Health Behavior Analysis: Stress Management and Physiological Effects

This report delves into the intricate relationship between health behavior and stress, examining the physiological responses the body undergoes when faced with stressful situations. It explores the two primary pathways involved: the Sympathetic Adrenal Medullary (SAM) system, responsible for immediate reactions, and the Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenalin (HPA) axis, which manages long-term stress responses. The report highlights the roles of key hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, as well as the physiological changes they trigger, such as increased heart rate, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels. It also differentiates between the short-term and long-term effects of stress on the body. The report references several sources to substantiate its claims, providing a comprehensive overview of how the body reacts to and attempts to manage stressful conditions.

Running head: HEALTH BEHAVIOUR
HEALTH BEHAVIOUR AGAINST STRESS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

1HEALTH BEHAVIOUR
Stress is a physiological or biological response to sudden threats which is felt or
experienced by the human body. Within human body, there are two systems to deal with the
short term as well as long term stress, and these are Sympathetic Adrenal Medullary (SAM) and
Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenalin (HPA) (Wadsworth, 2015).
After experiencing stress, the short term reaction is generated by SAM. In stressful
condition, the hypothalamus activates the Autonomous nervous system and specifically the
sympathetic branch which in turn leads to the stimulation and secretion of adrenalin and
noradrenalin from the adrenalin medulla (Pietromonaco & Powers, 2015). Due to this, the
activity of parasympathetic nervous system decreases and leads to the physiological changes
within the individual by increasing the heart rate, blood pressure, and imparting shaking and
sweating, as well as decreases the digestion process. After elimination of the stress factor, the
physiological changes become normal (Potts et al., 2019).
On the other hand, the process of HPA is slower and complicated to exert long term
effects on the patient to combat the stressful condition. Upon facing stressful condition, the
hypothalamic pituitary axis becomes activated and eventually starts secreting the
adrenocorticotropic hormone (Wadsworth, 2015). This ACTH then helps to secrete
corticosteroids which help the body to maintain proper blood sugar level which is required for
combating stressful condition. This is because, the cortisol helps to release the stored glucose to
be released from liver and hence, through steady and lengthy flow, the stored glucose works as a
fuel to fight with the stressful condition (Pietromonaco & Powers, 2015).
This is the difference between the short-term pathway that makes the body alert about
the stress and the long term pathway, in which the body develops strategies to combat stress.

2HEALTH BEHAVIOUR
References
Pietromonaco, P. R., & Powers, S. I. (2015). Attachment and health-related physiological stress
processes. Current opinion in psychology, 1, 34-39.
Potts, S. R., McCuddy, W. T., Jayan, D., & Porcelli, A. J. (2019). To trust, or not to trust?
Individual differences in physiological reactivity predict trust under acute
stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 100, 75-84.
Wadsworth, M. E. (2015). Development of maladaptive coping: A functional adaptation to
chronic, uncontrollable stress. Child development perspectives, 9(2), 96-100.