7 Ways Your Body Indicates You’re More Stressed Than You Think

From workload to family issues to a tragic event; both minor and major circumstances can trigger stress. As simple and harmless as it may sound, stress can take a serious toll on a person’s mental and physical health. We often fail to address it and that’s when our body starts giving us warning signs in the form of various health issues. Read on to find out how your body tells you you’re under extreme stress!

1. Poor Sleep And Weird Dreams

When you’re under extreme stress, the first thing to be compromised is a good night’s sleep. Stress messes up your sleep schedule and, as a result, you either start sleeping too much or not at all. Even when you do manage to get some sleep, you may experience weird dreams that eventually wake you up. Instead of freaking out over these weird dreams, make sure you manage your stress to get a peaceful night’s sleep.

2. Change In Menstrual Cycle

It’s no secret that stress has a huge impact on your menstrual cycle. While a lot factors can contribute to irregular periods, being under too much stress can cause a sudden change in your cycle – your periods could be super late or very early. Sometimes stress can also lead to Dysmenorrhea – painful periods.

3. Issues With Digestive System

Unhealthy eating isn’t the only reason behind a disturbed digestive system. You may not realise it but your stress levels and digestive health are closely linked.  Your brain has a direct effect on your stomach and intestines. That’s why excessive worrying can put the digestive system into overdrive, resulting in symptoms such as bloating, diarrhoea, frequent urination and abdominal pain.

4. Excessive Sweating

It’s normal to sweat a little when you panic, but stress sweat is a whole different ball game. When you’re under stress, your body experiences a rush of adrenaline, cortisol and other stress-related hormones. This over-activates your sweat glands. The instantaneous nature and strong odour of sweat stress differentiates it from the sweat produced from heat or any physical activity. So next time you’re sweating profusely, know that it could be the stress!

5. Hair Loss

A large number of women today suffer from hair loss. And while there are various factors contributing to it, stress is a big one. Three types of hair loss are linked with stress:

1. Telogen effluvium — when the hair follicle is pushed out prematurely before completing its growth cycle, leading to excess shedding
2. Alopecia areata — which is a result of your hair follicles being attacked by the immune system
3. Trichotillomania — which usually occurs in cases of extreme anxiety where one pulls their own hair.

For all three cases, stress management is key but if that isn’t helping, seek advice from a medical professional.

6. Sore Muscles

Unfortunately, even your muscles aren’t spared from the wrath of stress! Severe stress tends to tense up your muscles, which results in intense body pain. And if you’re constantly in stress, the soreness won’t decrease, as your muscles don’t have the chance to relax. Tight muscles can cause unbearable headaches, back, neck and shoulder pains – all because of stress!

7. Regular Headaches

Since we’re always looking at a screen these days (such as you, right now), everyone gets a headache once in a while. But if your headaches are more frequent than normal, it could be a message from your body that you’re super stressed. Stress headaches are comparatively mild and can be identified by a slight pain or pressure at the back of your head or around your forehead. But they can last anywhere from an hour to a few days, so make sure you’re managing your stress properly!