压力与心脏健康

What’s stressful to one person isn’t for another. 喜事(新婚), 升职, 新房)和不愉快的事情(生病), 被过度劳累, 家庭问题)会引起压力.

Everyone feels 和 reacts to stress in different ways. How much stress you experience 和 how you react to it can lead to a wide variety of health problems — 和 that’s why it’s critical to know what you can do about it.

压力、心理健康和你的心脏

Mental health can positively or negatively impact your physical health 和 risk factors for heart disease 和 stroke, 根据"心理健康, 幸福, 以及心灵与身体的联系,” a scientific statement in the 美国心脏协会 journal Circulation.

Stress may contribute to poor health behaviors linked to increased risk for heart disease 和 stroke, 如:

• 吸烟
• 暴饮暴食
• 缺乏体育活动
• 不健康的饮食
• 超重
• 不按规定服药

你的身体对压力的反应可能是:

• 头痛
• 背痛
• 胃痛

压力还可以:

• 激发你的能量
• 破坏你的睡眠
• Make you feel cranky, forgetful or out of control

A stressful situation sets off a chain of events. 你的身体会释放肾上腺素, a hormone that temporarily causes your breathing 和 heart rate to speed up 和 your blood pressure to rise. These reactions prepare you to deal with the situation — the “fight or flight” response.

什么是慢性压力?

长期的压力 is when stress is constant 和 your body is in high gear off 和 on for days or weeks at a time. 长期的压力 may lead to high blood pressure, which can increase risk for heart attack 和 stroke.

Can managing stress reduce or prevent heart disease?

Managing stress is good for your health 和 well-being. Negative psychological health / mental health is associated with an increased risk of heart disease 和 stroke. But positive psychological health is associated with a lower risk of heart disease 和 death.

Negative mental health conditions include:

• 抑郁症
• 长期的压力
• 焦虑
• 愤怒
• 悲观主义
• 对生活的不满

These conditions are associated with potentially harmful responses in our bodies 如:

• 心率和节律不规律
• 消化问题增加
• 血压升高
• 炎症
• 流向心脏的血液减少

Positive mental health characteristics include:

• 幸福
• 乐观
• 感激之情
• 目标感，生活满意度
• 正念

People with positive mental health are also more likely to have health factors linked to a lower risk of developing heart disease:

• 降低血压
• 更好地控制血糖
• 减少炎症
• 降低胆固醇

Further research is needed to determine more about how stress contributes to heart disease 和 stroke.

我该如何应对压力?

Fortunately, you can manage stress in ways 如:

• 定期锻炼. It can relieve stress, tension, anxiety 和 depression. Consider a nature walk, meditation or yoga.
• 为朋友和家人腾出线上电子游戏飞禽走兽. It’s important to maintain social connections 和 talk with people you trust.
• 保证充足的睡眠. Adults should aim for seven to nine hours a night.
• 保持积极的态度.
• 练习放松 听音乐时的技巧.
• 寻找一个令人兴奋的爱好 that can be fun 和 distract you from negative thoughts or worries.

Figuring out how stress pushes your buttons is an important step in dealing with it. Identify sources of stress in your life 和 look for ways to reduce 和 manage them. A health care professional can help you find ways to manage your stress.

Stress management or relaxation classes can also help. 在社区大学寻找他们, 康复治疗方案, in hospitals or by calling a therapist in your community.

Adopting serenity in the face of life’s challenges may help improve your perception of stress 和 result in better quality of life 和 heart health.