The Stress Response

The stress reaction is a host of responses necessary for any animal to live in the world. Commonly called the “fight or flight” reaction, we as humans often experience it in rapid heartbeat and increased breathing rate. It comes when we exercise more vigorously than usual, or when we are suddenly and unexpectedly frightened.

We are all different. We show a range in how strongly we experience the stress response. Most of us are usually calm and experience the stress response when an unexpected noise frightens us to alertness, or we run to first base as fast as we can in a benefit baseball game which is not on our usual playtime schedule. We breathe harder for awhile and notice out hearts beating faster and harder than usual, but after awhile these responses all calm down, and we are again in our usual state—out of the stress response. Others of us are very low key, and it takes a lot to disturb our physiological calm. Still others of us are very sensitive to triggers of the stress response and go into it “at the drop of a hat” and to a greater degree than do calmer people. For some, parts of the stress response are almost always engaged—never really calming down all the way—giving one a hyper vigilant or anxious demeanor.

When a stress trigger occurs, the body puts out stress hormones, magnesium and calcium, among other things, into the bloodstream2. At the same time, nerve cells begin to “fire”, telling heart and muscles to “speed up, NOW!!!” These blood, nerve and organ changes make possible the instantaneous and collective rise in the body’s heart rate, blood pressure, and other necessities for the “fight or flight” reaction.1

Much research has been done on the stress response, especially on the effects of stress hormones, such as adrenaline (also called epinephrine) on body, organ and cell. You can get an idea of how widespread the stress response is—affecting every aspect of physiology—by noting some of the reactions to adrenaline, one of the major stress hormones.

Adrenaline (also called epinephrine) is one of the body’s major stress hormones. When adrenaline is released into the bloodstream, it has simultaneous, rapid, and widespread effects on the body.

The Ca: Mg ratio. Calcium ions, for the most part, are kept outside cells while magnesium ions are kept mainly inside cells. The stress response changes this. During stress response, calcium ions rush inside the cell, and this alters the internal Mg:Ca ratio.

This change in ratio exhibits wide effects because, while magnesium and calcium are very similar in their chemistry, biologically these two elements function and react very differently. Magnesium and calcium are two sides of a physiological coin: they are antagonistic to one another yet come as a team.

For example,

• Calcium excites nerves, magnesium calms them down.

• Calcium makes muscles contract, but magnesium is necessary for muscles to relax.

• Calcium is necessary to the clotting reaction—so necessary for wound healing—but magnesium keeps the blood flowing freely and prevents abnormal thickening when clotting reactions would be dangerous.