Introduction to Glider Flying > Introduction to Glider Flying > Medical Factors Associated with Glider Flying > Stress

Stress can be defined as the body’s response to physical and psychological demands placed upon it. Reactions of your body to stress include the release of chemical hormones (such as adrenaline) into the blood and the speeding of the metabolism to provide energy to the muscles. In addition, blood sugar, heart rate, respiration, blood pressure, and perspiration all increase. The term stressor is used to describe an element that causes you to experience stress.

Stress falls into two categories: acute stress (short-term) and chronic stress (long-term). Acute stress involves an immediate threat that is per-ceived as danger. This is the type of stress that often involves a “fight or flight” response in an individual, whether the threat is real or imagined. Stressors are categorized on page 1-7 within the stress management discussion. Examples include noise (physical stress), fatigue (physio-logical stress), and difficult work or personal situ-ations (psychological stress). Normally, a healthy person can cope with acute stress and prevent stress overload. However, on-going acute stress can develop into chronic stress.

Chronic stress can be defined as a level of stress that presents an intolerable burden, exceeds the ability of an individual to cope, and causes per-formance to fall sharply. Unrelenting psychologi-cal pressures such as loneliness, financial worries, and relationship or work problems, can produce a cumulative level of stress that exceeds a person’s ability to cope with the situation. When stress reaches these levels, performance falls off rapidly. Pilots experiencing this level of stress are not safe and should not exercise their airman priv-ileges. The stress management discussion on page 1-7 contains several recommendations for coping with stress. If you suspect you are suffer-ing from chronic stress, consult your doctor.