Modern life can be quite hectic, and very few of us are able to make it through even a single day without experiencing some type and level of stress.
Whether it’s dealing with your job (or joblessness), raising children, struggling with regularly performing your fitness routine, compromising with a spouse, or simply troubleshooting a new electronic gadget, stressors are literally everywhere.
For many, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that one of the keys to life isn’t avoiding stress (which, after all, is going to be unavoidable to a certain degree), but rather dealing with stress. Unfortunately, a new study is indicating that those who fail to deal with stress appropriately actually experience physical symptoms related to brain shrinkage causes.
Study Evaluates Relationship Between Stress and Brain Shrinkage
The brain shrinkage causes study was conducted by neurobiologist Rajita Sinha and a team of researchers at Yale University. It involved 103 healthy participants, ranging in age from 18 to 48. The study subjects were interviewed with regards to their stress levels, whether they experienced chronic stress, and how stressful their lives had been overall. Next, the researchers used MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans to record images of the participants’ brains.
The researchers discovered that subjects with a combination of historically stressful lives and current, ongoing stress also experienced brain shrinkage. Meanwhile, those who reported stressed-out feelings at the time of the interview, but hadn’t necessarily dealt with a long history of stressful events, did not experience brain shrinkage.
As such, the Yale researchers concluded that brain shrinkage could occur as a result of major stressors, such as the death of a friend or family member, the loss of a job or the end of a serious romantic relationship. In comparison, relatively minor stressors, such as an argument with a coworker or an upcoming college exam, were not found to be related to brain shrinkage.
Ultimately, however, the researchers noted that the difference is really about how we deal with stress. Unchecked stress contributes to a life with more ongoing stress overall, the true culprit behind brain shrinkage.
The Effects of Stress-Related Brain Shrinkage
Stress-related brain shrinkage takes the form of a reduction in gray matter mass, particularly in the prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for regulating a number of mental and physical bodily functions, ranging from blood sugar and blood pressure to self-control and general emotions.
According to Sinha, the findings may explain why high levels of stress are linked with a greater likelihood of chronic illnesses and conditions, including obesity, high blood pressure and various psychiatric disorders. When the prefrontal cortex shrinks, it’s less able to effectively regulate things like self-control, for example. It stands to reason that this reduction in will power could lead directly to giving into cravings and eating excessively, subsequently leading to obesity.
The Yale study adds to a growing body of scientific research regarding the link between stress and the structure of the brain. However, most existing research focuses on how individuals with certain psychiatric disorders, including chronic anxiety and addiction, tend to have shrinking frontal lobes.
Psychiatric disorders such as these are considered to have a direct correlation with overall stress levels. The Yale study is unique in that it looks at the connection between stress and brain shrinkage in otherwise healthy individuals, rather than those with diagnosed psychiatric disorders.
Brain Shrinkage Causes: The Bottom Line
A recent Yale University study indicates that ongoing stress combined with a life of highly stressful events can cause shrinkage in the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for self-control, emotion and the regulation of bodily functions such as blood pressure. This shrinkage weakens the effectiveness of the brain.
In order to avoid this type of shrinkage, we must deal with stress appropriately and in a timely fashion. This could mean anything from reading a book to taking a walk to talking to a friend, or seeking professional counseling in more extreme scenarios. The more you allow unchecked stress to build up, the greater your chances of experiencing brain shrinkage.
The full text of the study can be found in January 5th edition of the medical journal Biological Psychiatry.
