including chronic fatigue, metabolic disorders (e.g., diabetes, obesity), depression, and immune disorders.
Gastrointestinal system –
Stress has many effects on the stomach and intestine. In the flight or fight scenario, the blood is shunted away from these organs to supply the muscles. This shunting causes the stomach and intestine to slow down, which is fine for a short burst. But, if this motion, or peristalsis as it is termed, stays slow for too long, then some real problems can occur. Bloating, cramps, poor digestion, spasms, pain, constipation or diarrhea, nausea, or indigestion are examples of some of these problems. The intestinal flora can even be affected, which can also contribute to many of these problems.
Nervous system -
Chronic stress can result in a long-term drain on the body. As the Autonomic Nervous System continues to trigger physical reactions, it causes the body to become fatigued. This fatigue causes a cascade of other problems in the various body systems that are listed in this article. The Autonomic Nervous System is designed to be like a teeter-totter with each part balancing the other and sharing in the dominance. When too much time is spent under the Sympathetic control, then the whole system becomes unbalanced.
Reproductive system –
Both male and female systems are impacted by prolonged stress. In males, there can be a decrease in libido from the extra cortisol levels as well as erectile dysfunction and possibly even infertility. With females under prolonged stress, there can be irregular menstruation, painful cramps, and even prolonged menstruation. There can also be an impact on libido and even fertility.
In considering these adverse effects on our health and wellbeing produced from prolonged stress, we should want to eliminate as many of the sources as possible. While it may not be possible to control all the adverse conditions of our daily lives, we may be able to at least control our time away from the stress. We can do this by assisting our parasympathetic function in taking control. We can help bring our heart rate down and assist our muscles in relaxing better, facilitating that teeter-totter into swinging back toward the parasympathetic to regain the balance in our lives.
When we want to relax or get some meaningful sleep, we want the parasympathetic to gain the upper hand of control over our body functions. We want to get the stress levels to diminish and let our excited state slow down and rest.
The problem frequently becomes, getting from the Sympathetic dominance over to the Parasympathetic dominance. If we have had a bad day at the office, and our heart rate and breathing are elevated, and epinephrine and cortisol are circulating throughout our body, how do we calm ourselves and allow ourselves to relax and get some rest?
A study titled, "Effects of Different ‘Relaxing’ Music Styles on the Autonomic Nervous System" by Perez-Lloret S, Diez J, Domé MN, Delvenne AA, Braidot N, Cardinali DP, Vigo DE – found that "new age" music induced a shift in HRV from higher to lower frequencies….. The objective of this study was to assess the effects on heart rate variability (HRV) with exposure to different styles of "relaxing" music. Autonomic responses to musical stimuli were correlated with subjective preferences regarding the relaxing properties of each music style. The "new age" music was characterized by a slow rhythm and soft harmonic tones. I believe that the calming harp music that I produce would qualify for this category.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25209037