If prolonged over time, both intense and moderate stress can damage the organism, according to a process that science has yet to fully understand. In this period of lockdown, a certain amount of stress has come into everyone’s life: personal and work worries, fears for one’s health and that of loved ones, uncertain news and worrying scenarios. All these factors have been a cause of stress and may have affected our health, lowering our immune defences.

According to current scientific knowledge, stress significantly affects the production of cortisol by the adrenal glands. In normal situations, this physiological response is short (it disappears within 24 hours) and represents a healthy warning system for our organism in dangerous situations. However, if the imbalance in cortisol production continues over time, it becomes a condition that adversely affects the immune system’s defence responses.

Based on these factors, chronic stress – even if not particularly intense – can cause an alteration in the quantity and quality of the white cells present in the blood and tissues, and adversely affect the quality of the responses they are able to trigger in the case of infections caused by viruses, bacteria and other pathogens.

A further side effect of stress is the transformation it causes in the composition of the microbial populations present in the body, and in particular in the digestive tract, which disadvantages the “good” bacterial flora in favour of pathogenic species.

A state of permanent stress thus makes us more susceptible to various types of disorders and to bacterial and viral infections, against which we must be more prepared than ever before.

Causes And Symptoms Of Prolonged Stress

Stress is a condition normally generated by work, economic and emotional factors. While from a subjective point of view it often seems to us that such situations are insurmountable, from a more detached, careful and objective viewpoint they are clearly controllable, at least partially, by the subjects involved. The causes of stress, therefore, can be eliminated, reduced, or at least addressed.

However, it is a different state of affairs when the cause of the stress is external and beyond the powers of the individual, who can only act as a spectator to a situation that he is unable to control.

Information and misinformation also add further grounds for worry and alienation, and render us prey to irrational fears and feelings which are perceived as overwhelming.

Ultimately, prolonged stress can cause persistent symptoms in one or more of the following areas:

• physical and mental exhaustion
• difficulty in concentration and memory impairment
• poor intellectual/work performance
• worsening of mood, leading to states of depression or anxiety
• irritability and nervousness
• alterations in appetite and unregulated eating habits
• sleep disorders
• muscle contractions and/or joint pain
• frequent attacks of headaches or lower back pain
• upset stomach
• alteration of bowel movements
• appearance of cold sores
• greater propensity to adopt an unhealthy lifestyle (sedentariness, smoking, alcohol consumption, etc.).
• hypertension and cardiac arrhythmia
• hyperglycaemia and diabetes

Relaxation, Spa And Wellness Treatments Against Stress

To overcome stress, we should remove the causes. Since this option is not available to us at the moment, it is essential to find alternative strategies to achieve a state of greater well-being and better physical and mental health.

Relaxation, spa therapies and wellness treatments can be a valid remedy against the symptoms and causes of stress, deeply impacting both the biological processes described above and the mental state of the people who experience them.

In this blog we have often talked about how to react to stress, in various ways:

• how to react to stress caused by unpredictable events
• how to counter insomnia with a lifestyle that embraces relaxation
• how to implement strategies against springtime stress
• how to identify remedies against summertime stress

On numerous occasions, we have also pointed out that spa treatments, relaxing and therapeutic treatments and wellness are natural remedies against stress, mentioning:

• benefits of Abano’s thermal mud
• health and mud therapy
• benefits of the three favourite massages of the Hotel Tritone’s Guests
• oriental massages as therapy for body and spirit
• Aufguss as a relaxation ritual

Finally, we have also discussed how good food can be viewed in a wholesome and healthy way:

• pasta as a staple of a balanced diet
• how to use salt healthily in cooking

Restoring health, getting rid of stress, strengthening the body, reinforcing the immune system: these are necessities and responsibilities that we all have to ourselves and our loved ones, first and foremost, but also to society in general, which grows and thrives where health and well-being reign.

So we invite all our Guests to take the time to reflect on how much better we will feel once we have left stress behind and recovered our full strength.

As far as we are concerned, we can contribute to the well-being of our Guests as we have always tried to do, but today with more intensity and energy than ever before:

• With our catalogue of treatments and therapies to restore well-being, abandon stress and strengthen the immune system (spa therapies, physiotherapy, ayurvedic or aesthetic treatments, massages, saunas, circuits, etc.);
• With our large and completely equipped gym, so you can get your body back into shape after months of inactivity and sedentariness;
• With our exquisite, delectable cuisine, full of healthy, balanced dishes, designed specifically to promote the health of our Guests;
• More generally, by offering a safe and secure place to rest and relax without any other concerns.

We hope, therefore, that all of our Guests can find the space and time to escape from the stress that events have forced us to face, and to rediscover the balance and well-being that we all deserve.

To consult our catalogue of anti-stress solutions and book a relaxing break, you can write to us here or call (+39) 049 8668099.