The dreaded S-Word. There is so much to unpack here. Stress has been a part of our human existence since, well, since we’ve been human. For millennia, it was mostly acute stress. A dramatic physiological and psychological reaction to a specific event. An example of a stressful event for early humans might be our bodies response to an injury or needing to escape a predator. Stress can have a significant impact on blood glucose levels, primarily due to the body’s “fight or flight” response, also known as the stress response. “Fight or flight” – our brain’s response to the stressful situation and determining if we are likely to survive by getting aggressive (fight) or fleeing (flight). Either way when you’re under stress, whether it’s from emotional, physical, or psychological factors, your body releases hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. These hormones trigger a series of physiological changes aimed at preparing your body to respond to the perceived threat or challenge. One of the effects of these hormonal changes is an increase in blood glucose levels.

In today’s world, we may not be running from the occasional predator like a tiger or bear,  but we’re still faced with all the modern day stressors. (work, money, social situations, relationship issues, etc.). Physically, our bodies haven’t changed much from our early ancestors. That means that every time we’re exposed to a ‘stressful event’, our bodies go into fight or flight mode. When our bodies get stuck in fight or flight mode, this is known as chronic stress. And it’s chronic stress that leads to chronically elevated glucose levels. To continue connecting the dots, chronically elevated levels of blood glucose can lead to chronically high levels of insulin. Chronically high levels of insulin can lead to, you guessed it, insulin resistance. 

So what do we do about it? Stress is a part of life. We all overcome challenges in life that are stressful and it is through overcoming them that we grow stronger, more resilient and quite frankly smarter. It is true that some stress is good for us. One example of this is exercise. The right “dose” of exercise creates a hormetic stress that allows the body to grow back stronger. However, like with any stress, too much of a good thing can become a bad thing if we don’t give our bodies enough time to recover. The goal is to balance it by letting our parasympathetic nervous system take over. The parasympathetic nervous system is the other side of the coin. It restores calm and recovery to the body. The parasympathetic nervous system is what allows us to grow stronger and more resilient. Some things we can do to reduce stress and evoke the parasympathetic nervous system are: 

• Take a stress audit: make a list of all the things that cause feelings of stress. Then organize that list into categories. Remove, Reduce, Reframe. What things can just be removed entirely. It might not be easy, but it’s possible to just say no and remove them. What things can’t be removed but can be reduced through limiting exposure, being better prepared or finding support. What things can’t be removed and can’t be reduced and need to be “reframed” to allow your body to respond better if we can tap your parasympathetic nervous system through one of the strategies to follow. 
• Spend more time in nature
• Spend more time around people you love who give you comfort. 
• Adopt a mindfulness practice. 
• Start a meditation practice
• Start journaling/Gratitude practice
• Breathwork, deep abdominal breathing strategies
• Find the right dose of exercise
• Try yoga, tai-chi
• Eat foods that nourish and avoid ultra processed foods
• Find time to do something you really enjoy every week. 

This entire topic is perfect for your coaching sessions if you are working with Simplex and have a health coach. Your health coach is well equipped to help you understand all of these strategies and others and help you find the ones that might work the best for you.