How Stress Impacts Your Brain

Feeling constantly stressed can take its toll on weight loss, energy and focus + more. But stress is especially harmful for brain health.

The last two years have dramatically increased our already-high stress levels.

A recent Stress in America poll, conducted by the American Psychological Association, shows that stress levels are off-the-charts high. Among the reasons listed include rising costs for food and other essentials, the Russian-Ukraine war, and the ongoing pandemic.¹

The repercussions of increasing stress have impacted our health and happiness.

“As a nation, we are feeling so stressed and unhappy that it has sparked a dramatic rise in the number of new prescriptions for antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, and sleep aids,” says Daniel Amen, MD, in You, Happier.

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Acute vs. Chronic Stress

No other organ quite experiences the impact of stress like your brain. Go back to an event in your life, such as taking an exam. Stressful, right? But in the bigger picture, that stress probably helped you focus and perform better.

A little bit of stress, which we call acute stress, can help your brain become resilient to the challenges you face throughout life.

Chronic stress does the opposite. Losing a parent, suffering a financial loss, or experiencing any kind of life challenge that isn’t immediately resolvable can create lasting, low-grade stress that impacts your body and your brain.

I experienced high-level stress when my son Grant was a victim of a hit-and-run attack at 16 years old. He suffered severe injuries, was in a deep coma for months, and doctors told me that he had a low survival rate. At the time, I was launching The Virgin Diet, which I ended up doing bedside in the hospital.

As I wrote in Warrior Mom, I often felt as if I was going to collapse from the stress of the situation. But I had to keep going and stay strong for Grant.

If you read that book, you know the story had a happy ending. Grant came out better than ever. The Virgin Diet was a huge success that helped thousands of readers address food intolerance and reclaim their health.

But I had to learn to master stress. Otherwise, I knew it would take me down.

Learn more about why brain health became so important to me with Grant’s injury and recovery here.

Chronic Stress Can Impact Your Brain in Many Ways

When you’re nearly constantly stressed, every region of your brain takes a hit.² Research shows that elevated stress levels can:

• Wear down the brain’s ability to function properly
• Impair social skills and make you want to avoid other people
• Kill brain cells
• Reduce the size of your brain
• Shrink the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for memory and learning³

Underlying much of this damage is a lingering, deadly inflammation called chronic inflammation. Researchers link this kind of inflammation with nearly every disease, including neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.⁴

Chronic stress can also contribute to mood disorders, including depression, fatigue, and anxiety.⁵ In fact, chronic stress and anxiety disorders go hand in hand, each one having the capacity to initiate the other.⁶

The Widespread Havoc of Chronic Stress

Imagine you’re driving down the freeway and someone swerves into your lane. That “fight-or-flight” response to a stressful event eventually leads to a release of cortisol, your primary stress hormone that helps restore balance. When the stressful event ends and you’re feeling calmer, your cortisol levels should return to normal.⁷

Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen. Prolonged stress — either real or perceived — can keep cortisol elevated when it shouldn’t be. Whether your boss is really upset at you, or you just imagine that they are, the stress response is the same.

Elevated levels of cortisol can lead to mood disorders and shrink the hippocampus, an important part of the brain responsible for your memory.⁸ You’re also likely to have other hormonal balances.

Consider the hormone insulin. When the adrenals release more stress hormones, your blood sugar increases. Insulin swoops in to clean up high blood sugar, but surging levels of stress hormones like cortisol make it harder for insulin to work well. Eventually, this can lead to insulin resistance, paving the pathway for type 2 diabetes and all its complications.⁹

That’s how you gain belly fat. In fact, increased cortisol alone can cause you to eat more. (Stress depletes serotonin, and some researchers believe that low levels of this feel-good neurotransmitter lead to cravings for sugary, processed carbs.) Plus, if you’re chronically stressed, your adrenals will eventually get fatigued.

Stress impacts other hunger-regulating hormones, too. It’s not your imagination if you find that you’re hungrier when you’re overwhelmed. Research shows that stress can increase your hunger hormone ghrelin.¹⁰ And let’s face it, when you’re stressed out and hungry, you’re not craving wild salmon and Brussels sprouts.

“Your brain is 2% of your body’s weight, but it uses 20–30% of the calories you consume,” Dr. Amen told me at the What to Eat, When to Eat and Why Summit. “And so, in large part, your brain is what you eat.”

I’ve brought together the world’s leading experts to share their wisdom about brain health and so much more in this groundbreaking upcoming summit. This one-of-a-kind event occurs on September 12–18. Learn more about the What To Eat, When to Eat and Why Summit and register for FREE here.

6 Ways to Manage Stress & Support a Healthy Brain

As you can see, chronic stress impacts the brain, but eventually, the repercussions can impact your weight, risk of disease, energy levels, and more.

