7 Symptoms That Can Be Caused by Stress

Stress is a part of life, but when it becomes chronic, it can take a serious toll on both mental and physical health. Many people don’t realize that stress can manifest in the body, causing symptoms that may seem unrelated. If you’ve been feeling off lately, stress could be the reason.

Let’s dive into seven common symptoms of stress and how they impact your health.

1. Tense Muscles: Carrying Stress in Your Body

Do you feel constant tightness in your neck, shoulders, or back? Stress causes muscle tension, leading to aches, stiffness, and even jaw clenching. Over time, this can result in chronic pain or tension headaches.

What helps?

  • Stretching, yoga, and massage
  • Deep breathing exercises
  • Heat therapy (warm showers or heating pads)

2. Headaches: The Pressure in Your Head

Stress is a major trigger for tension headaches, which feel like a tight band around your head. It can also worsen migraines.

How to prevent it?

  • Stay hydrated and avoid caffeine overload
  • Take breaks during work and relax your muscles
  • Practice meditation or mindfulness

Video : This is why anxiety gives you SO many strange symptoms

3. Digestive Issues: When Stress Hits Your Gut

Stress affects digestion, leading to bloating, diarrhea, constipation, acid reflux, and even irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

How to manage it?

  • Eat fiber-rich foods and stay hydrated
  • Limit caffeine, alcohol, and processed foods
  • Practice relaxation techniques

4. Heart Palpitations: When Stress Affects Your Heartbeat

Ever feel your heart racing for no reason? Stress triggers heart palpitations, making it feel like your heart is skipping beats. While usually harmless, chronic stress can contribute to high blood pressure and heart disease.

How to calm it?

  • Reduce caffeine and alcohol intake
  • Practice deep breathing or meditation
  • Engage in regular physical activity

5. Irregular or Missed Periods: Stress and Hormonal Imbalance

High stress levels can disrupt hormone production, leading to irregular or missed periods, worsening PMS, and even fertility issues.

How to regulate your cycle?

  • Maintain a balanced diet and exercise regularly
  • Avoid excessive workouts or extreme dieting
  • Reduce stress through mindfulness or hobbies

6. Sleep Problems: Stress and Insomnia

If you struggle to fall asleep or wake up frequently, stress might be to blame. It keeps your mind racing and increases cortisol levels, making relaxation difficult.

How to sleep better?

  • Create a bedtime routine and avoid screens before sleep
  • Try relaxation techniques like deep breathing or journaling
  • Limit caffeine in the afternoon

Video : 7 Signs of A Mental Breakdown

7. Weight Gain: Stress and Emotional Eating

Stress increases cravings for unhealthy foods and triggers the release of cortisol, which promotes fat storage, especially around the belly. Lack of sleep and low energy further reduce motivation to exercise.

How to prevent stress-related weight gain?

  • Choose healthier snacks and eat mindfully
  • Stay active with enjoyable workouts
  • Find stress relief in non-food activities like reading or meditation

Final Thoughts: Take Control of Your Stress

Stress affects the body in many ways, but you can take steps to manage it. By practicing relaxation techniques, eating well, staying active, and getting enough sleep, you can reduce its impact and improve your overall health.

If you’re experiencing persistent stress-related symptoms, listen to your body and take action before they worsen.

Science Shows That Women Sleep Better Next To Dogs Than Men

It’s a no-brainer that sleep is vital for one’s health. That is why so many researchers study the best way to get good quality shut-eye. However, forget chamomile tea and meditating before bed. According to new research, women sleep better next to dogs. That’s right; Canisius College in New York State conducted a study that found that canines make better-sleeping partners than humans or cats.

“We found that women commonly rate dogs as better bed partners than cats and human partners and report that their dogs enhance their sleep quality,” Christy Hoffman, Ph.D., animal behaviorist and lead researcher of the study.

Research Finds that Women Sleep Better Next to Dogs 

Hoffman surveyed almost one thousand women living in the United States to come to these findings. The results showed that 55% of the participants shared their bed with at least one dog and 31% with at least one cat. Also, 57% of these women shared a bed with a human partner, while the rest did not. [1]

Hoffman also discovered why dogs seemed to make the best bed companions.  The first reason is that dogs’ sleeping patterns, as opposed to cats, more closely resemble those of humans.

“The difference between dogs and cats is not surprising because dogs’ major sleep periods tend to coincide more closely with humans’ than do cats,’” said Hoffman.

However, while there may be benefits of these similar sleeping patterns, more research is needed to know for certain. But Hoffman has some ideas of how this could work.

In comparison to human bed partners, dogs may be better at accommodating their human’s sleep schedule,” she said. “It’s not uncommon for human bed partners to go to bed at very different times and wake up at very different times. Such differences in partners’ schedules can certainly disrupt sleep. It may be that dog bed partners adapt more readily to their owner’s schedule than do human bed partners.

Moreover, dogs require certain schedules and responsibilities, such as a morning walk. This kind of regime helps their owners maintain a routine, improving sleep quality as a result.

Stillness and Security

Additionally, dogs tend to stay stiff as they sleep. Anyone who’s slept with a fidgety partner knows how disruptive they could be. However, women in the study reported that their dogs stayed on the bed most of the night instead of felines, who tended to come and go.

This suggests that cats may be more likely than dogs to create disruptions by moving on and off the bed during the night. In addition, we found that dog owners kept to more consistent bedtime and wake time schedules than cat owners and also tended to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier than cat owners,” Hoffman said.

Here’s the third and most important reason: Canines provide a sense of security to their owners. More so than with cats or even human partners.

Some dog owners may take comfort in the thought that their dog will alert them in the case of an intruder or other type of emergency; furthermore, a dog’s bark may deter a potential intruder. A cat is less likely to take on this role, and so, may not provide psychological comfort in the same way a dog might,” said Hoffman.

The Best Partner for Quality Sleep

However, while the study suggests that dogs are the perfect slumber buddies, their benefits are subjective to each case. For example, a dog could snore or make the bed too hot. Additionally, there are many owners who find that their cats help them sleep.

Keep in mind that the research was based on how the volunteers perceive their pets’ effects on their sleeping quality and duration. As a result, more objective research is needed to definitively consider dogs the superior sleeping partners. However, Hoffman believes that these studies could be beneficial as many American households have pets.

It will be valuable to continue this line of research so we can develop a clearer picture of the contexts under which pets and their presence in their owner’s bed may positively impact sleep quality, and the contexts under which co-sleeping with a pet may be detrimental to one’s sleep quality,” she said.

For instance, research has also shown that women sleep better while alone than with a human, but many believe in the opposite. Future research could use Fitbit-like devices to objectively track the sleep quality of people in different sleeping conditions.

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