Can stress be good?
Stress is a necessary part of life, and childhood is no exception. They might deal with daily stressors like the first day of school, catching a cold, getting hurt, or having a class presentation. If stress becomes manageable, and kids receive loved support from adults, stress can help them grow and develop better. However, if the stress response is extended without loving support and care, children can create toxic stress.
Do you know that?
Toxic stress can change the structure of children’s growing brains.
It is true when they experience long periods of toxic stress, their bodies are continually on high alert because they need to look for signs of danger. Studies have pointed out that this can cause some areas of the brain to not develop properly. Lacking support and protection, children might endure issues in learning, behavior, mental health, and more.
Toxic stress can negatively affect physical growth and development as well.
When children’s growing bodies are regularly drowned in stress, their bodies might think they are attacked by a virus or illness, and start sending out cells to fight the stress. This can lead to long-term health issues, such as diabetes, heart disease, etc. Badly, toxic stress can make it harder for the body to prevent real viruses over time.
So, does stress stunt your growth?
As mentioned above, stress indeed affects our overall health and well-being.
Regarding height growth, stress can disturb the fragile balance of hormones necessary for optimal development, especially growth hormones. This disruption can prevent bone extension and the achievement of individuals’ maximum height potential.
Moreover, during times of stress, people might turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms like skipping meals or having emotional eating. And these habits might result in nutritional deficiencies that affect height. Insufficient or poor nutrient intake might stunt growth and weaken the overall health of growing children.
Is there anything else?
Stress might impact spine health and posture. If you are experiencing high stress levels, you can develop tense muscles and tend to adopt poor posture like slouching or hunching over. Poor posture is also a main reason that affects your spine’s alignment, preventing bones from developing properly and leading to a shorter height.
What research mentions about stress and height growth
A study led by Dr. Scott Montgomery from the Royal Free Hospital in London found that childhood trauma and living in stressful environments can slow down growth rates. The research shows that stress reduces the levels of growth hormones in the body. If a child is removed from the stressful environment, their growth may catch up, but long-term exposure to stress can lead to permanent stunted growth. The study also points out that children who grow more slowly are at a higher risk of developing health issues like high blood pressure, heart disease, and strokes later in life [1].
Another study pointed out how stressful childhood experiences, like the loss of a parent or divorce, can lead to shorter adult height in both boys and girls. For girls who lose their fathers, the stress can cause them to enter puberty earlier, resulting in shorter stature. Boys, on the other hand, tend to experience delayed puberty in response to family disruptions, which also affect their growth [2].
An article from Loughborough University sheds light on how chronic stress, especially in children, can stunt growth. Professor Barry Bogin explains that this type of stress raises levels of hormones like cortisol, which can block the production of key growth hormones, such as growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1. This disruption can hinder bone growth, leading to shorter adult height. In his research on Maya children, he found that those who moved from impoverished, stressful environments to more affluent and safer areas grew significantly taller, highlighting the significant impact of environmental stress on growth and development [3].
A 2017 study from the University of Minnesota revealed that children adopted from stressful environments, like orphanages, often had stunted growth. Still, they could catch up after being placed in loving families. However, even during puberty, they were still shorter and thinner than their non-adopted peers. A follow-up study three years later showed that, while previously institutionalized children started shorter, they grew at the same rate as non-adopted kids during puberty. The key difference was in body mass index (BMI), with the formerly institutionalized children gaining BMI more quickly over time. Stress during puberty was also linked to faster increases in BMI in both groups, even when stress levels were relatively low [4, 5].
Tips to manage stress and nurture your children’s mental health
Childhood and adolescence are formative periods where your kids learn how to deal with stress and create the foundation for lifelong well-being. Check out some helpful tips below to help them better!
- A balanced diet, frequent exercise, and enough sleep are critical factors in developing a healthy body, helping manage stress and contribute to overall well-being better.
- Teach your child time management skills like making schedules, setting priorities, and dividing tasks, mindfulness exercises, and relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing or guided imagery. These might help decrease the stress of being overwhelmed.
- Encourage them to build positive relationships with peers to get emotional support as well as lower feelings of loneliness.
- Playtime is necessary for children’s growth and development. Encourage unstructured play as it allows them to avail creativity and imagination.
- Support your kids to set achievable goals and help them learn effort over perfection as well as celebrate their accomplishments.
- Introducing consistent daily routines is essential to give children a sense of safety and predictability, lowering stress and anxiety.
- Ensure they feel loved and safe at home because a supportive family is a great base for them to develop positive emotions.
- Do not schedule your kids with many extracurricular activities. It is best to balance to prevent stress and burnout.
- Teach them to say No and set clear boundaries if they feel overwhelmed. Also, instruct them that challenges and setbacks are a part of life, and they need to learn from failure to bounce back stronger.
- Parents should be a positive role model to give their children healthy stress management techniques and self-care practices.
Final words,
Stress can affect our children’s height by obstructing hormone levels, preventing bone growth, and contributing to nutritional deficiencies. However, do not worry too much because we can help them deal with stress to grow and develop better. Keep in mind that addressing stress is not only vital for height increase but also for overall long-term health and well-being.
- Related post: Does Weight Training Stunt A Child's Growth?
