The effects of stress show how your mind and your body work together. Stressful situations can lead to a variety of physical problems, including headaches, dizziness, stomachaches, rapid heartbeat, high blood pressure, tense muscles, anxiety, and skin disorders. If you treat your body appropriately, you can reduce the effects of stress on your body.

Because stress can lower your body’s resistance to disease, you are more susceptible to illness when you have stress. That’s why it is so important to take good care of yourself by eating right, getting enough sleep, and exercising. When your daily routine is disrupted following a crisis or disaster, you need to get back to normal as soon as possible.
Eating right, getting exercise, and taking time to relax or have fun are always good ideas. These behaviors ensure that your body has what it needs to function properly. These practices can also help to reduce stress or even prevent it in the first place.

It may be possible to change your eating habits. If you like fast food or products with caffeine or sugar in them, such as soda, candy or desserts, you may not want to give them up too quickly. In fact, you may think that eating food like this reduces your stress because it makes you feel better. However, these foods contain stimulants, which can add more stress to an existing problem. Reducing such foods can help to reduce stress. Eating food to reduce stress can lead to overeating, which is a serious symptom of stress.

It is important to get a good night’s sleep. If you have trouble sleeping, or are sleeping too much, this may be a sign of stress. “I’ve got to get at least six hours of sleep a night in order to function in school the next day,” says Michelle, sixteen. “I try to finish my homework before I go to bed or in the morning; but even if I don’t, I’m better off when I get enough sleep. Otherwise, I develop a headache or I feel dizzy. I have a bad attitude with my friends and even my teachers, and you know that’s not good. Everything just goes from bad to worse when I don’t get enough sleep.”