A new study reveals that stress can actually be beneficial for boosting the body’s immune system and protecting against certain pathologies.
- Many pathologies are associated with stress: digestive diseases, cardiovascular disorders, hyperthyroidism, recurrent viral or microbial infections, skin infections, or even certain gynecological disorders.
- According to a 2017 OpinionWay survey, 9 out of 10 French people say they are stressed. Professional life (36%), financial problems (35%) and personal life (33%) are the main sources of stress, ahead of health.
Although it can sometimes help to complete a file before the deadline or to work urgently before an exam, stress has long been associated with many health problems, from insomnia to obesity, including high blood pressure and even heart disease. But according to a new study, recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesit could well turn out to be useful, at a certain level, to protect the body by warding off certain pathologies.
Mice under stress for 56 days
To reach these conclusions, researchers from the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, in the United States, studied groups of mice suffering from inflammatory bowel disease, after subjecting them to constant stress for 56 days. While previous studies have shown that stress worsens inflammatory symptoms, researchers found this time that it did not significantly increase gut inflammation levels.
Instead, stress spiked the production of cytokines IL-23 and IL-22, proteins essential to tertiary lymphoid organs (TLOs) — immune cells that form in response to chronic inflammation or injury. IL-22 notably plays a role in wound healing and tissue regeneration. “Our results show that psychological stress induces the formation of OLT by increasing the production of IL-23 and IL-22”explains the lead author of the research, Professor Fabio Cominelli, in a communicated.
Stress can boost the immune system
“What we found was that chronic daily stress for six weeks was beneficial against injury, adds the researcher. The mice that were stressed were actually better protected than the unstressed mice.” And for good reason, their immune system was stimulated, and therefore more effective against intestinal inflammation. “It’s a small surprise for us. It’s one of the few studies showing that chronic stress could have a beneficial effect instead of a negative effect.”
Other work, published at the end of July, argued that certain types of anxiety could even be beneficial for mental health. Being subjected to low to moderate levels of stress would help in particular to develop our resilience, our ability to adapt, and would protect against certain psychic disorders, such as depression or antisocial behavior. Be careful, however, the authors clearly specify: “low to moderate” stress levels.