We live in stressful times, but you needn’t succumb to that nearly constant pressure. While you cannot realistically eliminate all the stresses of life, you can minimize the impact. I learned a lot about how to manage stress when Grant was in the hospital.

I carried those strategies to launch four New York Times bestsellers, run two businesses, and thrive even on those days when life could not have felt more challenging. These six strategies provide a steady foundation to keep your brain healthy and manage stress like a champ.

1. Eat sufficient protein. Among its benefits, protein helps stabilize blood sugar levels, so you feel full and focused for hours. The amino acids that protein provides also help with mood support, including tryptophan, which helps build your feel-good serotonin. Starting your day with a loaded smoothie is the best way to ensure you’re getting optimal protein. My Smoothie Guide has over 60 protein-packed, brain-boosting recipes to start your day right. Download it for FREE here.
2. Stay hydrated. Research shows that even mild dehydration can raise cortisol levels.¹¹ In fact, some experts believe that dehydration is the number one cause of stress. Clean, filtered water is your best bet to stay hydrated. Learn how much you should be drinking daily in this blog. I also drink 32 ounces of unsweetened green tea daily for its brain benefits. Research shows that green tea can help reduce anxiety, boost memory and attention, and otherwise support brain function.¹²

ElectroReplenish is my favorite way to promote optimal hydration and health. We’ve combined the main electrolytes found in the body with vitamin C, quercetin, citrus bioflavonoids, D-ribose, and taurine for a truly comprehensive, all-in-one formula. This sugar-free powder mixes easily into your favorite liquid, and has a delicious natural lemon-orange flavor. Order it here.

3. Mind your gut. Research continues to show that the health of your gut influences memory, mood, mental focus, and so much more.¹³ In other words, a healthy brain demands a healthy gut. The Virgin Diet is the best way to begin the healing process. Why? Because in Cycle 1, you eliminate seven highly reactive (or Hi-FI) foods that are hurting you. These are the foods that contribute to leaky gut and other digestive problems that can impact your brain, too. Learn more about leaky gut in this article.

4. Take magnesium. Numerous studies show that magnesium helps support a healthy stress response.¹⁴ Getting this important mineral from food alone can be a challenge, and many of us are deficient in magnesium. Supplementing is key to supporting brain health and managing stress levels. Whether I’m in a stressful business meeting, have a tension headache, or my mind is racing before bed, taking 300 mg of Magnesium Body Calm relaxes me significantly. This chelated, highly digestible form means you absorb more and get all of magnesium’s many benefits.

5. Get great sleep. Even in healthy people, stress can mess with sleep levels. Studies show that stress lowers slow-wave sleep (the deepest phase of non-rapid eye movement sleep), REM sleep (which helps restore and refresh your brain), and sleep efficiency. You’re also more likely to wake up during the night when you’re stressed out, thinking about things like work deadlines or what your mother-in-law said to you at the last family gathering.¹⁵ A vicious cycle emerges: you’re stressed out, which cuts into your sleep, making you more stressed out. My Best Rest Sleep Cheat Sheet gives you stellar strategies to get consistent, quality sleep every single night. Claim your FREE Cheat Sheet here.

6. Practice gratitude throughout your day. One of my favorite ways to protein your brain and manage stress is with gratitude. Start your day by keeping a gratitude journal, where you write down three things you are grateful for. You’ll be amazed at the difference it makes with your stress levels. Throughout the day, when you encounter stress, practice appreciation. You might message someone you appreciate in your life and let them know what they mean to you. Instant mood boost for both of you! And before bedtime, reflect on what went well during the day. Make sure you take time to acknowledge big and small wins… they’re all important!

Thanks to prominent researchers and experts like Daniel Amen, MD, brain health has taken a front-and-center spotlight for overall health. While brain health isn’t as sexy as other health topics like weight loss, stress-related inflammation in the brain can go on to impact your heart, waistline, and really, every system within your body.

Stress management is not a luxury. Be aware of how stress creeps into your day. Find small ways throughout the day to lower it. Yoga, meditation, deep breathing, walking your dog, or calling your bestie are great ways to lower stress and give your brain the support it needs to thrive.

Choosing anti-inflammatory, nutrient-dense foods and avoiding the foods that are hurting you is a bold way to support brain and body health. That’s why I don’t want you to miss the What to Eat, When to Eat and Why Summit, which brings together the most-sought-after, A-list experts in health and wellness. The summit is FREE, so register here today.

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The views in this blog by JJ Virgin should never be used as a substitute for professional medical advice. Please work with a healthcare practitioner concerning any medical problem or concern. The information here is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or condition. Statements contained here have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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