How stress affects your brain - Madhumita Murgia

Prevodilac: Mile Živković Lektor: Milenka Okuka

Are you sleeping restlessly,

Da li nemirno spavate,

feeling irritable or moody,

osećate se iritirano ili razdražljivo,

forgetting little things,

zaboravljate sitnice

and feeling overwhelmed and isolated?

i osećate se preopterećeno i izolovano?

Don't worry. We've all been there.

Ne brinite. Svi smo prošli kroz to.

You're probably just stressed out.

Verovatno ste samo pod stresom.

Stress isn't always a bad thing.

Stres nije uvek loš.

It can be handy for a burst of extra energy and focus,

Može biti koristan za nalet dodatne energije i koncentracije,

like when you're playing a competitive sport,

kao kada se takmičite u nekom sportu

or have to speak in public.

ili morate da javno govorite.

But when its continuous,

Ali kada je stalan,

the kind most of us face day in and day out,

kao onaj sa kojim se većina nas svakodnevno suočava,

it actually begins to change your brain.

stres zapravo počinje da menja vaš mozak.

Chronic stress,

Hronični stres,

like being overworked or having arguments at home,

poput preobimne količine posla ili svađa kod kuće,

can affect brain size,

može da utiče na veličinu mozga,

its structure,

njegovu strukturu,

and how it functions,

način na koji funkcioniše,

right down to the level of your genes.

sve do nivoa vaših gena.

Stress begins with something called

Stres počinje nečim što se zove

the hypothalamus pituitary adrenal axis,

hipotalamusno-hipofizno- nadbubrežna osovina,

a series of interactions

niz interakcija

between endocrine glands in the brain and on the kidney,

između endokrinih žlezda u mozgu i bubrezima,

which controls your body's reaction to stress.

koje kontrolišu reakcije vašeg tela na stres.

When your brain detects a stressful situation,

Kada vaš mozak otkrije stresnu situaciju,

your HPA axis is instantly activated

vaša HNO se odmah aktivira i luči hormon kortizol,

and releases a hormone called cortisol, which primes your body for instant action.

koji vaše telo priprema za trenutnu reakciju.

But high levels of cortisol over long periods of time

Ali visoki nivoi kortizola tokom dugih perioda vremena

wreak havoc on your brain.

izazivaju haos u vašem mozgu.

For example, chronic stress increases the activity level

Na primer, hronični stres povećava nivo aktivnosti

and number of neural connections in the amygdala,

i broj nervnih veza u amigdali,

your brain's fear center.

centru za strah u vašem mozgu.

And as levels of cortisol rise,

Kako rastu nivoi kortizola,

electric signals in your hippocampus,

električni signali u vašem hipokampusu,

the part of the brain associated with learning, memories, and stress control,

delu vašeg mozga koji je povezan sa učenjem, sećanjem i kontrolom stresa,

deteriorate.

smanjuju se.

The hippocampus also inhibits the activity of the HPA axis,

Hipokampus takođe smanjuje aktivnost HNO,

so when it weakens,

pa kada ona oslabi,

so does your ability to control your stress.

slabi i vaša sposobnost da kontrolišete vaš stres.

That's not all, though.

Ipak, to nije sve.

Cortisol can literally cause your brain to shrink in size.

Od kortizola vaš mozak bukvalno može da se smanji.

Too much of it results in the loss of synaptic connections between neurons

Previše kortizola za posledicu ima gubitak sinaptičkih veza među neuronima

and the shrinking of your prefrontal cortex,

i smanjivanje vašeg prefrontalnog korteksa,

the part of your brain the regulates behaviors like concentration,

dela vašeg mozga koji upravlja ponašanjima, poput koncentrisanja,

decision-making,

donošenja odluka,

judgement,

rasuđivanja

and social interaction.

i društvenih interakcija.

It also leads to fewer new brain cells being made in the hippocampus.

Takođe dovodi do toga da se u hipokampusu proizvodi manje novih moždanih ćelija.

This means chronic stress might make it harder for you to learn

Ovo znači da vam hronični stres može otežati učenje

and remember things,

i pamćenje stvari

and also set the stage for more serious mental problems,

i takođe stvara osnovu za ozbiljnije mentalne probleme,

like depression and eventually Alzheimer's disease.

poput depresije i konačno Alchajmerove bolesti.

The effects of stress may filter right down to your brain's DNA.

Posledice stresa mogu se odraziti i na DNK vašeg mozga.

Jedan eksperiment pokazao je

An experiment showed

that the amount of nurturing a mother rat provides its newborn baby

da količina brige koju majka pacova pokaže prema novorođenom mladunčetu

plays a part in determining how that baby responds to stress later in life.

igra ulogu u tome kako će mladunče kasnije u životu reagovati na stres.

The pups of nurturing moms turned out less sensitive to stress

Mladunci brižnih majki odrasli su kao manje osetljivi na stres

because their brains developed more cortisol receptors,

jer su njihovi mozgovi razvili više receptora za kortizol

which stick to cortisol and dampen the stress response.

koji se lepe za kortizol i ublažavaju reakciju na stres.

The pups of negligent moms had the opposite outcome,

Mladunci majki koje nisu bile brižne imali su suprotan rezultat

and so became more sensitive to stress throughout life.

i postali su osetljiviji na stres tokom svog života.

These are considered epigenetic changes,

Ove promene smatraju se epigenetskim,

meaning that they effect which genes are expressed

što znači da utiču na to koji geni se izražavaju

without directly changing the genetic code.

bez direktne promene genetskog koda.

And these changes can be reversed if the moms are swapped.

Ove promene mogu se preokrenuti ukoliko se majke zamene.

But there's a surprising result.

Ali posledice su iznenađujuće.

The epigenetic changes caused by one single mother rat

Epigenetske promene koje izazove jedna majka pacova

were passed down to many generations of rats after her.

nasleđuju mnoge generacije pacova nakon nje.

In other words, the results of these actions were inheritable.

Drugim rečima, posledice ovih akcija bile su nasledne.

It's not all bad news, though.

Ipak, nisu sve vesti loše.

There are many ways to reverse what cortisol does to your stressed brain.

Postoji mnogo načina da se preokrene ono što kortizol radi vašem mozgu.

The most powerful weapons are exercise and meditation,

Najjača oružja su vežbanje i meditacija,

which involves breathing deeply

gde se duboko diše

and being aware and focused on your surroundings.

i gde ste svesni i usredsređeni na svoju okolinu.

Both of these activities decrease your stress

Obe ove aktivnosti smanjuju vaš stres

and increase the size of the hippocampus,

i povećavaju veličinu hipokampusa,

thereby improving your memory.

čime se poboljšava vaše pamćenje.

So don't feel defeated by the pressures of daily life.

Stoga se nemojte osećati poraženo zbog pritiska svakodnevnog života.

Get in control of your stress before it takes control of you.

Preuzmite kontrolu nad vašim stresom pre nego što on počne da kontroliše vas.