The Link Between Anxiety and Muscle Tension: Why You’re Always Tight
Fight-or-Flight Response: When you’re anxious, your body activates the fight-or-flight response, causing muscles to tense up in preparation for danger.
Posture Changes: Anxiety can affect your posture, causing you to slouch or hunch over. Poor posture can contribute to muscle strain, especially in the neck, upper back, and lower back.
Breathing Changes: People with anxiety often breathe shallowly or rapidly, which can cause the muscles around the chest and diaphragm to tense up.
Increased Cortisol Levels: Anxiety raises cortisol levels, a stress hormone that can contribute to muscle tightness and pain if it remains elevated for prolonged periods.
Chronic Stress Cycle: As muscle tension increases, it can create a feedback loop, where the discomfort caused by tight muscles increases anxiety.
Physical Symptoms of Anxiety: Besides tension, anxiety can cause headaches, jaw clenching, and tightness in the face, all of which are linked to muscle stress.
Psychosomatic Response: The mind and body are interconnected, so emotional stress can directly influence physical conditions, causing muscles to tighten and ache.
Impact on Sleep: Muscle tension from anxiety can interfere with sleep, making it difficult to relax and recover, which exacerbates both anxiety and physical tightness.