Can scientists ‘solve’ stress? They’re trying.
From cardiovascular disease and obesity to a weakened immune system, the side effects of stress can be life-altering. But there may be a way to prevent those outcomes.
Raising triplets Hays, Presley, and Millie is challenging for Caitlin and Chris Nichols of Lawrenceville, Georgia. Born prematurely, the children have long-term health problems. Caregivers of chronically ill children face health difficulties themselves: Telomeres—protective caps at the ends of chromosomes—are sh…Read More
As modern-day stress ratchets up to what feels like unbearable levels, researchers are striving to learn more about the precise mechanisms through which it affects our body and mind. The hope is that by unlocking more about how stress works physiologically, we can find ways to prevent it from permanently harming people.
Over the last five decades, scientists have established beyond doubt that persistent stress really can poison our overall health. In addition to increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, stress plays a role in obesity and diabetes and can weaken the immune system, leaving us more vulnerable to infectious diseases. You can recover swiftly from an episode of acute stress—for example, the alarm one might feel when caught unprepared for a presentation. Chronic stress, on the other hand, is more toxic as it is an unrelenting circumstance that offers little chance for a return to normalcy. Financial strain, having a bully for a boss, and social isolation are all examples.
Today chronic stress seems to be increasing worldwide, as people grapple with rapid socioeconomic and environmental change. A 2023 national survey by the American Psychological Association found that stress has taken a serious toll since the start of the pandemic, with the incidence of chronic illnesses and mental health problems going up significantly, especially among those ages 35 to 44.(Do you have chronic stress? Look for these signs.)
So far, one of the major realizations among scientists is that stress harms all of us in different and powerful ways. But is there any way to avoid it—or at least recover more quickly? Some promising avenues of research offer hope for the future.
High school junior Zainab Khorakiwala undergoes a functional MRI as part of a study by Harvard’s Stress and Development Lab examining how everyday stress affects teens’ brain development.
Preventing chronic stress from harming you in the first placeGroundbreaking studies in orphans showed how stress in early life
