Today we continue our journey in the skills section of the “functional nutrition matrix”, that we started in Want to support your immune system? Let's talk basics!, and explore the relationship between stress and immune health.
The concept of “stress” is broad, and it comprises both psychochemical and psychological stress.
In this post, we are focusing on stress as defined in [1] as a “psychologically perturbing condition, occurring in response to adverse external influences and capable of affecting physical health”. We are looking in particular at the effects of stress on our health resilience, in relation with our immune system.
And as we've seen in the previous posts, a robust and resilient immune system is what gives us the ability to block and prevent illness, being less prone to getting an infection that is going around and being better able to fight it off in case we get it.
What is the effect of “stress” on the immune system?
A short-term, acute stress has an immune-stimulating effect on the innate immunity [2,3]. This is because the body, through the “fight or flight” response, prepares to respond to a potential injury or infection. You can imagine, for example, a gazelle trying to escape from a predator. In this case, not only will the release of stress hormones provide the gazelle with an optimal flight response, but it will also provide her with the immune action in case of non-fatal injuries. The enhancement in immunity upon acute stress is linked to an increase in the expression of activation markers on innate immune cells as well as some cells in the adaptive immune system. It was also shown that acute stress (through the effect of Norepinephrine) enhanced the development of specific cells that produce a potent antiviral factor [3].
While the release of inflammatory cytokines and the inflammation process are necessary and helpful in the case of short-term response aimed at eliminating pathogens and initiating healing, the same response has different health consequences when the stress becomes “chronic”.
Chronic, systemic inflammation, in fact, represents a disregulation of the immune system and increases risks for chronic diseases [4], as well as vulnerability to infectious and neoplastic diseases [2].
A review article reports that individuals reporting greater psychological stress have been shown to have both higher incidence and severity of disease upon exposure to viral agents that cause upper respiratory disease. It has also been shown that social stressors could increase the risk for upper respiratory infections, and evidence has been provided for the link between stress and susceptibility to the common cold [1].
It’s interesting to note that stress also reduces the immune response to several viral vaccines, including those against influenza and pneumonia [2,3]!
We are all different! Does our individual perception of stress play a role?
Yes, it is suggested that the person’s individual representation of his life as stressful may be a determinant of the impact of stress on the immune system (a significant reduction in Natural Killer cells cytotoxicity was observed) [2].
What are the pathways that link stress to our immune system?
The immune system is known to respond to signals from other systems, in particular the nervous and the endocrine system. Here three mechanisms [2]:
Our sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight response) connects our brain to lymphoid tissue in the thymus gland, bone marrow, spleen and lymph nodes. The sympathetic fibres release a variety of substances that influence the immune response.
Hormones such as epinephrine, norepinephrine, cortisol and more as well as brain peptides – acting upon axes such as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal/gonadal axis - act as “communication” mechanisms and have regulatory effects on the white blood cells.
Our lifestyle choices, often made in an effort to meet the demands of stressful experiences – think alcohol consumption or sleep disregulation -, can potentially be another link between stress and our immune system.
So, what can we do to build up our resilience through lowering and better managing our stress response? Especially during these challenging times?
Here are some tips!
Recognise this is a different, and hard time. Give yourself permission to feel what you are feeling.
Take care of your sleep – More about why and how to here.
Get moving – More about why and how to do that while at home here.
Especially in these times, keep the TV and exposure to the news to a minimum. It’s important to be informed, but being constantly bombarded with “media-boosted”, sensationalized information will not do you any good. So stay up to date on the latest facts from trusted sources by tuning in once or twice a day, and then turn the media off. In particular, avoid watching/reading the news before going to bed.
Have a good laugh! – Laughing causes a release of endorphines, and helps optimise stress hormones. Downstream, laughter has a positive effect on modulating components of the immune system [5,6]. Do you need help with laughing? Watch funny movies or videos, or do a laughter yoga session!
If you are allowed to leave your house, go out and take (long) walks. If you are so lucky to be able to do that: take long walks in nature. Have you ever heard about “forest bathing”?
Take deep belly breaths. Do you know how to do that? There are different techniques you can use (just google them to know more!). Examples are 2x breath, pranayama breathing and box breathing.
Try mindfulness and/or meditation. There are countless techniques out there. Exploring with curiosity until you find what works for you is the probably the best strategy. And remember: meditation does not equal sitting crossed-legged desperately trying to empty your mind! It can look very different and be very active too! It can look like moving, shaking, chanting, dancing or even laughing! And more!
Do some mindful movement: Yoga, Thai Chi, Qigong… Have you ever tried? If you are stuck at home, go on Youtube and explore until you find what looks like a good fit! For the laziest ones, there are simple yoga routines you can do at your desk, sitting on a chair, or even in bed!
Try journaling. You could do that in the evening, writing down your thought and worries, or even your to-do list for the next day, to help settle and calm your mind before going to bed.
Practice gratitude, i.e. by keeping a gratitude journal. Each night before going to bed, write down three things you are grateful for. And let it not be general things like “my family”, or “having enough food”. Go into the details: have you gone for a walk and enjoyed the touch of fresh air on your cheeks? Or suddenly got your attention on a bird on a tree? You get the idea
Do you have more tips or strategies you use to reduce your stress levels and increase your resilience? And by doing that support the balance of your immune system? Would you like more tips? Or some resources? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
Do you need personal support with your diet and lifestyle during this particularly challenging time? Book your free 20-minute phone consultation here!
References
[1] Aich, Palok et al. “Modern approaches to understanding stress and disease susceptibility: A review with special emphasis on respiratory disease.” International journal of general medicine vol. 2 19-32. 30 Jul. 2009, doi:10.2147/ijgm.s4843
[2] Segerstrom, Suzanne C, and Gregory E Miller. “Psychological stress and the human immune system: a meta-analytic study of 30 years of inquiry.” Psychological bulletin vol. 130,4 (2004): 601-30.
[3] Padro, Caroline J, and Virginia M Sanders. “Neuroendocrine regulation of inflammation.” Seminars in immunology vol. 26,5 (2014): 357-68. doi:10.1016/j.smim.2014.01.003
[4] Morey, Jennifer N et al. “Current Directions in Stress and Human Immune Function.” Current opinion in psychology vol. 5 (2015): 13-17. doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.03.007
[5] Berk, Lee & Tan, Stanley & Berk, Dottie. Cortisol and Catecholamine stress hormone decrease is associated with the behavior of perceptual anticipation of mirthful laughter. The FASEB Journal. 22. (2008).
[6] Berk, Lee et al. “Neuroendocrine and Stress Hormone Changes During Mirthful Laughter.”The American Journal of the Medical Sciences vol. 298,6 (1989): 390-396
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