Your blood pressure rises, your muscles tense, your heart beats faster, your breathing quickens. Sound familiar? Adrenaline flowing through your body due to stress triggers these physical reactions. Feelings of stress can arise from all sorts of different factors; for example, you might have overslept, forgotten something important, have increased workloads in the coming period, lost a loved one, a busy family life, and so on.

During this period, your body produces the hormone cortisol. This can cause your blood sugar levels to rise, your metabolism to speed up, and you to have more energy to cope with stress. This requires a lot of extra work from your body. Does your stress decrease? In the desired situation, your body recovers and calms down. If the body doesn't get enough space and time to recover, this can take its toll, and you may experience health problems.

1. Suffering from insomnia

Relaxing is essential for falling asleep. Stress hormones hinder this rest; worrying and an elevated heart rate keep you awake. If you sleep poorly, you'll start your day much less pleasantly. These sleep problems can cause fatigue, irritability, or listlessness.

2. Head, neck and back pain

Perhaps the most common complaint experienced during stress: (tension) headaches. You feel like your head is about to explode. This pressure is created by the constant tension in the muscles around your neck, shoulders, back, and forehead. The tension often causes you to tense these muscles without even realizing it, causing your muscles to become acidic. Long-term stress can also cause neck and back pain over time.

3. Taxation of the heart

Stress causes your heart to beat faster to quickly supply your muscles with oxygen-rich blood. In the long term, this can even lead to high blood pressure or palpitations. These palpitations are sometimes confused with a heart attack, which can trigger panic or anxiety attacks and lead to sweating. Long-term high blood pressure increases your risk of cardiovascular disease, such as a stroke or heart attack.

4. Damage to organs

Because your body is working hard to pump oxygen-rich blood to your heart, there isn't enough energy left to keep your other organs functioning at full capacity. As a result, you may experience intestinal and stomach discomfort. You might feel pressure in your abdomen, have a decreased desire to eat, or feel nauseous. If the stress persists, this discomfort can also lead to weight loss. Or vice versa; fluctuating blood sugar levels can lead to cravings for sweets and overeating more easily. Our tip: try to eat healthily and regularly during stressful periods.

5. Impure skin

Do you notice more pimples spontaneously appearing during stressful periods? It's a proven fact that stress can cause blemishes on the skin. Your body produces more testosterone than normal during periods of stress. As a result, the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase is released. This causes an excess of testosterone, which can lead to increased sebum production. This, in turn, clogs the sebaceous glands more quickly and increases the risk of inflammation, also known as acne. Cortisol, the hormone mentioned earlier, also weakens the immune system, a factor that is crucial in resolving and inhibiting inflammation. Consequently, the risk of blemishes increases.

Does this sound familiar? Then it could mean the stress is becoming too much or lasting too long. It's important to listen to your body and take care of yourself, because the symptoms can also get worse. Take a step back and try to relax. Take a walk, schedule a power nap, listen to a good podcast, do your skincare, or make a delicious meal. Whatever works best for you!