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Photo Taken In Bangkok, Thailand
Looking at the research in recent years, it's really important that we know that we're going to be successful of burnout sooner. A new study in the newspaper Neurology This reality in a powerful and elegant way: It finds that people with higher levels of stress hormone cortisol have subtle reductions in brain volume. Perhaps more relevant, they also appear to have slight reductions in their performance on memory tests.
The study was conducted by researchers from Harvard Medical School; the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; Boston University School of Medicine; the University of California, Davis, at Sacramento; and UT Health San Antonio.
The Framingham Heart Study, which has been following participants (and their offspring) since the 1940s. They focused on participants who were middle-aged (average age, 48), and healthy-none had any signs of cognitive decline. The participants' cortisol levels were measured and correlated with their performance on memory and cognition tests, and their brain volume via MRI.
It turns out that people who fell in the middle third of cortisol level had reduced volume in the frontal and occipital (back-most) lobes of the brain. They also showed changes to the white matter, which might signal poorer connectivity.
But the behavioral results are at least as important: People with higher cortisol levels are more likely to suffer from memory loss than 20-minute break. The effect is stronger in women than in men, but it is not clear that they are more susceptible to stress.
Because it's possible to have cognitive changes without cognitive changes, the fact that these participants did not show up. Earlier work has been suggested that chronically raised cortisol levels of negative effects on the risk of dementia risk.
"In the quest to understand cognitive aging," said study author Sudha Seshadri in a statement. "One of the things we know in animals is that stress can lead to cognitive decline. In this study, higher morning cortisol levels in a large sample of people were associated with worse brain structure and cognition. "
The current study did not look at cognitive decline or dementia, but presumably could be a next step for the team.
And there are some limitations to keep in mind. One is that cortisol was only measured once, not over time. It is also clear that people with higher cortisol levels are actually more stressed out subjectively. Finally, it is possible that there is more than just stress-leads-to-problems-it could be, for instance, that reverse causation is at play, where existing cognitive changes .
But given what we know about cortisol and the effects of chronic stress, the results make sense. A causal relationship certainly makes intuitive sense-being stressed makes it easy, so it's logical that chronic stress can make minute changes increased into quantifiable ones.
The new study can be used as a good reminder to take stress seriously and not make the mistake of thinking that self-care is for wusses.
"The faster pace of life is more stressful, and when we are stressed," Seshadri says. "When we are infected, when we are in any way, our cortisol levels go up. This study adds to the prevailing wisdom that it's never too early to be mindful of reducing stress. "
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Photo Taken In Bangkok, Thailand
Looking at the research in recent years, it's really important that we know that we're going to be successful of burnout sooner. A new study in the newspaper Neurology This reality in a powerful and elegant way: It finds that people with higher levels of stress hormone cortisol have subtle reductions in brain volume. Perhaps more relevant, they also appear to have slight reductions in their performance on memory tests.
The study was conducted by researchers from Harvard Medical School; the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; Boston University School of Medicine; the University of California, Davis, at Sacramento; and UT Health San Antonio.
The Framingham Heart Study, which has been following participants (and their offspring) since the 1940s. They focused on participants who were middle-aged (average age, 48), and healthy-none had any signs of cognitive decline. The participants' cortisol levels were measured and correlated with their performance on memory and cognition tests, and their brain volume via MRI.
It turns out that people who fell in the middle third of cortisol level had reduced volume in the frontal and occipital (back-most) lobes of the brain. They also showed changes to the white matter, which might signal poorer connectivity.
But the behavioral results are at least as important: People with higher cortisol levels are more likely to suffer from memory loss than 20-minute break. The effect is stronger in women than in men, but it is not clear that they are more susceptible to stress.
Because it's possible to have cognitive changes without cognitive changes, the fact that these participants did not show up. Earlier work has been suggested that chronically raised cortisol levels of negative effects on the risk of dementia risk.
"In the quest to understand cognitive aging," said study author Sudha Seshadri in a statement. "One of the things we know in animals is that stress can lead to cognitive decline. In this study, higher morning cortisol levels in a large sample of people were associated with worse brain structure and cognition. "
The current study did not look at cognitive decline or dementia, but presumably could be a next step for the team.
And there are some limitations to keep in mind. One is that cortisol was only measured once, not over time. It is also clear that people with higher cortisol levels are actually more stressed out subjectively. Finally, it is possible that there is more than just stress-leads-to-problems-it could be, for instance, that reverse causation is at play, where existing cognitive changes .
But given what we know about cortisol and the effects of chronic stress, the results make sense. A causal relationship certainly makes intuitive sense-being stressed makes it easy, so it's logical that chronic stress can make minute changes increased into quantifiable ones.
The new study can be used as a good reminder to take stress seriously and not make the mistake of thinking that self-care is for wusses.
"The faster pace of life is more stressful, and when we are stressed," Seshadri says. "When we are infected, when we are in any way, our cortisol levels go up. This study adds to the prevailing wisdom that it's never too early to be mindful of reducing stress. "
