It's no secret that stress is anything but beneficial. You probably know that stress weakens your immune system, decreases digestive function, alters your sleep habits and mood, and causes your body to deposit fat in unflattering ways. We haven't even mentioned the effect on blood pressure, the load on your heart . . . The list goes on and on.
When you are stressed your body gets ready for "fight or flight" by dumping stored energy into the bloodstream so that you can perform super human feats of strength and stamina (fight that sabre toothed tiger, run from the grizzly bear). Today's stresses don't generally require any physical exertion, so the stress hormones remain present in our bloodstream, keeping the cycle going, and the calorie storage is deposited as fat, usually around our midsection (When the body is stressed we pull fat storage from the limbs and deposit it in our torso. This is bad for soooo many reasons.)
Enough about that. What can you do to manage your stress?
Remember to breathe! -- Taking deep breaths will help move your body out of "fight or flight" mode and back into a place where normal function can return and the body can begin clearing out all of the hormones produced by stress. The faster you can make that happen the better!
Get moving. -- Exercise is a great way to relieve stress. Make it something you enjoy, dancing, a brisk walk in nature, taking it out on a heavy bag (hey it can extremely therapeutic!). How about a Pilates class? ;-) Moving your body increases the depth and rate of your breathing, increases circulation, and burns off the calories your body has dumped into your bloodstream before they can be redeposited.
Take time for you! -- What do you enjoy? What brings you peace and happiness? A hot bath? A massage? Music? Give yourself permission to forget about everything stressful and immerse yourself into something pleasurable, a mini vacation. You deserve it! You will be better prepared to handle your responsibilities with a clear relaxed mind.
"Don't sweat the small stuff (and it's all small stuff)" - Richard Carlson -- This is so true, and yet so easy to forget. In the moment there are things that can seem to be huge. When we step back and put it into perspective, how much will this matter in 10 days? 10 weeks? 10 years? Is it worth my worrying over it now? Will my stressing over this help anything? These are good questions to ask yourself to gain perspective. Here are more great tips for getting perspective. http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=view_from_the_bay/health_fitness&id=6958418
Here's to your health! May you have a relaxing and peaceful weekend!
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