When we're hit with big, bad news — getting laid off, or a troubling diagnosis — we often spring into action to deal with the problem.

• But smaller things that irk us — a terse message from a manager, even a sink full of dishes — add up. And they eventually have an outsized impact on our mental and physical health.

Why it matters: Most of us tend to ignore micro-stresses, and just focus on the big stuff. But the small things also require our attention.

• "None of these things evoke the fight-or-flight mechanism," says Rob Cross, a professor at Babson College and author of a forthcoming book about micro-stress.

But even if we ignore them, our bodies don't.

• Small stresses trigger some of the same physical effects as big ones, including elevated blood pressure and lower-quality sleep, Cross says.
• Micro-stresses explain why we can feel exhausted or defeated at the end of a day — even if nothing big went wrong.

Case in point: One fascinating study found that if even a relatively minor social stress is experienced within two hours of a meal, your metabolism of that meal is disrupted.

• The effect is equivalent to adding 104 calories to that meal.
• If that happens every day, it adds up to 11 pounds in a year, per Harvard Business Review.

What to do: We can all take steps to be more aware of — and address — the micro-stresses in our lives.

1. Have a big conversation about a small(ish) thing: If your boss is routinely annoying you by not communicating deadlines or if your child is stressing you out by taking hours to respond to messages, consider bringing it up in a bigger conversation. You'll likely be surprised at how much eradicating a small but repeated stressor boosts your mood.
2. Diversify your life. Cross' research showed that people with robust personal lives, filled with family, friends and hobbies, tend to be less affected by work-related micro-stresses.
3. Meditate. As we've reported, practicing meditation and mindfulness can clear your mind and do away with stresses — small or big.

Share this story.

Finish Line reader Scott T. wowed us with this snap from Antarctica.