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It's Not Just in Your Head: Stress Can Suppress the Immune System
Stress can trigger a variety of immune system responses—acute stress can actually improve immune function, but chronic stress is known to suppress it.1
Here's how it works:
- The brain and immune system communicate constantly through chemical messengers, known as cytokines, which trigger immune responses.
- Cytokines and their receptors are produced by cells of immune and central-nervous systems and provide a critical link between the two.
- During periods of chronic stress, the hypothalamus region of the brain reacts by releasing cortisol from the adrenal cortex, a gland that sits atop the kidneys. Cortisol prepares the body to face a stressful situation and suppresses the immune system by decreasing the number and function of immune cells circulating in the bloodstream.
Dr. Bonnie McGregor, clinical psychologist, Public Health Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, who has extensively studied the connection between stress and immune system function, describes the emotional system as a muscle: The more it is flexed and used, the stronger it becomes.1
Some stress is unavoidable – it's just part of living. What's important is how you deal with it. On the following pages, you'll find tips from experts on coping with stress, including special advice for handling the holidays.
Glossary Terms:
- Cytokines:
- Protein molecules secreted by immune system cells that regulate the intensity and duration of immunologic responses.
- 1. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, "The Mental Health-Immune System Connection" by Annemieke de Maggio, Oct. 16, 2003.
