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How Does Stress Affect The Immune System

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How Does Stress Affect The Immune System
How does stress affect the immune system

The immune system is designed to defend the body against millions of antigens that would otherwise invade it. None of these things are able to get in when your immune system is working efficiently, but the moment your immune system stops functioning properly, the opportunity for antigens to attack is available.
Kiecolt-Glaser (1984) carried out a natural experiment investigating whether the stress of short-term stressors had an effect on immune system functioning in medical students. Blood samples were taken one month before and during exam period itself. Immune system functioning was assessed by measuring NK cell activity in the blood samples. Participants also completed a questionnaire to measure other life stressors they were experiencing.
They found that NK cell activity was significantly reduced in the second blood sample compared to the sample taken one month before. This suggests that short-term stressors reduce immune system functioning thus increasing vulnerability to illness. Kiecolt-Glaser also found that the highest level of loneliness had the lowest NK cell activity.
Exam-related immune changes have also shown to have a dramatic effect on the rate at which wounds heal. Marucha (1998) inflicted a ‘punch biopsy’ in the mouth of the …show more content…
Marital relationships can be stressful, as can separation from a marital partner. Kiecolt-Glaser (2005) tested the impact of interpersonal conflict on wound healing. She found that blister wounds on the arms of married couples healed more slowly after they had a discussions which were conflicting rather than supportive. Kiecolt-Glaser (1987) compared women separated from their partners with matched married controls. They found poorer immune system functioning in women who had separated during the last
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