Are you sleeping restlessly, feeling irritable or moody, forgetting little things, and feeling overwhelmed and isolated? Don't worry. We've all been there. You're probably just stressed out. Stress isn't always a bad thing. It can be handy for a burst of extra energy and focus, like when you're playing a competitive sport, or have to speak in public. But when its continuous, the kind most of us face day in and day out, it actually begins to change your brain. Chronic stress, like being overworked or having arguments at home, can affect brain size, its structure, and how it functions, right down to the level of your genes. Stress begins with something called the hypothalamus pituitary adrenal axis, a series of interactions between endocrine glands in the brain and on the kidney, which controls your body's reaction to stress. When your brain detects a stressful situation, your HPA axis is instantly activated and releases a hormone called cortisol, which primes your body for instant action. But high levels of cortisol over long periods of time wreak havoc on your brain. For example, chronic stress increases the activity level and number of neural connections in the amygdala, your brain's fear center. And as levels of cortisol rise, electric signals in your hippocampus, the part of the brain associated with learning, memories, and stress control, deteriorate. The hippocampus also inhibits the activity of the HPA axis, so when it weakens, so does your ability to control your stress. That's not all, though. Cortisol can literally cause your brain to shrink in size. Too much of it results in the loss of synaptic connections between neurons and the shrinking of your prefrontal cortex, the part of your brain the regulates behaviors like concentration, decision-making, judgement, and social interaction. It also leads to fewer new brain cells being made in the hippocampus. This means chronic stress might make it harder for you to learn and remember things, and also set the stage for more serious mental problems, like depression and eventually Alzheimer's disease. The effects of stress may filter right down to your brain's DNA. An experiment showed that the amount of nurturing a mother rat provides its newborn baby plays a part in determining how that baby responds to stress later in life. The pups of nurturing moms turned out less sensitive to stress because their brains developed more cortisol receptors, which stick to cortisol and dampen the stress response. The pups of negligent moms had the opposite outcome, and so became more sensitive to stress throughout life. These are considered epigenetic changes, meaning that they effect which genes are expressed without directly changing the genetic code. And these changes can be reversed if the moms are swapped. But there's a surprising result. The epigenetic changes caused by one single mother rat were passed down to many generations of rats after her. In other words, the results of these actions were inheritable. It's not all bad news, though. There are many ways to reverse what cortisol does to your stressed brain. The most powerful weapons are exercise and meditation, which involves breathing deeply and being aware and focused on your surroundings. Both of these activities decrease your stress and increase the size of the hippocampus, thereby improving your memory. So don't feel defeated by the pressures of daily life. Get in control of your stress before it takes control of you.
Uyqungiz notinch, o'zingizni jig'ibiyron yoki so’lg’in tuyyapsizmi, kichik narsalarni unutib, o'zingizni tushkun va yolg'iz his qilyapsizmi? Siqilmang. Bu hammaning boshidan o'tgan. Siz shunchaki ruhiy tanglikdasiz. Stress tamoman yomon narsa emas. U sportda raqobatga kirishganingizda yoki sahnadagi nutqingizda qo'shimcha energiya va diqqat jamlashingizda qo’l keladi. Ammo stressning davomiyligi, unga ko’pchiligimiz erta-yu kech yuzlashamiz, u miyangizni o’zgartira boshlaydi. Surunkali stress, deylik nihoyasiz ishlash yoki oiladagi nizolar miya hajmi, uning tuzilishi, va qay holatda faoliyat yuritishi, genlaringiz qatlamigacha ta'sir ko'rsata oladi. Stress tananing unga reaksiyasini boshqaruvchi gipotalamo-gipofizar buyrak usti qalqoni, miya va buyrakda joylashgan ichki sekretsiya bezlaridagi turli xil moddalarning almashinuvi bilan boshlanadi. Miyangiz stressli vaziyatni ilg’agan zahotiyoq, qalqon faollashadi va kortizol garmonini ishlab chiqarib, tanangizni shu onda harakatga undaydi. Biroq yuqori darajadagi kortizol miyani shikastlaydi. Masalan, surunkali stress miyaning qo’rquv markazi, ya'ni amigdala faolligi va undagi nerv hujayralari hajmini oshiradi. Kortizol darajasi oshib borishi bilan miyaning saboq olish, xotira va stressni boshqaruvchi sohasi, ya'ni gippokampdagi elektr signallar so’nadi. Gippokamp GGB qalqoni ishini ham cheklaydi u zaiflashgani sayin stressni boshqarish qobiliyatingiz ham susayadi. Bu hali hammasi emas. Kortizol miyangizni kichraytira oladi. Yuqori darajadagi kortizol neyronlar orasidagi sinaptik bog’lanishlarning yo’qolishiga va miyaning diqqat, qaror, hukm chiqarish va ijtimoiy aloqa xulqini tartibga soluvchi soha, prefrontal qobiqning kichrayishiga olib keladi. U gippokamda yangi miya hujayralari yaralishini kamaytiradi. Surunkali stress narsalarni o'rganish va eslab qolishni qiyinlashtiradi, oqibatda jiddiy ruhiy hastalik-depressiya, alsgeymer kasalligiga sharoit yaratadi. Stress oqibati miyaning DNK qatlamigacha kirib boradi. Eksperiment yangi tug'ilgan kalamushning onasi tomonidan qancha parvarishlanishi kelgusida go’dakning stressga moyilligini aniqlashda qo'l kelishini ko’rsatdi. G’amxo’r ona farzandlari stress ta’siriga kamroq berilar ekan, chunki ularning miyasida ko’proq kortizol retseptorlari mavjud, kortizolni saqlab, stressga barham beradi. E’tiborsiz ona farzandlarida esa buning aksi, shu sabab umri davomida stress bilan ko’proq to’qnashishadi. Bular epigenetik o’zgarishlardir, ya'ni bevosita genetik kodni o’zgartirmay turib, qaysi genlar ta'sirida irsiylanishiga ta'sir ko'rsatadi. Onalarning o’rni almashtirilgan taqdirda vaziyatga o’zgarish yasash mumkin. Hayratlanarli jihat shundaki, yakka kalamush onasi tufayli yuz bergan epigenetik o’zgarishlar undan keyingi kalmushlarning avlodlariga uzatilgan. Boshqacha aytganda, bu jarayonning natijasi nasldan-naslga o’tadi. Yaxshi xabar ham yo'q emas. Kortizolning stress holatidagi miyangizga ta’sirini susaytirishning yo'llari mavjud. Jismoniy mashq va chuqur nafas olish, atrofingizga diqqat qaratish va e’tiborli bo’lishga chorlovchi meditatsiya eng samarali vositalardir. Har ikkala mashg’ulot stress ta'sirini kamaytirib, gippokamp hajmini kattalashtiradi va shu yo’l bilan xotirangizni yaxshilaydi. Kundalik turmush mashaqqatlaridan bukilmang. Stress sizni o’z yo’rig’iga solishdan avval, siz uni jilovlang.