Stress and Health Are Correlatives

Humans live their lives as each day unfolds. Every day after waking up, we begin our daily activities, which might range from laborious duties to informal conversations. We get together with our loved ones, share jokes, and simply pass the time. While we wait for nightfall to arrive, we eat, drink, and take delight in everything that life has to offer. After that, we go back to our houses and rest. When daybreak arrives, the cycle is repeated. We simply overlook the tension levels that the monotonous tasks cause in our heads. What we do not realize is the tragedy at play as we fail to take heed to the thought that the stress accumulating could eventually affect our health (“Aims and Hypotheses | Simply Psychology”). This psychology hypothesis avers that stress and health are related and that one affects the other so significantly.

Stress is a natural reaction that happens within a human in reaction to some eminent danger or fear. For instance, say a guy is about to meet a girl, usually, he would have sweaty hands with his rate pounding with anxiety. Or, let us say one has lost his or her wallet and has no money. This time, the levels of stress will be so high that the person will be paranoid and will be thrown in worry. Usually, stress comes in after hormones are produced to react to some event that has been witnessed or felt. However, sometimes, the levels of hormones which could be released at some point could be quite high to the effect that they affect one’s health

To be healthy is to be happy. Achieving the highest standards of health means that as an individual, all factions of your body are functioning properly without any ailment whatsoever. Health standards ought to be kept at the highest standard possible. However, the major reason why people are not healthy is because they are not stress free. They are engaged in all sorts of activities that wear them out completely. Eventually, they discover that their body is not functioning properly. The main reason as to why their health deteriorates is stress. Therefore, stress affects the human body quite significantly.

That is why, this hypothesis seeks to reveal the correlation between stress and health by proving that stress is a major cause of deteriorating health. By the end of this study, the hypothesis will have answered the following hypothesis questions:

How stress and health are correlated.

How stress develops within a human body

What chronic stress is in a human being.

Develop an experiment that shows a hypothetical scenario of how stress and health are related.

How to manage stress.

Later on, a simple experiment will be made to explain the hypothesis to show how stress and health are inseparable as one affects the other. The experiment will be simple as it will be premised on a normal day activity of a person.

How stress and Health are related

Stress as already mentioned is a normal natural reaction that is developed in reaction to some event which in human eyes, is danger. Simply put, no one can develop stress, it just happens. Through hormonal changes, the body sets up a response that is either flight or fright. This can pass away when the danger goes away. However, when the stress levels increase to reach a certain point, then the person is experiencing chronic stress which is very dangerous for him. Chronic stress makes one’s body fatigued and worn out for most of the day.

Chronic stress is caused by a lifestyle which is quite hectic and busy. For instance, studies reveal that people who are engaged in tough jobs such as mining, home builders and such like jobs that drain their muscle power are more likely to develop stress. Likewise, people who work overtime to cater for their bills are also likely to develop chronic stress. For instance, if one works from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm and then thereafter takes up a night job, denying himself the chance to rest will definitely be tormenting his body.

In 2009, a study done by American Psychological Association (APA), adults who were advised to change their lifestyle and work habits eventually found themselves healthy. The survey had been done to explain that a change in lifestyle could actually lead to a stress free life hence improved health (Mullan 23). The adults were advised to change the particular aspects of life that specifically related to stress instigators. Such aspects included, getting more sleep, eating healthier food as well as quitting smoking and the intake of alcohol.

Therefore, the hypothesis that health and stress are correlatives actually holds. The relation is that the more you increase stress levels, the more your health deteriorates. Likewise, the less your stress levels, the better your health. This relation is quite interesting because it is inversely proportional.

The major cause of stress in a human body is the incapacity to take care of one’s lifestyle. There are various ways which have been developed to curb stress. Psychologists say that it all begins in the mind. This means that for people to change any aspect of their lives, then, there must be a change of mind. From the workplace to the dining table, from the drinking zone to the bedroom; the change can only begin in the mind. Once the change has been effected, then stress hormones will not be produced and a human body will be at peace. Thus, the person in question will enjoy health to the maximum. To be specific, there are various steps which one must take to live a stress free life. For instance:

Identify what the cause of stress is. It is important for one to monitor the state of mind each day. Should you feel stressed, then you identify why the stress is there then if possible, you write it down. Thereafter, it is important to plan a way of addressing the stress (Choudhury 12). Depending on the cause, you as an individual can judge whether the stress is manageable or it requires help from a psychologist. Usually, a psychologist would guide you through the recovery process.

