Stress is a negative energy that we don’t want to feel however, there are things we still don’t know about it.

What we don’t know is when we are stressed, our adrenal glands release a cascade of hormones, including adrenaline, which ups our heart rate and boosts energy, and cortisol, which increases glucose in the bloodstream. When our body gets overwhelmed with these chemicals for weeks and months, we start to see ill effects.

But in short bursts (like a day or less) stress can make our body more efficient and our mind razor sharp. The first good thing about stress is it makes us smarter. Yes, it’s true that it can enhance learning and memory because of the effect of small bursts of cortisol in the brain.

Second, it makes us nicer because when we are stressed, our body pumps out oxytocin, a hormone that facilitates bonding—making this is an ideal time to call our family, college roommate or connect with friends on Facebook.

The third good thing is it makes us heartier. Bursts of stress may prime our body to battle future ailments. They can boost the immune system, with long-term effects, a study from the Stanford School of Medicine found. And we don’t have to do anything—enjoy the protective benefits of short-term stress, and know that as long as we take some downtime later to breathe, our body’s got us covered.