Stress Impacts Fertility : Mind – Body Connection

1.    Sometimes life is stressful, but your home shouldn't be. Your home should be your sanctuary. It should be the one place you're able to relax and unwind after a long day. It's easy to create a stress-free home, and we have some tips to help you create your very own relaxing oasis.

2.    Decorate the foyer or entryway with lighting and fur­niture you love. Since these are the first things you'll see when you walk into your home, it's important to buy home decor items that will brighten your mood and make your happy.

3.     Fill your home with soft, relaxing light. Table lamps, floor lamps, and pendant lighting are just a few light fix­tures that provide soft light that will instantly relax a room.

4.    Steer clear of unsightly messes by keeping things like old newspapers and mail neatly organized.

5.    Create space in a room by donating unneeded furniture to your local good will store. Creating space is a way to remove clutter, and can help you relax.

6. One of the easiest ways to create a relaxing environ­ment is decorating with plants and flowers. Simply set­ting a vase full of flowers on the kitchen table can create a relaxed feeling.

The mind-body connection recognizes the reality that the mind and body are intimately and ultimately linked as one. There is absolutely no separation. What is thought or felt always resonates throughout the body moment by moment through a bio-chemical re­action. This reaction is either life and health enhancing or defeating. It has also been verified that each emotion has a distinct biochemical signature that affects mental and physical health and wellness. Medi­tation, deep breathing exercises, re­laxation techniques and directed, guided imagery can boost the im­mune system, alter blood pressure, decrease pain, and help with prob­lems such as infertility. Infertility isn't always the result of Physical illness or dysfunction. Sometimes, lifestyle factors can play an important role in determining a couple's fertility. Mental health is one lifestyle factor that is of particu­lar concern when it comes to fertil­ity. Many couples struggle with severe stress, depression, and emo­tional concerns as they deal with fertility issues. These emotional problems can have just as severe an effect on fertility as any physical problem. If you are trying to con­ceive, take stock of your mental health and work to minimize the success in your life. You will be amazed with the results!

HOW STRESS IMPACTS FERTILITY

It is important to understand fertility holistically. In addition to treat­ing the various physical etiologies of infertility, we must take into account the effects of stress and anxiety. Your mind and body work together, not separately. Therefore your thoughts live a direct effect on your physiol­ogy. When you are experiencing stress, your brain releases stress hor­mones.

These stress hormones function in many ways. One of the stress hormones, conrtisol has been documented to interfere with the release of the reproductive hormones. GnRH (gonadatropin releasing hormone), LH (luteinizing hormone), FSH (follicle stimulating hormone), estrogen, and progesterone. In fact, severe enough stress can completely inhibit the reproductive system. Cortisol levels have also been linked to very early pregnancy loss. Recent research tells us that stress boosts levels of stress hormones such as Cortisol, which inhibits the body's main sex hormones GnRH (go­nadotropin releasing hormone) and subsequently suppresses ovulation, sexual activity and sperm count. GnRH is responsible for the release of Luteinizing hormones and folli­cle-stimulating hormones by the pi­tuitary, the suppression of testosterone, estrogens, and sexual behavior.

For this reason, it has been found extremely helpful when treating in­fertility, to include mind-body con­nections and strategies which help to alleviate the stress response that sets off a cascade of hormonal re­sponses which may inhibit fertility. Chronic stress may cause lack of li­bido as well as a decrease in general fertility. This has become such a common issue that they have cre­ated a name for it Stress Induced Re­productive Dysfunction.

RELATIONSHIP AND INFERTILITY

If you are experiencing infertility, you may find that your struggles are really impacting your personal rela­tionship with your partner. The rollercoaster of emotions caused by infertility can put extreme stress on any partnership, making it difficult to relate to one another, talk to each other, and lean on one another for support. Many couples feel that in­fertility negatively affects their rela­tionship in a number of ways. It may also cause extreme personal stress, which can only impact fur­ther on your infertility. When you are struggling with infertility, it is important to learn how to manage your stress and emotions in order to maintain your partnership and en­hance your fertility. Many couples find it difficult to ex­press their true feelings and emo­tions. This can be especially troublesome when faced with the very real possibility that you may not conceive. However, if you do not learn to express your emotions, you may actually be further reducing your fertility. Research over the past decade has illustrated that emotions and stress have a dramatic impact on our body's functions. Emotions can make us feel sick, tired, ener­getic, or weak. Similarly, emotions and stress can also impact our hor­mone levels, influencing our fertil­ity.

There are a number of infertility re­treats based on the premise that the condition of the mind can greatly in­fluence physical fertility. These re­treats aim to restore or boost fertility by helping you to calm your mind and deal with your emotions. Activi­ties may include, a recent study illus­trates that mind-body infertility retreats significantly reduce the anxi­ety levels of women undergoing IVF and similar therapies. Though the study did not correlate the relationship between the mind-body retreats and subsequent IVF success rates, it has been shown in previous studies that women with lower anxiety rates have an in­creased chance of fertility treatment success.

You may also want to consider cre­ating a mind-body retreat within your own home in which you can escape to when you feel yourself be­coming overly stressed. Check out these great tips on redecorating your home for ideas on how you can create your relaxation oasis.

DEALING WITH INFERTILITY

If you are interested in trying differ­ent ways to boost your fertility, con­sider techniques to help control your emotional stress and improve your psychological wellbeing. When combined with stress busters, your traditional fertility treatments, mind-body connection guidelines can be highly successful and help to solidify relationships while enhanc­ing your overall enjoyment of life.

Dr. Mrs. Neeraj Pahlajani

Obstetrician & IVF Specialist

(MS, DNB, FMAS, DRM - Germany)

Pahlajani Test Tube Baby Centre

(Mata Laxmi Nursing Home)

Anupam Nagar, Near T.V. Tower, Raipur (Chhattisgarh) India

Phone:  +91- 771- 4052967, +91- 771- 4053285

Mobile:  +91- 9300511044, +91- 9329630455

Email - contact@raipurivf.com, sameerp5000@hotmail.com

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