The Role of Hormones in the Body’s Response to Acute and Chronic Stress

The Role of Hormones in the Body’s Response to Acute and Chronic Stress

STRESSORS & STRESS

Every day we live our lives and face many different challenges and alterations. Any internal or external factor that disturbs the homeostasis is known as a stressor. Stressors can be emotional, physical, environmental, or societal. Not all stress is negative; some stress called eustress helps us to meet challenges and can be beneficial. Stress becomes harmful when someone is not functioning as they normally do.

Stress can be acute or chronic. Acute stress can be noise, crowding, isolation, hunger, danger, infection and thinking or remembering a dangerous situation. Chronic stress may include a highly pressurised job, loneliness, a long-term illness, financial or relationship problems.

GENERAL ROLE OF HORMONES

The nervous system and endocrine system work together to synchronize the role of all body systems; to maintain homeostasis. The glands of the endocrine system release mediator molecules known as hormones into the blood which delivers hormones to the cells throughout the body. Some parts of the nervous system can arouse or restrain the production of nerve impulses. The nervous system can respond to a stimulus in milliseconds and some hormones can respond in seconds or several hours.

The role of hormones help chemical composition and volume of our body (extracellular fluid), metabolism, energy balance, biological clock, contraction of smooth and cardiac muscles, glandular secretions and immune activities. Hormones also control growth, development and maintain operation of reproductive systems.

Hormones are released by the endocrine glands by three different stimuli. Humoral stimulus responds to blood changing chemicals of the blood. A neural stimulus is stimulated by nerve fibres to release hormones and a hormonal stimulus is when other hormones are release from the response of other endocrine hormones being released. They are regulated by negative or...