How Stress Impacts Your Physical Performance

Have you ever found yourself struggling with physical activities that normally were a breeze, when you're feeling over burdened? This is because stress, often seen as just a mental burden, also impacts our physical performance, especially when experienced over long periods. The constant ‘flight, fight, freeze or fawn’ mode that stress induces leads to a surge in cortisol—the stress hormone. While this is helpful in short bursts, when cortisol remains elevated over time, it disrupts normal bodily functions and can significantly hinder physical performance.

One of the first areas affected is your energy levels as stress reduces stamina, endurance, and strength, limiting what you can achieve physically. Chronic stress depletes your body’s ability to regenerate and recover, which leads to feelings of exhaustion and burnout, particularly if stress has also affected your sleep and you are dealing with insomnia. When you’re constantly tired, and your tank feels empty, even simple tasks can feel overwhelming.

In addition to fatigue, stress also impairs your immune system, leaving you more susceptible to illnesses, such as cold sores, the flu etc. Also a weakened immune system means longer recovery times from exercise as when your body’s healing capabilities are compromised, maintaining peak physical performance, or just being able to manage the physical demands of every day normal life, become even more challenging.

Stress can also cause you to experience neck, shoulder etc muscle tension or headaches, as under constant pressure, the body responds by tightening muscles - this increases the risk of sprains and strains. This is particularly noticeable for those who engage in physical activities requiring flexibility, balance, or strength.

Self-care fosters stress resilience and mental clarity, so by incorporating self-care stress-reducing techniques into your daily routine, you can maintain and support your greatest asset - your body. Taking the necessary steps to manage stress not only boosts your overall well-being but also ensures that you can perform at your highest level—both mentally and physically.

Research: The effects of psychological stress upon performance Rosanna Commisso - Founder, StressCare Solutions

Championing Workplace Wellbeing | Mental Health & Trauma Advocate

As the Founder of StressCare Solutions, my passion for helping organisations navigate the growing challenge of stress and trauma in the workplace, is personal.

With over 30-years’ experience spanning health, training and community services, and my own lived experience with mental health, burnout and trauma—I bring both professional insight and ‘lived experience’ understanding to my work.

My mission is simple: to empower organisations, and their staff, with the tools they need to recognise, manage, and reduce stress before it leads to burnout, and to implement trauma-informed practices to support their staff.

Through engaging, evidence-based workshops, impactful speaking engagements, and trauma-informed workplace support, I help teams build resilience, improve wellbeing, and thrive.

Let’s build healthier workplaces—together.

📩 rosanna@stresscare.com.au | 🌐 www.stresscare.com.au