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Thursday, December 3, 2009
Stress (part 3) - how to manage it!
I've previously mentioned what stress is, and how if we don't have resources to manage it - it can drastically affect our lives, everything from increasing the likelihood of poor food choices, to lowering immunity, and even developing chronic disease. Again, the intent on sharing this information isn't to promote fear - but rather awareness. Once we are aware of what is going on in our bodies, and how it can affect us, we can then take steps to counter-act this. Stress-management is about finding the resources that help you reduce the negative stress in your life, thereby keeping you healthy and happy!
Before I leave you with a list of resources (find the ones that work best for you) a quote from the president of the American Institute of Stress, Paul J. Rosch, MD... because, stress isn't all bad, it's about balance!
"Increased stress increases productivity – up to a point, after which things rapidly deteriorate, and that level also differs for each of us. It’s much like the stress or tension on a violin string. Not enough produces a dull raspy sound and too much an irritating screech or snaps the string – but just the correct degree of stress creates a beautiful tone.
Similarly, we all have to find the right amount of stress that permits us to make pleasant music in our daily lives. You can learn how to utilize and transform stress so that it will make you more productive and less self-destructive."
Hints for Healthy Stress Management
- Exercise -Exercise is a great way to combat stress. Exercise increases the release of endorphins, increases your circulation and increases your serotonin levels – this means you are happier, physically healthier. Which in turn leads to better interactions with others, better food choices, and increased immunity! 20-30 minutes of light exercise (such as a brisk walk) a few times a week can help keep your stress in check and your body healthy!
- Catch some rays! Especially now that winter is upon us, getting in some sunshine daily (or as often as possible) is important for Vitamin D production, which is important for mood and immunity. 20-30 minutes daily!
- Adequate Vitamin B complex and Magnesium - both these nutrients are essential for managing stress in the body. Vitamin B complex is used for the proper functioning of the nervous system and can improve your energy. Magnesium helps relieve muscle tension, improve sleep and has a calming effect. Eating foods high in B vitamins (such as Tuna, baked potato with the skin, salmon, banana, sweet potato, beans, spinach and asparagus) as well as magnesium (almonds, hazelnuts, spinach, swiss chard, sunflower seeds, tofu, brown rice, and beans) will help keeping you feel good!
- Proper Diet - a diet high in fiber, dark green vegetables, fruit, and legumes while moderating the amount of processed foods, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, alcohol and caffeine – will not only provide you with stress-busting nutrients but will strengthen your immune system!
- Journaling - Being able to vent your frustrations, explore your thought process, and become more aware of your mental state is an important part of coping! Journaling is a means of doing all of this, allowing you to become aware of your triggers, responses and ways you effectively manage them.
- Scheduling time for yourself! It is hugely important to take care of YOU! Make sure you plan time each week (if not each day) to do something you enjoy.
- Sleep Well! - Sleep is a great healer. This is the time your body repairs itself, and it is essential for proper brain function, metabolism, immunity and healing. If you’re having recurring sleep difficulties, please consult a health-care professional.
- Yoga/Meditation - various forms of yoga and meditation are extremely helpful ways to manage stress – their focus on both the breath and awareness improve circulation and oxygenation of your body and brain – this relieves fatigue and irritability. Increased awareness of your mental and physical state will lead to action and increased self-care.
- Even if you don’t have time now to commit to one of these practices, the breath of joy (click link!) is a simple practice that releases tension and improves breathing and circulation - try it in the mornings, evenings or when the stress is getting to you!
- Acupuncture - acupuncture can be used to help relieve both the physical and mental symptoms of stress, while helping get to the root of the problem! Your acupuncturist may recommend herbs, and/or breathing exercises in addition to treatment to help you learn to manage stress on your own.
All material here is provided for your information only and may not be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action or inaction should be taken based solely on the contents of this information; instead, readers should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their personal health and well-being.
Labels: acupuncture, stress, stress management
Stress (part 2) - the studies are in
Here's the second part in a 3 part mini-series on stress. The last post discussed what stress is in the metaphorical sense (dealing with uncertainty) and the biological sense (the inability of the body to respond appropriately to real or imagined physical or emotional threats) and the myriad of ways stress may present in your body. Now I'd like to talk about 3 specific effects of stress that have wide-ranging implications.
1) Stress and immunity: A review study published about a year ago looked at 300 separate stress studies (all looking to measure various effects of stress) and found that the one commonality linking them all is that stress invariably was shown to lower the immune response!
