The immune system is responsible for protecting your body from things that could do it harm. It is composed of both external features, such as skin, and internal features, such as the inflammatory response to bacteria, viruses and chemicals as well as cancers. It's important that we keep our immune systems in top shape.
Stress depresses the immune system. Stress can take the form of depression, anxiety or panic. It also may be in the form of fatigue due to lack of sleep and prolonged physical exertion. When you are chronically stressed, your brain signals the body to produce stress hormones. These hormones soak the immune system, which impairs its ability to fight foreign substances that can be harmful to the body. People whose immune systems are consistently under stress are unable to respond to illness quickly and are more susceptible to contracting viral and bacterial infections.
A functioning immune system results in symptoms such as fever, weight loss, bodily pain and fatigue. For example, those that are infected by the flu virus often experience symptoms such as fever, chills, aches and pains. This is evidence of the body's immune system fighting the infection.
It is possible for the body to produce too few stress hormones, which inhibits the body's immune system from turning off when it is not needed. Essentially, this malfunction of the brain tells the immune system to keep on fighting when there is nothing to fight, other than the body itself. This can result in disorders of the immune system, such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
Studies by the University of Wisconsin-Madison have revealed that very young children who are exposed to stress may have immune system impairment for the rest of their lives. These children typically experience physical abuse or periods of isolation from other people, such as in orphanages. Scientists believe that despite a change in their environment, these children's bodies continue to respond to stress for physiological reasons. This is due to the fact that the immune system is not preset at birth, rather it continues to develop in the early years of a person's life.
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