3.1.7—Stress and health
- Syllabus
- First assessment 2027
- Objective
- 3.1.7
- Level
- HL
Stress affects health through appraisal, physiology and recovery
Stress is a response to demands judged to exceed available resources. The HPA axis and cortisol help mobilise energy during challenge, but repeated or prolonged activation can disrupt sleep, immunity and metabolic regulation.
Acute stress can be adaptive; chronic stress depends on duration, controllability, appraisal and recovery. Cortisol measurements have timing and sampling limits, so a single value is not a complete stress diagnosis.
A demanding shift followed by adequate sleep may produce a temporary cortisol rise that returns toward baseline. Unpredictable demands with little recovery can maintain arousal and alter appetite or concentration over time.
Cortisol is not simply the ‘stress hormone’ that explains every illness. Separate exposure, appraisal, physiological response and health outcome, and consider individual and social moderators.