Learn to develop good sleeping habits. Insufficient rest is a major cause of stress within one’s body. A person who works for over 16 hours in a day with a limited number of hours of sleep or no sleep at all will most likely develop high levels of stress within his body. It is therefore advised that a person should have at least 8 hours of sleep each day. This is important because it allows the mind some space and time to rest. To ensure this is so, as an adult, ensure you develop a good sleeping habit. Remove from the bedroom things that could distract you from sleeping such as TVs, laptops and the computer (“How to Manage Your Stress” 15). Further, ensure you have a specific sleeping time. This way you will be able to maintain good health.

Usually, when someone is a little bit stressed, he or she would run to stimulants such as caffeine to curb this stress. Some people have developed the habit of turning to alcohol and smoking as a means of relieving their stress. In as much as this will work, its effects will be severe. For example, alcohol causes liver cirrhosis and other health complications, smoking may eventually predispose one to lung cancer and caffeine may also lead to addiction. To avoid all this, it is very important to seek alternative and better means of relieving stress. Ideally, if the method one uses does not contribute to better health, then as a person, you must quit that method for the sake of your health.

Create time for fun activities. Stress and fun are two terms which usually never meet. A stressful person is often not free to create time for the fun activities. To avoid stress, psychologists advice that people should be engaging in fun activities. For instance, instead of drinking and smoking, go out to dance. Go for a walk, meet friends, play some games, spend time in nature as you appreciate solitude, work out in a gym to remove any perceived tension, listen to music, watch a comedy... Eventually, by engaging in such activities, your mind will be relieved eventually.

Having identified the causes of stress and how to relieve this stress, the hypothesis is complete. The question of how stress and health are related has well been explained by the thoughts herein. However, the dilemma that still remains is to conduct an experiment that will be used to test the hypothesis and thus prove it beyond any reasonable doubt. This experiment will prove that stress and health are indeed related and that one cannot do away without including the other (Hyland 101).

The Experiment

Take an example of a normal person. Say the person is a father of three children and husband to one wife. From a normal point of view, he will be having an enviable family. On a closer scrutiny however, the guy is struggling to keep his family steady. His wife is probably jobless and would typically not be able to bring in some income at the end of the month. Further, the three children are in expensive private schools and need their upkeep money as well as school fees; which is quite high. Additionally, say they are all girls, meaning, they require special attention. Now, the fancied family is now a hectic one.

The experiment will be on the father’s lifestyle. The assumption is that he has a job that does not pay his bills well. He has to report to work at 8.00am and leave at 5.00pm. He takes an hrs. break before resuming night duty which will see him engaged from 7.00pm to 1.00pm. He would then sleep for 3 hours before getting up to resume his normal day job. This he says is the only way to pay his bills, support his wife as well as paying for his children’s fees. During the sleepless nights, he has developed the habit of taking caffeine as a stimulant; to help him stay awake. As a result, he has been addicted to coffee and cannot do away without it.

Recently however, he has developed breathing complications. He has visited a hospital and been diagnosed with high blood pressure. He does not really understand how he developed this high blood pressure at its mid stages. Lucky for him, the pressure is manageable and he can bring it down. To curb the disease, the doctors have advised him to consider changing his lifestyle. His hectic lifestyle is the main reason as to why he has developed the high blood pressure which he cannot manage anymore.

As a result, he ventures to change some aspects of his life. He stops working at night to make more money. Instead, he makes some changes within his family. He applies for a new job which pays him well and transfers his children to less expensive schools. Further, he begins the journey to quit coffee and changes his diet to incorporate the doctors’ advice on a simple balanced diet that is predominantly greens and water. This he hopes will reduce his stress and improve his health by normalizing the blood pressure.

Conclusion

The results are impeccable. After less than a year, his health is improved. His mind is settled and he no longer has the stressful moments which he used to have. The reason as to why this is so is that he realized the fact that stress and health are closely related. He made changes in life to cut down the stress levels. He changed his diet and quit his night job to allow his body enough sleep. Further, he put a halt on caffeine. Eventually, with reduced stress, his health improved.

Based on the hypothesis and the hypothetical experiment above, psychologists would rightly conclude the fact that stress and health are correlated. If one desires to maintain good health, then stress levels must be kept down at the minimum.

Works Cited

“Aims and Hypotheses | Simply Psychology.” Simply Psychology - Articles for Students, www.simplypsychology.org/aims-hypotheses.html.

Choudhury, Koushiki. “Managing Workplace Stress.” 2013.

“How to Manage Your Stress.” SciVee, 2009.

Hyland, Michael. Stress. 2015.

Mullan, Barbara A. “Sleep, Stress and Health: A Commentary.” Stress and Health, vol. 30, no. 5, 2014, pp. 433-435.