By London Nutritionist Sylvia Hensher
TOP 7 STRESS BUSTERS
Stress is a constant factor in today’s fast-paced society. Psychological or physical stress can trigger the body’s response to a perceived threat or danger which is called the Fight-or-Flight response. During this reaction, certain hormones like adrenaline and cortisol are released which increase our heart rate, slow digestion and shunt blood flow to major muscle groups in order to give the body a burst of energy and strength for a perceived emergency. It is an evolutionary mechanism designed to enable us to fight or run away when faced with physical danger. When the perceived threat is gone, our bodily systems are designed to return to normal function via the relaxation response.
However, in modern life, this stress response is now activated in situations where it is inappropriate, like in traffic or during a stressful day at work. We also don’t activate the relaxation response often enough to allow our bodies to return to normal function. As a consequence, we experience prolonged, uninterrupted states of physiological arousal which can cause damage to the body. If left unchecked, it can wreak havoc upon our health by reducing our resistance to illness and disease and negatively impacting on our mood.
7 Ways To Reduce And Control Your Stress
1. Learn Tension-Reducing Techniques-these can activate your body’s relaxation response, putting your body in a calm state. These techniques include meditation, yoga, stretching, deep breathing exercises, and positive imagery which can be practised when you’re under stress, helping you feel better relatively quickly.
2. Laughter and Humour- Laughing reduces stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol and also benefits your immune system by increasing the number and activity of Natural Killer T-cells, which act as the first line of defence against viral attacks and damaged cells
3. Sleep-getting enough sound sleep has a profound impact on your stress levels, immune function and disease resistance. A chronic lack of sleep can leave you feeling sluggish, irritable, forgetful, accident-prone, and have difficulty concentrating or coping with life’s daily aggravations. Long-term sleep loss can is also associated with heart disease, stroke, depression, and anxiety. Strive to get 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Sleep time is when your body and immune system do most of its repairs and rejuvenation.
4. Positive Thinking-optimism can counteract the negative impact stress, tension and anxiety has on your immune system and well-being. Often it is how you perceive things that determine if you get overwhelmed, both mentally and physically. Having a positive attitude, finding the good in what life throws your way and looking at the bright side of things enhances your ability to effectively manage stress
5. Manage Your Time– Sometimes all the things we have to do can seem overwhelming and impossible to accomplish. Learning how to manage your time can make work, play and studying more manageable, more productive and less stressful.
6. Exercise regularly. Physical activity plays a key role in reducing and preventing the effects of stress. Physical activity helps to bump up the production of your brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters, called endorphins. Exercise also can improve your sleep, which is often disrupted by stress, depression and anxiety. All this can ease your stress levels and give you a sense of command over your body and your life. Make time for at least 30 minutes of exercise, three times per week.
7. Try these 4 stress management strategies:
i. Avoid unnecessary stress– Not all stress can be avoided, and it’s not healthy to avoid a situation that needs to be addressed. You may be surprised, however, by the number of stressors in your life that you can eliminate. Learn how to say “no”, avoid people who stress you out, avoid hot-button topics and pare down your to-do list
ii.Alter the situation– if you can’t avoid a stressful situation, try to alter it. Often, this involves changing the way you communicate and operate in your daily life: express your feelings instead of bottling them up, be willing to compromise and be more assertive
iii. Adapt to the stressor- if you can’t change the stressor, change yourself. You can adapt to stressful situations and regain your sense of control by changing your expectations and attitude: reframe problems, adjust your standards and focus on the positive
iv.Accept the things you can’t change– some sources of stress are unavoidable. You can’t prevent or change stressors such as the death of a loved one, a serious illness, or a national recession. In such cases, the best way to cope with stress is to accept things.
Contact us now on 0207 724 4445 /07812 163 324 or email us at info@yournutritionalhealth.co.uk to find out how we can help you, or your organisation manage stress more effectively and boost performance!
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