Does it feel like stress is a greater component in your life these last few years than ever before? That’s because according to studies done by the American Institute of Stress, the current rate of stress for Americans is up 20% compared to the rest of the developed world. Here’s a couple more interesting facts about stress in 2022:
- 55% of Americans are stressed during the day.
- 54% of Americans want to stay informed about the news but following the news causes them stress.
- Seven in 10 adults report work stress affects their personal relationships.
Find out more in this article from the American Institute of Stress
What does this all have to do with chiropractic care?
As a neurological based chiropractor, we look beyond the surface symptoms many of our patients experience, and dig deeper into how the nervous system (ie brain) is functioning and possibly contributing to these symptoms. When we look at how the brain-body connection is functioning, we can see where stress plays a role.
Stress, in mental/emotional, physical, and environmental forms, is process by our brains. Our brain recognizes stress in all forms as a threat, or danger to our existence and will activate the fight or flight response. In an individual with ideal stress management tools, this happens in the moment, and quickly our brains will turn off the fight or flight response, and place us back into the state of calm.
However, when the stress is coming at us in greater waves, with little to no time to recover, our brain thinks we are in a constant state of danger, and our fight or flight response is turned on all the time. Because this is a primitive response, it will actually hinder other areas of functioning, like higher level thinking and reasoning, slowing down our digestion, messing with our hormone cycles, and impeding our sleep…because the main focus for our brain is safety, not growth, development, rest, or digestion. Like a car barreling down the highway, pedal to the metal, with no brakes, our brain throws us into this state of panic, fear, and increased stress response, and becomes a vicious cycle.
Chiropractic care can be seen as the brake pedal for your brain. Research out of New Zealand is showing the impact of a chiropractic adjustment on the function of the prefrontal cortex of the brain (where executive function and critical thinking take place). We see anecdotal evidence in our office the positive impacts of chiropractic care on our patients’ management of stress. This occurs on patients of all ages, from birth to adulthood!
By applying that brake pedal to our nervous system, it allows the brain and body to communicate better, improves overall function (and reduces pain!), and also improves our body’s functions like digestion, sleep, and immune function.
If stress is impacting your life and relationships, we would love to help you! We use state of the art technology, including Heart Rate Variability, to measure HOW stress is impacting your health. Click on “Request an Appointment” to find out more about how chiropractic care can help you manage your stress this season.