We all wish we were stress free but, unfortunately, throughout our lives we will experience stress. What you may not know is there are two kinds of stress: good stress and bad stress.  Stress is actually one of our bodies' best defense systems despite it's bad reputation. When we sense danger, such as an oncoming vehicle, our bodies release adrenaline and other chemicals which make us more alert, raise our bloods press and increase our speed, strength and reaction time. This positive effect of stress can be harnessed for short-term productivity goals. Many procrastinators work very efficiently in the last minute to get things done. This is just one example of working under stress. Another would be if you feel your business may have to be shut down unless something is done, you will find the strength to work extra hard to meet your goals. It has a similar effect as a life-threatening danger. What we need to learn is to ensure this behavior does not continue for extended periods of time as to affect our health.  This is where stress testing tools can help.

There are a number of stress testing tools that are safe, easy-to-use and reliable that screen stress levels by using a small saliva sample to measure your levels of DHEA and cortisol, which are hormones vital to your body's response to stress. These two hormones help balance each other to ensure a stress response. DHEA is anabolic, a constructive hormone that affects the immune system, blood pressure, and sleep, among its many functions. Cortisol is a catabolic hormone, a hormone that also affects the immune system, blood pressure, and sleep. When your body feels stress, cortisol is essential. Cortisol maintains and raises your energy levels to assist your body during that stressful period. Together, these two hormones work to provide your body with an optimal stress response.

Hormones can affect our health and are powerful chemical messengers that circulate through our bloodstream to specific target cells, where they generate a wide range of biological responses. You probably think of hormones as the "prime movers" of your physical and emotional health. Every time you get angry, become tired, laugh, cry, have sex, wake up, feel hungry, or fall asleep your body is responding to hormones. That's because hormone levels can impact virtually every major system and organ in your body. There are several major hormones that have particularly powerful effects on your health, and each one plays a unique physiological role in the body.

DHEA is the most abundant hormone in your bloodstream. Although the complete scope of its function is not yet fully determined, DHEA seems to balance the effects of cortisol by improving the body's ability to cope with stress. It also provides the source material for the production of important sex hormones.

Clinical studies suggest that DHEA can boost energy levels, strengthen immune function, improve memory, and reduce body fat. Some researchers believe that DHEA acts as a "mood elevator," preventing depression and senile dementia by protecting important neurons in the brain. DHEA levels should be closely monitored when supplementing, however, to prevent potentially harmful imbalances.

As you grow older, hormone levels can drop by as much as 80%-90% from their youthful peaks. Researchers have found that this decrease plays an important role in the aging process- ultimately impairing muscle development, sexual function, sleep patterns, and various brain functions- including memory, along with reducing one's overall sense of well-being. What's more, those imbalances can put you at a higher risk for cardiovascular problems and poor bone health.

It is important to make the distinction between acute stress, such as that experienced during sky-diving or bungee jumping, and chronic stress caused by, say, long-term economic hardship. Chronic stress is almost certainly bad for you, but acute stress actually enhances immune function and improves the ability of the body to respond to infection or immunization. So the thing that most affects your long term health is not dramatic life events but on-going day-to-day problems.