Warning: your brain can shrink when you are stressed

The corona stress comes and goes for me in peaks and valleys. Then suddenly I am relaxed and positive about our future, the next moment I panic and worry terribly about the health of the people around me.

These are strange times for everyone: the corona crisis leaves no one untouched. We all deal with it in one way or another and we have to learn to live with a new kind of world. One in which we no longer fly everywhere or hug someone we don't know or even shake hands. We keep that one-and-a-half-meter world in place because it is necessary. We have never been so focused on our health – globally – as we are now. For some, that causes serious stress. You worry about when you can see your grandma again and hold her, you doubt whether your contract will be extended, whether you can still find a new job, or whether you will stay fit enough yourself. We now have more than ever something to worry about en masse, unfortunately. And stress is not good for you, you know that yourself. But what happens in your brain when you worry?.

Having a lot of prolonged stress can cause your brain to shrink. Especially the prefrontal cortex, the area responsible for your memory and

learning new things. But look: not all stress is bad for your brain. A little nervousness, finding something exciting, keeps you sharp. And that can have advantages, because then you can concentrate better on something and focus. Stress sends a signal from that prefrontal cortex in your brain to the hypothalamus and produces the hormone cortisol. That area in your brain regulates your body and controls your muscles. That is handy if you need to flee from something scary, but in the case of corona stress, it does other things to you, such as sweating, breathing faster with an increased heart rate, getting a knot in your stomach. And unfortunately, you don't have much use for that, except that you. don't feel well. Some facts about stress in a row:.

Women experience more stress than men. 

• 50 percent of people have experienced stress, so you are not alone.
• Money and work are the biggest stress factors.
• Having a lot and long stress leads to too much cortisol in your body, which makes you more susceptible to diseases.
• Stress causes cells in your brain to die.
• Want to get rid of it? Number 1 for relaxation with stress is listening to music. Otherwise, watching television can also help or lying in a warm bath.
• After 7.5 hours of good sleep, your cortisol level is back to normal, so make sure to go to bed early. And think often: everything will be fine. It really will, one way or another.
• Woman looking at laptop with her hands on her face.

Source: Harvard