The Impact of Stress
The impact of stress on executive function skills is one of my favorite topics because it relates to pretty much every person who is reading this. Are you a human? Then, you probably need to hear this: Stress negatively impacts your executive function skills.
According to Dr. Russell Barkley, “executive function is the cognitive process that organizes thoughts and activities, prioritizes tasks, manages time efficiently, and makes decisions” (Additude Mag). Seems pretty important right? These skills are all housed in your prefrontal cortex which is the part of your brain right behind your forehead. You use these skills every day to be a functional person.
When we experience stress, our body’s go into a fight, flight, or freeze response. When our body enters one of these states, it focuses on survival instead of optimal functioning. Our stress response has the ability to override our executive function skills in order to preserve our life. Evolutionarily, this was extremely when we were being chased by a bear. We didn’t necessarily need a 5 step logical plan to escape. We just needed to escape to survive. The stress we experience these days can trigger that same cognitive override despite us not being in true physical danger.
When you are stressed out, your brain intentionally directs your attention to the stressor (see evolutionary explanation above). But, if your stressor is a college final your brain and nervous system has now identified this as your stressor. This is why it’s so easy to forget that you have other responsibilities. If you have ADHD, your brain is already three years behind on developing executive function skills (on average), it’s no wonder you feel like you're floundering.
So, enough about the catastrophic impacts of stress. What can you do about it? Well, I’m going to tell you something revolutionary and it might blow your mind. You have to reduce your stress in order to improve your executive function skills. That’s crazy, right?
But in all seriousness, in our face-paced, high stress world, it is imperative that we reduce our stress for the sake of our executive function skills and health.
Here are some tools to try:
Yoga- moving your body, stretching your muscles, and breathing are all extremely helpful in regulating your nervous system and telling your brain that you are safe.
Spending time in nature- spending just 20 min per day in nature can reduce stress (Harvard)
Spend time with people you love (and who don’t stress you out more!): maintaining our social connections with people who “fill our cup” is so important especially during times of stress.
Try these 3 simple ways to reduce and report back which helped you feel less stressed out! I bet you felt better able to take on the day and manage all the things life had to throw at you!
*If you are actually in danger, this is not the advice for you. Please seek professional help.
