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Discuss Some Of The Physiological Effects Stress Has On The Nervous System And Body

Discuss some of the physiological effects stress has on the nervous system and body

This essay is going to discuss some of the physiological effects that stress has on the nervous system and the body. Before going into the physiological effects, it is useful to revisit the common definitions of stress and describe briefly the function of the nervous system. The essay will then explore some of the causes of stress in individuals, the reactions of the body to stress and the consequential short term and long term effects of stress on the nervous system and body. The variety of individual’s responses to stress will be discussed followed by a consideration of a view of the positive forms of stress.

Hans Selye, one of the first pioneers in stress research, described stress as the non-specific response of the body to any demand on it (Selye 1978). The American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary describes stress as “a physical or psychological stimulus that can produce mental or physiological reactions that may lead to illness”. The popular perception of stress has negative connotations and is often used to describe negative outcomes of stress such as a stressful job or “to be stressed out”.   Pollock (1988) carried out a study and interviewed 114 people in the UK about their beliefs of stress. The outcome of the study was that stress is strongly associated with conditions such as heart attacks and nervous breakdowns.

When trying to understand stress, one should understand the nervous system, which plays a role in how the body reacts to stress. The nervous system regulates the body's responses to internal and external stimuli and communicates via hormones and electrical impulses. The nervous system consists of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and the peripheral nervous system. The peripheral nervous system is further divided into the autonomic nervous system which is divided into the parasympathetic nervous system and the sympathetic nervous...