Skip to main content

Stress Adaptation Response

Meaning

The Stress Adaptation Response is the body’s integrated physiological and psychological reaction to acute or chronic stressors, governed primarily by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the autonomic nervous system. A healthy response is characterized by a rapid, proportional mobilization of resources followed by an efficient return to baseline homeostasis. Clinically, optimizing this response means enhancing the body’s capacity to tolerate, recover from, and benefit from hormetic stressors. Chronic dysregulation in this system is a primary driver of fatigue and age-related decline.