Medical brain notes 7

  What is stress? Stress is the strain on any system of the body and its consequences. The reaction of our mind and body towards environmental and social challenges in our life is called stress. Stress is pot always negative or harmful; at times it can have positive effects too. Stress increases the capacity to deal with unexpected situations. In challenging situations like competitions or exams, stress makes a person alert and strengthens the performance.   What is the reaction “to fight or run away”? In stressful situations, our body undergoes various bio chemical changes, which produce two kinds of reactions - to fight or to run away. Let’s see what exactly happens in the body during this phase. During stress, our sympathetic nervous system gets excited, resulting in the secretion of adrenaline and nor-adrenaline from the adrenal gland causing specific reactions in the body.   The immediate effects of stress on our brain and body :   1.     ...

  The immediate effects of stress on our brain and body :   1.          The respiration becomes rapid and shallow.   2.          The heart beats and the blood pressure increases.   3.          The blood supply to the limbs decreases, whereas the circulation of blood in the muscles increases.   4.          The muscles contract, hands and feet become cold, perspiration takes place, hair stands on ends and sometimes shivering may occur.   5.          The process of blood clotting becomes faster   6.          The pupils of the eyes widen.   7.          Our senses become alert and thus the sense of hearing, seeing and smelling* becomes sharper.   8.    ...