Healthful Expression of the Stress Response through Physical Exercise

Having read the initial chapters of this text, which described the nature of the stress response, there appears to be justification for the conclusion that the stress response represents a psychophysiological process which prepares the organism for physical exertion. The increase in blood supply to the heart and the striate muscles, the increase in striate-muscle tension, and the increase in circulating glucose coupled with the decrease in the blood supply to the gastrointestinal system and to the skin are just a few of the signs indicative of a mobilization of the body’s resources in preparation for physical activity (see Benson, 1975; Cannon, 1953; Chavat et ai, 1964). Based on the discussions sponsored by the World Health Organization, Chavat et al. (1964) concluded that when the stress response does not lead to such physically active somatomotor expression, the organism undergoes increased strain, or psychophysiological load: What is obvious is that often repeated incidents of … [suppressed somatomotor expressions] must imply an increased load on heart and bloodvessels and also considerable, possibly fairly prolonged, changes in blood composition and in chemical environment of the cardiovascular effector ceils, (p. 131)