Everyone is stressed out these days, right?
Almost every women’s magazine you pick up has some sort of tip on how to reduce or eliminate stress so it is a hot topic.
So here’s the bad news, reported recently in HEALTH – recent studies have shown that just THINKING you are stressed can increase your risk of coronary heart disease!
I always wonder about the validity of these sorts of studies. The jist of the 6 studies involved was this: the people that participated were asked to report if they had intense or often feelings of stress. They were then followed for 14 years to see their connection to coronary heart disease.
Those reporting the most stress had 27% more risk of developing this condition.
The reasoning was that when someone feels like they need to take action, like when faced with a “stressful situation,” their blood pressure increases to boost energy – this causes more work for your heart.
This physiological response is called the “fight-or-flight” response, and it is hardwired into our systems to save us from the saber-toothed tiger, or other more modern threat that requires us to take physical action.
Most situations today do not result from actual physical danger, but from feeling overloaded with tasks and responsibilities. We don’t need to RUN anywhere, but we do need to have clarity of focus and some organization to get through the tasks at hand.
People who get ramped up from the demand of their everyday life aren’t always aware of how they are feeling, though, and their body will still be taking a hit. People who feel that way for a long time often think that is how everyone feels! So I am not convinced that thinking you are stressed makes you more stressed, although if you don’t do anything about it maybe it just add to the total.
What if the awareness that you feel “stressed” regularly could be a wakeup call that you need to take some action to improve your health?
Here are just a few easy suggestions that can help steer you in a more healthy direction. Practice one of these techniques when you realize you are feeling stressed, and you will be amazed at how much better you will feel!
1. Deep Breathing – there are a number of techniques for this, and all of them are helpful. Inhale and exhale from your belly – inhale slowly and exhale with pursed lips. Try for 10 second cycles – 4 second inhale, 6 second exhale. Repeat 12 times – and if you LIKE it, repeat till done!
2. Mindfulness – focus on one thing at a time. Look around you, and pick out one item and notice as many details about it as you can. Move on to something else, but stay focused in the present – at what is right in front of you. The idea is that you cannot have all your focus on that object and think about what is stressing you at the same time.
3. Listen to Music – They say that classical music can soothe and relax you, but if you don’t care for classical find some other kind of relaxing music. Close your eyes and just listen.
4. Take a hike! Or a walk, just getting up and moving around can burn off those stress hormones that have been released. Exercise has been shown to reduce the effects of stress.
Image by Bods on Flickr.
