result is feelings of anxiety and tension.
Role ambiguity occurs when an employee is unsure of what is expected of him. Unlike role conflict, there will be no requirements here contradictory, but they evasive And uncertain.
Uninteresting job injures a person, i.e. People who have more interesting jobs show less anxiety and are less susceptible to physical ailments.
Stress can also arise as a result of poor physiological conditions (temperature, lack of lighting, excessive noise, etc.).
Personal factors. Each individual participates in many activities unrelated to the organization. These private events can also be a potential cause of stress and lead to reduced work performance. The greatest impact is the death of a spouse, divorce, illness or injury, sexual illness, etc.
However, it should be noted that positive life events, like negative ones, such as a wedding, promotion, winning the lottery, etc., can also cause the same or even more stress.
To manage others while achieving high productivity and low stress levels, you must:
assess the abilities, needs and inclinations of your employees and try to select the appropriate amount and type of work for them;
allow employees to refuse to perform a task if they have sufficient grounds for this. If you need them to complete this particular task, explain why it is necessary and prioritize their work;
clearly describe specific areas of authority, responsibility and production expectations, use two-way communication;
use a leadership style appropriate to the requirements of the situation;
provide adequate rewards for effective performance;
act as a mentor to subordinates, develop their abilities and discuss difficult issues with them.
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