You're sleeping comfortably, enjoying a very peaceful, relaxing dream when – ONK!, ONK!, ONK! – the jarring tones of your alarm clock send your cortisol surging through the roof. It's a great way to start the day – stressed out right from the start.

We know restorative sleep is extremely important to maintaining a properly functioning stress response system. However, waking abruptly does not contribute to restorative sleep, and in fact, does contribute to greater stress.

We have covered this here before but a recent study shines a brighter light on the topic of weight-loss, stress and sleep. In a large, two-phase weight-loss study, participants in Phase I of the LIFE study were enrolled to lose weight with intense counseling, daily 500 calorie reduction (from previous food intake) using the DASH diet approach and exercise recommendations (180 minutes per week).

This from A4M’s Website- Posted October 1^st:

Scientists have suspected for some time that chronic stress promotes cancer growth in humans. New research suggests this may well be true. Erica Sloan, a researcher at UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, and colleagues studied the effect of stress on a mouse model of breast cancer. One group was confined in a small area for a short period of time every day for two weeks, while the other group was not. Results showed that primary tumors grew similarly in both groups of mice, suggesting that their growth did not seem to be affected by stress. However, the stressed mice developed 30 times more secondary tumors (metastases) than the control mice, thus showing that cancer growth was significantly more aggressive in the stressed mice. Further investigations revealed that stress appears to turn on a “metastatic switch” that biologically reprograms macrophages, the immune cells that are trying to eliminate the disease, transforming them to conspire against the host and aid the spread of the cancer. On a more promising note, the researchers were actually able to prevent the acceleration of cancer growth by treating stressed animals with beta blockers, which block the reprogramming of the immune cells. Full article from Cancer Research

This past August the Hormone Foundation and Endocrine Society published and distributed their “Adrenal Fatigue Myth vs. Fact” sheet where they claim:

“Adrenal fatigue” is not a real medical condition. There are no scientific facts to support the theory that long-term mental, emotional or physical stress drains the adrenal glands and causes many common symptoms. There is no test that can detect adrenal fatigue. Supplements and vitamins made to “treat” adrenal fatigue may not be safe. Taking these supplements when you don’t need them can cause your adrenal glands to stop working and may put your life in danger.”

That the birds of worry and care fly above your head, this you cannot change. But that they build nests in your hair, this you can prevent.  Chinese Proverb

 

Hair status has always been considered a sign of chronic stress. We have all seen the pictures of U.S. presidents before and after their terms. Four years seems to add 10 to their lives and certainly to their hair. Whether it is the loss of or thinning out of the once lush head of hair or the amount of grey we have, our hair is often considered a generic indicator of accumulated stress. But is this really true?

Sometimes when we endeavor to understand complicated medical topics, we attempt to find a simple explanation to cut through the complexity. Oftentimes these explanations can help bridge the gap for awhile, but then, the more we learn about the subject, the explanations lose some of their original usefulness. We are all familiar with the good/bad cholesterol (over)simplification of atherosclerosis and heart disease. Most of us have long since abandoned this simplistic view of risk assessment in cardiovascular disease, but it is still the leading paradigm for most patients, as well as in guideline recommendations and in pharmaceutical advertisements.

Travel has its rewards and punishments. Jet lag, of course, is one of the latter. As an amateur ARKeologist, I just returned from viewing the antiquities while touring Syria and Lebanon. Upon my return – and aside from the nasty little bug I picked up along the way (you don’t want the details) – I was supposed to be alive and ready for three days of meetings just 10 hours after arriving back in the States.

We all have experienced the need to find a restroom before a particularly stressful event, like public speaking or a job interview. Conversely, one of the classic signs of chronic stress is gastric ulcers. The relationship between HPA axis stress and the GI is ages old, but only recently has it become well understood to scientists.