Is there a connection between stress and difficulty in acclimatizing?
In the experience of users of this site, does intense stress hamper acclimatization? I recently experienced much more difficulty in acclimatizing in an area where I frequently visit. The only difference is that I recently have come under a great deal of stress.
(Please note that I am not asking for opinions, but first-hand experience or close observation; I also know that what is true for A may not be true for B.)
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/q/9613. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
1 answer
Is there a connection between stress and difficulty in acclimatizing?
No, no known connection has been made between stress and acclimatizing at altitude.
Does this mean that stress couldn't make acclimatizing worse? Probably not. It's simply not known what affect this has (It would also be difficult to test)
Acclimatization is an extremely complicated process and is still not well understood.
My 2 pence worth
Many factors influence how your body acclimatizes. When under stress many things are working extra hard (e.g. your bodies immune system is weaker, etc.). High altitude acclimatization is reliant on pushing your body beyond it's typical operating parameters.
Your body needs to do what it normally does and adjust to the lack of oxygen, etc. So I would guess that stress will make it harder to acclimatize. It's simply adding an addition burden onto your bodies resources that it could do without.
How big an affect, will vary considerably on the person and about 100 other things :)
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/a/9614. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
0 comment threads
0 comment threads