8 Weird Signs You’re Way Too Stressed Out

Dreams usually get progressively more positive as you sleep, so you wake up in a better mood than you were in when you went to bed, says Rosalind Cartwright, Ph.D., an emeritus professor of psychology at Rush University Medical Center. 

But when you’re stressed, you wake up more often, disrupting this process and allowing unpleasant imagery to recur all night. 

Related: What Your Dreams Are Trying to Tell You

Good sleep habits can help prevent this; aim for 7 to 8 hours a night, and avoid caffeine and alcohol close to bedtime. 

According to a Brazilian analysis of 14 past studies, stressed-out people have a higher risk of periodontal disease. 

Chronically elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol may impair the immune system and allow bacteria to invade the gums, say researchers.

Related: 7 Weird Things Your Teeth Are Trying to Tell You

If you’re working long hours and eating dinner at your desk, keep a toothbrush on hand. And “protect your mouth by exercising and sleeping more, which will help lower stress,” says Preston Miller, D.D.S., past president of the American Academy of Periodontology.

Stress increases the inflammation that leads to breakouts and adult acne, says Gil Yosipovitch, M.D., a clinical professor of dermatology at Wake Forest University. 

Smooth your skin with a lotion containing skin-sloughing salicylic acid or bacteria-busting benzoyl peroxide, and add in a noncomedogenic moisturizer so your skin doesn’t get too dry. 

If your skin doesn’t respond to treatment within a few weeks, see your doctor for more potent meds.

Related: 12 Common Skin Problems and Solutions

A Japanese study of more than 2,000 people found that those with chronic itch (known as pruritis) were twice as likely to be stressed out as those without the condition. 

Although an annoying itch problem can certainly cause stress, experts say it’s likely that feeling anxious or tense also aggravates underlying conditions like dermatitis, eczema, and psoriasis. 

“The stress response activates nerve fibers, causing an itchy sensation,” explains Dr. Yosipovitch.

In a 2008 experiment, researchers from Ohio State University College of Medicine found that allergy sufferers had more symptoms after they took an anxiety-inducing test, compared with when they performed a task that did not make them tense. 

Stress hormones may stimulate the production of IgE, a blood protein that causes allergic reactions, says study author Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, Ph.D.

Anxiety and stress can cause stomach aches, along with headaches, backaches, and insomnia. 

One study of 1,953 men and women found that those experiencing the highest levels of stress were more than three times as likely to have abdominal pain as their more relaxed counterparts.

The exact connection is still unclear, but one theory holds that your intestines and your brain share nerve pathways; when your mind reacts to stress, your intestines pick up the same signal. 

Because of this link, learning to manage stress with the help of a clinical psychologist, meditation, or even exercise can usually help relieve stomach troubles, too. (Try one of these 2-minute stress solutions.)

However, if you have frequent stomach aches, see your doc to rule out food allergies, lactose intolerance, irritable bowel syndrome, or an ulcer.

The article 10 Silent Signals You’re Way Too Stressed originally ran on Prevention.com.