How stress affects your body and mind

I recently wore a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) for 14 days as part of another project I’m involved in. This was during a particularly stressful period in my life, and I was shocked to see my glucose levels.

As someone who’s always been active and healthy, blood sugar issues never crossed my mind. 

So when I saw high levels, naturally, I stressed out for a moment…

I started asking ChatGPT for all the reasons why my blood suger might be so high.

And, I then realized that stress can actually raise our resting blood suger. Amongst many others, I found this interesting study. 

That realization led me down a rabbit hole of how stress affects our body, mind, and performance. 

Today’s insights is drawn from the scientific article: 

“Brain-body responses to chronic stress: a brief review”

Today's newsletter

• Takeaways:

• The study in a nutshell:

• Stress and the Hypothalamic-Pituritay-Adrenal (HP …

• Chronic Stress and the Brain:

• Chronic Stress and Metabolism:

• Chronic Stress and Inflammation:

• The COVID-19 Pandemic as a Chronic Stressor:

• What can we learn from this study?

• Quick Answers to Your Top of Mind Questions

Takeaways:

🧠 Chronic stress silently rewires your brain and body

By weakening the communication in the brain, chronic stress negatively effects focus, decision-making, and emotional control while increasing anxiety and burnout risk.

🍕 Chronic stress alters your metabolism

Too much stress disrupts metabolism, raising the risk of obesity and chronic disease.

⚖️ Balance is key

A little stress is good. Too much is bad. Balance is the key.

The study in a nutshell:

I this review the authors nicely summarizes recent research on how chronic stress disrupts key neural circuits, alters metabolic function, and weakens the immune system.

The authors highlights the role of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, which is a system that regulates cortisol release through interactions between the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands, in regulating stress responses.

It’s explained how prolonged exposure to stress hormones can lead to anxiety, cognitive decline, metabolic disorders, and inflammation.

The authors also discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a large-scale chronic stressor, letting us investigate the impact of chronic stress on a large scale.

Understanding these mechanisms is critical for developing strategies to mitigate the harmful effects of chronic stress and improve overall performance and well-being.

Stress and the Hypothalamic-Pituritay-Adrenal (HPA) Axis

The HPA axis is the body’s command center for handling stress.

When faced with a challenge—whether psychological (e.g., work pressure) or physiological (e.g., illness)—the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) in the hypothalamus signals the release of stress hormones, including cortisol.

In acute situations, this response is beneficial, helping the body adapt and respond efficiently.

However, when stress becomes chronic, the HPA axis becomes dysregulated. This results in prolonged exposure to cortisol, leading to “allostatic overload”—a state where the body’s adaptive mechanisms break down, causing damage rather than protection.

Over time, this disrupts brain function, weakens immune responses, and contributes to metabolic imbalances, making individuals more susceptible to anxiety, depression, and chronic disease.

Chronic Stress and the Brain:

Chronic stress reshapes the brain, particularly in regions responsible for memory, decision-making, and emotional regulation. Prolonged exposure to stress hormones leads to structural and functional changes in key brain areas:

• Hippocampus (HIPP): This brain region is essential for learning and memory. Chronic stress weakens connections over neuron-synapses in the brain. This makes it harder for neurons to communicate, process new information and adapt to change.

• Amygdala (AMG): The amygdala, which regulates fear and emotions, becomes overactive, increasing feelings of anxiety and stress sensitivity.

• Prefrontal Cortex (PFC): This area helps with self-control, focus, and decision-making. Under chronic stress, it becomes less effective, making it harder to manage emotions and resist impulsive reactions.

At the chemical level, stress disrupts the brain’s balance of glutamate (which excites brain activity) and GABA (which calms it down). This imbalance can make emotions feel overwhelming and contribute to anxiety and depression.

Chronic Stress and Metabolism:

Stress and metabolism are deeply connected. In response to stress, the body releases cortisol, with the goal of making us more responsive to the challenges we face. Amongst else, this means increasing blood sugar levels to provide energy for immediate use. While this is useful in short situations of actual stress, long-term stress leads to long-term increase in cortisol and thereby blood sugar, which disrupts metabolic regulation, leading to:

• Insulin resistance, where cells become less responsive to insulin, increasing the risk of diabetes.

• Unhealthy changes in appetite, often triggering cravings for high-calorie, sugary foods.

• Altered gut microbiota, the community of bacteria in the intestines that influence digestion, mood, and immunity. Chronic stress can disrupt this balance, making the body more vulnerable to inflammation and disease.

These metabolic changes contribute to long-term health issues, including obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

Chronic Stress and Inflammation:

Stress impacts the immune system. Short-term stress can boost immunity, making the body able to quickly respond to threats. However, chronic stress has the opposite effect, keeping the immune system in a constant state of overactivity, which can be harmful.

• Increased inflammation: Chronic stress triggers excessive immune responses, resembling autoimmune diseases, where the body mistakenly attacks itself.

• Weakened immune defenses: Over time, the immune system becomes less effective, making it harder to fight infections.

• Blood–brain barrier disruption: Stress increases the permeability of this protective shield, allowing harmful immune cells to enter the brain, potentially contributing to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Chronic stress-induced inflammation is linked to conditions such as cardiovascular disease, depression, and even cancer progression. This highlights the critical role of stress management in maintaining both mental and physical health.

The COVID-19 Pandemic as a Chronic Stressor:

The COVID-19 pandemic created a global chronic stress event, disrupting daily life and amplifying psychological and physical stressors.

Key findings include:

• Increased obesity and anxiety: Lockdowns led to reduced physical activity, disrupted sleep, and unhealthy eating habits, raising obesity and anxiety levels.

• Burnout in healthcare workers: Prolonged stress from overwhelming workloads has contributed to mental exhaustion, anxiety, and depression.

Long-term studies are needed to fully understand the lasting effects of pandemic-induced chronic stress on both mental and physical health.

What can we learn from this study?

This study highlights the far-reaching impact of chronic stress on the brain, metabolism, and immune system. While short-term stress can be beneficial, prolonged stress affects the brains wiring, disrupts metabolism, and weakens immune defenses.

In order for you to perform optimally, its clear that pushing through chronic stress is not a viable solution.

That being said, everyone has a different capacity to stress, and I think the core message is; more input (more work) doesn’t lead to more output (positive results on work or in business) if more work means you have to be under chronic stress.

Quick Answers to Your Top of Mind Questions

🙋‍♀️ How does chronic stress affect my brain and performance?

It weakens focus, decision-making, and emotional control while increasing the risk of anxiety and burnout.

🙋‍♂️ Can stress make me physically sick?

Yes. Chronic stress disrupts metabolism, weakens immunity, and increases the risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

_{Disclaimer: The above is based on the article “Brain-body responses to chronic stress: a brief review” by Brandon L. Roberts & Ilia N. Karatsoreos and aims to provide key takeaways and a condensed overview of its content. While the essence is drawn from the original article, some parts have been simplified or rephrased to enhance understanding. Please note that we at, OptiMindInsights or any other potential writers or contributors to our summaries, do not accept responsibility for any consequences arising from the use of this summary. The information provided should not be considered a substitute for personal research or professional advice. Readers are encouraged to consult the original article for detailed insights and references. The summary does not include references, but they can typically be found within the original publication. Always exercise due diligence and consider your unique circumstances before applying any information in your personal or professional life. We refer to the creative commons for reproducibility rights.}