The body says: I'm tired, find a way to rest.

When the stress response is continuously activated, a series of changes occur in the body - Photo: Time

Jennifer King, assistant professor of applied social sciences and assistant director at the Center for Trauma and Adversity at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, said people are conditioned early on to stop listening to their bodies, according to Time.

“When the stress response is consistently activated, a series of changes occur in the body,” says King. “When the level of change is too great and there is no clear beginning or end, the body begins to wear out.”

Here are four signs that you need to rest instead of pushing your body to keep working.

You change your emotions when your body is tired.

Your mood can definitely be affected when you're tired, says Dr. Gerda Maissel, a physician in Hudson Valley, New York.

Your thoughts may start to wander, or repeat themselves in a loop. You may "feel like you can't remember things, or can't figure out the name of something," she says.

Meanwhile, stress can keep you from enjoying activities you once enjoyed, like not picking up a book you used to be excited about or losing interest in knitting. Take these signs as a clue that something is wrong.

Maissel says people who desperately need rest sometimes also lose the ability to do basic self-care activities, like exercising and eating healthy.

Relationships become strained

Do you find yourself experiencing tension in your relationships with different people? Maybe you are more irritable than usual, snapping at your co-workers or honking your horn in the street out of frustration.

“You may become irritable and agitated. If you find yourself wanting to be more isolated and keep things to yourself when you didn't before, it could be due to stress,” explains King.

Often, those around you will be the first to notice warning signs that you may easily overlook.

You might catch a cold.

Stress can affect all of your body's systems, says Ashley Fields, a therapist in Indianapolis who specializes in women's issues and mental health. Research shows that stress can weaken your immune system, making you more likely to get sick, for example.

Your stomach and sleep are affected.

You may also experience digestive problems such as stomach aches, constipation or indigestion, as well as changes in appetite that cause you to gain or lose weight. Stress often causes muscle tension, leading to headaches, jaw pain, back pain and shoulder pain.

Your sleep may also be affected. You may feel more tired than usual, or you may sleep well but feel exhausted when you get out of bed. Both of these are signs that you may need to spend more time resting and relaxing.

Long-term consequences of not resting

Dr. Christopher Thompson, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, says that when we orient our lives around daily obligations, our bodies begin to "beg us to slow down."

Ignoring those pleas leads to “many modern health problems.” Research shows that chronic stress is linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and arthritis. Another potential side effect is weight gain.

Fields recommends checking in every day about how you're feeling and what you need. Thirty seconds is enough. The key is to make it part of your routine.

If you find your body telling you to rest, don’t let that stress you out. You don’t have to take a week off work or request a vacation. Just a few minutes of downtime during the day can make a difference. Turn off your phone for five minutes, relax with an adult coloring book, or call a loved one.

Fields, in particular, likes to do a quick, deliberate breathing exercise. Inhale for a count of three to five, then exhale for the same count. Maissel likes to take short breaks, often focused on moving. For example, she might step away from her computer to water her plants, which helps relieve stress.

Whatever you do, it should be something you enjoy or have fun doing. Taking a short break allows your body to metabolize some of what you put in. This helps to calm or energize you, recharging your batteries and ready for whatever comes next.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/co-the-len-tieng-met-moi-roi-tim-cach-nghi-ngoi-thoi-20240612230801634.htm