Is it possible to faint from stress?

When we talk about fainting, we are talking about temporarily losing consciousness of oneself. Fainting usually occurs when not enough blood reaches the brain due to a drop in blood pressure. This is also known as fainting, which can occur isolated or suddenly for weeks or months, to end up disappearing.

In most cases, the people who experience these continuous episodes of fainting spells or fainting spells are people who, due to their jobs or daily activities, they tend to spend too much time in places with high temperatures, full of other people or where they must be on their feet for many hours. For this reason, health professionals highlight the influence of stressful or exhausting situations as triggers for fainting or fainting.

Stress has a negative impact on our health, increasing the risk of having physical problems such as heart attacks or sleeping problems. Having blackouts continuously can become a disabling situation, and also whoever suffers them can experience dangerous situations, as there is the possibility of experiencing them in unknown environments or involving risks.

In this article we are going to talk about the possibility of suffering blackouts due to stress, exploring the causes that these have and the existence of strategies or ways to prevent their appearance.

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What are fainting?

The clinical name of fainting is vasovagal syncope or neurocardiogenic syncope. Vasovagal syncope can be caused by different factors, such as stress or disproportionate reactions to stimulation that can generate a lot of anguish, fear or surprise. The triggers for vasovagal syncope are a sudden drop in heart rate and blood pressure. As a result, cerebral blood flow decreases and unconsciousness occurs.

In general, these episodes are harmless and do not require specific treatment.; when the continued exposure to the triggering stimuli ends, these episodes usually stop appearing. The danger of fainting is hurting yourself as a result of the episode, either by being in a dangerous situation when it happens or by finding yourself in unfamiliar social situations.

Among the most common symptoms before fainting due to vasovagal syncope, you can experience: skin paleness, lightheadedness, narrowed tunnel vision, nausea, feeling hot, cold clammy sweat, and vision blurred. During a faint like this you may suffer sudden and abnormal movements, a slow and weak pulse and dilated pupils. Usually, these blackouts do not last more than a few minutes.

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What triggers can there be?

Some of the most common triggers are:

1. physical triggers

As we have previously mentioned, being in situations or environments with very high temperatures, very crowded or poorly ventilated, can be causes of fainting. Also standing too long or getting up too quickly.

2. emotional stress

Emotions such as fear or surprise, and emotional experiences such as anxiety or pain, can cause a drop in blood pressure that triggers a faint like these.

3. hyperventilation

Hyperventilation occurs when a person breathes too fast. This lowers the CO2 concentration in the blood and the blood vessels narrow. Blood flow to the brain decreases and fainting may occur.

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4. Medical problems

Some heart problems, anemia or low blood sugar concentration can cause fainting more easily than in the general population.

5. pregnancies

During pregnancy, changes occur in the circulatory system, compressing large blood vessels and partially obstructing the blood supply, which can reduce blood flow to the brain.

What happens in the body?

When a person is exposed to the triggering stimuli or stressors discussed above, the sympathetic system is activated. nervous, the one that acts in situations of fear or fright, producing palpitations, cardiac acceleration, sweating and rise in tension arterial. To counteract these sudden rises, the parasympathetic system suddenly kicks in., which is responsible for attenuating or decreasing this agitation. This causes the blood vessels to dilate and generates a sudden drop in blood pressure, causing a decrease in heart rate.

In these processes, the vagus nerve is very important, since it is the one that is stimulated through the triggers of fainting, and it is, in turn, the nerve that activates the parasympathetic system. The vagus nerve is the longest nerve in the human body and has a considerable number of branches that run from the brainstem to the lowest part of the intestines. Throughout its entire course, it has contact with most of the main organs of the human body.

Whenever we inhale and exhale air, our vagus nerve secretes acetylcholine to our heart. This substance works like a tranquilizer, stimulating the relaxation response and making the intervals between heartbeats slow down and improve heart rate variability.

Basically, we could say that fainting is generated by a sudden and continuous action of both the sympathetic system and the parasympathetic system, activating a series of physiological changes that cause the body to enter a state of deactivation temporary.

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How to prevent fainting?

To conclude the article, we can clarify that yes; It is possible to faint due to stress or continued exposure to stressful stimuli. However, There are ways to identify these situations and try to avoid fainting.. Next, we propose a series of ways to prevent or avoid fainting due to stress:

1. lie down if you can

Lying down helps prevent fainting because it makes it easier for blood to reach the brain, especially by slightly elevating your feet. When you feel better, be careful when getting up and do it very slowly and lean on something or someone if you can.

2. Put your head between your knees

Like the previous one, this position also facilitates the arrival of blood to the brain. In the same way, it is important to be careful when getting back up.

3. hydrate

In general, consume enough fluids throughout the day It is important for health, especially after physical activity or at times when it is very hot.

4. Activate your blood circulation

To improve blood circulation, it is positive to avoid sitting for a long time, take walks and stretch your legs and muscles.

5. Avoid hot, crowded or poorly ventilated environments

Continued exposure to heat can cause a drop in voltage more easily than in well-ventilated and cool environments.