Chronic Stress: Causes, Symptoms, And How It Can Lead To Cognitive Decline

Stress is a natural reaction of the body to demand or challenge that our brain considers may put us in danger or require extra effort, so it is not considered a bad thing. However, when it is constant or chronic, it can damage our health, specifically causing cognitive impairment.

“The body maintains a balance of its functions that we call homeostasis. Any process or event that alters this balance is called stress. When we talk about psychological stress, we are referring to things that overload our emotional stability system,” explains neurologist Víctor Arévalo.

There are two types of stress: acute stress, which is characterized by going away quickly and being felt when you do something new or exciting; and chronic stress, which lasts for a long time and occurs when there are persistent problems. “Any type of stress that continues for weeks or months is chronic stress,” says the MedlinePlus portal. It can feel like it lasts for a long time as if we get used to it and don’t consider it a problem until it causes physical and mental consequences.

“The causes of stress will depend on each person, their problems and concerns. But it is considered chronic when these situations persist for weeks months, or even years. We reach the point where anxiety, fatigue, and headaches become common and normal in our lives when it should not be that way,” says José Hernández, an internist.

Symptoms of chronic stress

Chronic stress keeps the body on constant alert, causing high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, anxiety, menstrual problems, sleep disturbances, diarrhea, headaches, irritability, mood swings, fatigue, shortness of breath, memory problems, panic attacks, and a weakened immune system, making one more prone to other diseases.

Various studies have shown that prolonged stress can cause serious illnesses such as heart problems, depression, and a weakened immune system, making one prone to other pathologies.

How cognitive decline affects

Research published in the journal JAMA Network Open in April 2023 detailed that people over 45 years of age with high levels of stress are 37 percent more likely to suffer from cognitive problems, such as memory and thinking disorders.

The study followed more than 24,000 people who were also participating in brain health research, so specialists performed standardized tests to determine each patient’s cognitive status.

Stress and cognitive decline — Cognitive impairment occurs due to the search for actions that provide immediate gratification, such as looking at one’s cell phone when one is with other people. (Photo Prensa Libre: RODNAE Productions at .pexels.com).

One of the conclusions of the study is that in addition to the problems caused by chronic stress, such as headaches, depression, anxiety, hypertension, sleep disorders, etc., cognitive deterioration is also present.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines cognitive impairment as having trouble remembering, learning new things, concentrating, or making decisions that affect your daily life.

Neurologist Arévalo explains that cognitive impairment is caused because stress alters the ability to pay attention. “When we talk about memory, we refer to three factors: recording information, storing information, and retrieving information. So, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, irritability, etc., particularly affect our ability to pay attention and consequently the recording of information, so it is very difficult to remember it. That is why memory problems occur.”

In addition, stress makes us look for actions that give us immediate gratification, such as constantly checking our cell phone, watching videos, or reading which takes us away from our tasks; which only generates more stress or anxiety because we do not finish our tasks quickly.

“The problem with immediate gratification is that it distracts our attention, so it is more difficult to store information and then remember it. For example, someone is talking to us and I am looking at my cell phone. Later I won’t remember if they told me something important. By dissipating the information it is as if it were moved from one place to another, which affects us progressively because it only generates more stress,” adds Hernández.

To combat cognitive decline, specialists indicate that you must first make lifestyle changes to reduce stress. The most important habits to implement are maintaining a healthy diet, exercising, spending time on activities that you enjoy such as hobbies or going out to eat with friends or family, doing some type of volunteer work, practicing writing by keeping a journal in which you write down your thoughts or what you are grateful for in life. They also advise seeking professional help.