Since late February 2026, the news cycle has delivered an almost uninterrupted stream of significant, unsettling events: the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East, the Strait of Hormuz closure, fuel price pressures, disrupted travel, and the fragile ceasefire announced on 8 April. For people with family in India, connections to the Gulf, upcoming travel, or simply an investment in the stability of the world, this has been six weeks of sustained stress.
The human stress response was designed for acute threats. A predator, a physical danger, a brief crisis requiring a sharp response. It was not designed for low-grade, continuous exposure to destabilising news over weeks and months.
Understanding what that exposure does to your body is the first step in managing it.
The Cortisol Problem
When you perceive a threat, your adrenal glands release cortisol. Cortisol raises blood pressure, increases blood sugar, suppresses non-essential immune functions, and sharpens focus. In the short term, this is adaptive. In the medium and long term, sustained elevated cortisol is associated with:
- Sleep disruption (cortisol suppresses melatonin production)
- Impaired immune function
- Increased inflammatory markers
- Degraded working memory and decision-making
- Increased risk of anxiety and depressive episodes
- Elevated blood pressure and cardiovascular risk
The problem with news-driven stress is that the cortisol trigger is continuous. Every notification, every update, every breaking news alert generates a small cortisol response. When those responses occur dozens of times a day over weeks, the cumulative effect on your physiology is significant.
What You Can Actually Do
Define information windows, not information streams. Checking the news twice a day at defined times produces far lower cortisol burden than having news notifications running continuously. You will not miss anything important. Important developments will be available when you check.
Distinguish between news you need and news that is happening. Much of what is reported during a crisis is not actionable by you. Knowing the precise number of ceasefire violations in a given 24-hour period does not improve your decision-making unless you have flights booked. Actionable information, your airline's waiver policy, your embassy's guidance, the status of the Strait, is worth monitoring. The rest is ambient distress.
Physical exercise is the most evidence-based cortisol management intervention available. A 30-minute walk in natural light lowers cortisol, raises endorphins, and improves sleep quality that night. This is not a metaphor. It is physiology.
Sleep is non-negotiable. Cortisol disrupts sleep, and sleep deprivation raises cortisol. This is a reinforcing cycle that many people enter during sustained crisis periods. Maintaining consistent sleep and wake times, reducing screens in the hour before bed, and keeping the bedroom cool and dark are the highest-leverage interventions.
The Role of Routine
Crisis conditions tend to erode routine. Meals become irregular, sleep shifts, exercise is the first thing dropped when stress is high. This is exactly backwards from what the body needs.
Routines lower the cognitive load of daily life, which reduces cortisol burden. The body habituates to a predictable sequence of events in a way that it cannot habituate to unpredictability. A consistent morning routine, a regular meal time, a regular bedtime, creates islands of stability in conditions where external events feel chaotic.
The morning cup of chai, made the same way at the same time, is not a trivial thing. It is a small ritual that signals continuity to a nervous system that is scanning for threats. The specific warmth, the familiar smell, the brief pause before the day begins: these are legitimate physiological anchors, not just pleasant habits.
When to Seek Help
Persistent sleep disruption lasting more than two to three weeks, inability to concentrate on daily tasks, intrusive thoughts about worst-case scenarios, and withdrawal from social contact are all signs that the stress response has shifted from normal to requiring attention.
Speaking to a GP or mental health professional is not a dramatic escalation. It is maintenance. Crisis-driven anxiety responds well to early intervention and poorly to being ignored until it becomes severe.
The world will stabilise. It always has, and it will again. The ceasefire of 8 April, fragile as it is, represents movement in the right direction. What matters in the interim is keeping yourself functional, rested, and clear-headed, not because the situation does not warrant concern, but because your ability to respond to it depends on your capacity to think.
Take care of that capacity. The news will still be there when you check it at 8am tomorrow.
This article is informational and does not constitute medical advice. If you are experiencing significant anxiety or mental health difficulties, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.