Asthma and Stress: Understanding the Link

asthma and stress

Millions of people live with varying degrees of asthmatic symptoms, ranging from occasional unexplained coughs to full-blown asthma attacks. Modern research into this common disease has uncovered many different causes and irritants of asthma, but among the most interesting discoveries is the link between asthma and stress. In this article, we’ll take a look at how asthma and stress are connected and discuss what you can do to limit your stress-related asthma symptoms.

 

  How Are Asthma and Stress Connected?

 

It has long been known that extremely stressful situations are one of the leading causes of asthma symptoms and attacks. When your body is stressed, the physiological reaction that takes place, sometimes called the flight-or-fight response, can increase the demand on your respiratory system in order to supply muscles with additional oxygen, among other physical changes that occur in moments of extreme stress. The physical reaction to stress, depending on the severity of the reaction and the severity of your asthma, can trigger a full asthma attack. This connection has been well understood for many years, and has been the basis for the advice commonly given to asthma patients to limit stress.

 

More recent research, however, has drawn another interesting conclusion about the possible connection between asthma and stress. According to studies conducted recently, children who endure frequent stress are more likely than their lower-stressed peers to develop asthma. This means that stress is linked to asthma not only as a trigger for attacks, but also potentially as a root cause.

 

  Lowering Stress to Manage Asthma

 

Because of this inherent connection between stress and asthma, limiting stressful situations is one of the easiest ways to manage symptoms of asthma. Since stress is a normal part of day to day life, the most effective prevention method comes in the form of preventing high-stress situations, which are much more likely to cause an asthma attack than normal everyday stress. This means taking steps such as staying out of any potentially dangerous situations and staying on top of work projects so that you are not suddenly faced with an impending deadline you can’t possibly meet.

 

The small stressors we all deal with every day are somewhat less dangerous, but can actually be harder to control. In order to limit daily stress factors, the best method is to establish routines that keep you on top of everything you need to do daily, thus limiting sudden stress. This kind of plan might include preparing a nightly meal earlier in the  morning before work so that you are not rushed when you get home or setting specific times each week to run your normal errands. Small changes like this can help to structure your week more optimally to prevent the stress that comes when daily life seems to overwhelm you.

 

  Conclusion

 

Though some degree of stress will always be present, there are some simple steps you can take to limit the stress in your life. Doing this will help to lower your chances of worsening asthma symptoms associated with excess stress.

 

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