What a wonderful gift this makes for a friend or loved one. Science has amply demonstrated that stress has a strong effect on both the immune system and the body's ability to heal. Science has known for a quarter of a century that preparation for surgery triggers stress that can be documented physiologically. A 1975 study showed that patients who were shaved, washed, and given an enema before heart surgery released a burst of the stress hormone cortisol more than four times greater than normal for that time of day. Among 30 dental surgery patients, those with high levels of stress during the previous six months took longer to recover from anesthesia and reported significantly more pain than did the patients with low levels of stress.
Anxiety can lead to poorer recovery.
Among 126 back surgery patients, those who were anxious before surgery had significantly more fatigue, tension, and pain three months later than those who were not anxious. Among 102 women who had minor gynecological surgery, those who expressed more worry before the procedure displayed greater heart rate and blood pressure changes before and during the procedure, were more difficult to anesthetize, and more likely to experience headaches, vomiting, and pain afterward. IL-iB initiates a cascade of events critical to successful wound healing. It attaches cells called neupthils and monocytes, which digest debris and bacteria at the wound site, it stimulates various components of the skin, such as fibroblasts and epithelial cells, to proliferate, and it triggers the production of other immune system components. If you look at wound healing as a cascade, and stress limits very early part of that cascade, then it's not surprising that stress slows down the process.