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Newsletter Articles
Stress Literally Shrinks Your Brain: Five Strategies for Reversing This Effect
By Dr. Travis Bradberry
We all know that living under stressful conditions has serious emotional, even physical, consequences. So why do we have so much trouble taking action to reduce our stress levels and improve our lives? Researchers at Yale University have the answer. They found that stress actually reduces the volume of grey matter in the areas of the brain associated with self-control.
The Yale research shows that stress actually makes it more challenging to deal with future stress. But don’t be disheartened. It’s not impossible to reduce your stress levels; you just need to make it a higher priority if you want to reverse this effect. The sooner you start managing your stress, the easier it will be to keep unexpected stress from causing damage in the future.
The Yale researchers also found that stress affects physiological functions in the brain, contributing to chronic diseases like hypertension and diabetes. Luckily, the plasticity of the brain allows it to mold and change as you practice new behaviors. So implementing healthy stress-relieving techniques can train your brain to handle stress more effectively and decrease the likelihood of ill effects.