And if you think about it, this makes sense - your body is expending energy and resources in this constant state of heightened alert (of fight or flight) so it can't possibly devote these resources into keeping the immune system firing on all cylinders. So, when you're stressed out, you're more likely to get sick, you're more likely to be sick longer (it also slows wound healing!), and you may miss work or be less productive, which means your stress levels increase... nasty cycle, right? This is one reason why stress management is key, especially during cold and flu season.
2) Stress and food choice: Studies have shown that stress does impact food choice! While I haven't seen any conclusive evidence that stress actually makes us eat MORE, it certainly does impact the type of foods we choose to eat. It should come as no surprise to you that when we're stressed we tend to pick sweet, fatty foods...
This isn't because your body is trying to sabotage you, in fact it's trying to self-medicate! When we're stressed, anxious or depressed the levels of serotonin (a neurotransmitter that produces happy, content feelings) drop. Our bodies crave these "comfort" foods because they temporarily boost serotonin levels in the brain - giving you that sense of pleasure and calmness you so desperately crave in times of high stress.
This time of year is tough, too. Not only are there lots of delicious goodies everywhere, but some people may be influenced by the seasonal change as well. Studies show that as we go into winter with shorter daylight hours and are exposed to less sunshine, serotonin levels decrease. So, it's a bit of a double whammy - stress and shorter daylight hours mean that the holidays are a tough time to resist sweets which give you a quick serotonin boost! However, there are lots of other things you can do that help boost your serotonin levels longer and more consistently and don't require a new year's resolution to fix! Coming up in the next post...
3) Stress and chronic disease development: A 2007 study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows the relationship between stress (particularly chronic stress) and the development of disease. The study notes that people under stress sleep poorly and are less likely to exercise; they adopt poor eating habits, smoke more and are less likely to comply with medical treatments. Additionally, as I mentioned in the previous post, stress triggers a release of hormones that don't act in isolation, rather they influence multiple other body systems.
1) Stress and immunity: A review study published about a year ago looked at 300 separate stress studies (all looking to measure various effects of stress) and found that the one commonality linking them all is that stress invariably was shown to lower the immune response!
And if you think about it, this makes sense - your body is expending energy and resources in this constant state of heightened alert (of fight or flight) so it can't possibly devote these resources into keeping the immune system firing on all cylinders. So, when you're stressed out, you're more likely to get sick, you're more likely to be sick longer (it also slows wound healing!), and you may miss work or be less productive, which means your stress levels increase... nasty cycle, right? This is one reason why stress management is key, especially during cold and flu season.
2) Stress and food choice: Studies have shown that stress does impact food choice! While I haven't seen any conclusive evidence that stress actually makes us eat MORE, it certainly does impact the type of foods we choose to eat. It should come as no surprise to you that when we're stressed we tend to pick sweet, fatty foods...
This isn't because your body is trying to sabotage you, in fact it's trying to self-medicate! When we're stressed, anxious or depressed the levels of serotonin (a neurotransmitter that produces happy, content feelings) drop. Our bodies crave these "comfort" foods because they temporarily boost serotonin levels in the brain - giving you that sense of pleasure and calmness you so desperately crave in times of high stress.
This time of year is tough, too. Not only are there lots of delicious goodies everywhere, but some people may be influenced by the seasonal change as well. Studies show that as we go into winter with shorter daylight hours and are exposed to less sunshine, serotonin levels decrease. So, it's a bit of a double whammy - stress and shorter daylight hours mean that the holidays are a tough time to resist sweets which give you a quick serotonin boost! However, there are lots of other things you can do that help boost your serotonin levels longer and more consistently and don't require a new year's resolution to fix! Coming up in the next post...
3) Stress and chronic disease development: A 2007 study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows the relationship between stress (particularly chronic stress) and the development of disease. The study notes that people under stress sleep poorly and are less likely to exercise; they adopt poor eating habits, smoke more and are less likely to comply with medical treatments. Additionally, as I mentioned in the previous post, stress triggers a release of hormones that don't act in isolation, rather they influence multiple other body systems.
Some effects of chronic stress on body systems (via adrenalfatigue.co.nz)To quote the study: "Effects of stress on regulation of immune and inflammatory processes have the potential to influence depression, infectious, autoimmune, and coronary artery disease, and at least some (e.g., viral) cancers." That's
some pretty heavy stuff - stress, and chronic stress (physical or mental) , in particular aren't just in your head - it has far-reaching and deleterious effects on the body.
I don't mean to scare you. Because, in fact, there's a lot that you can do to prevent all these ill-effects of stress. How we experience stress (positively or negatively, because yes, some stress can be good!) results from the disparity between the experience and personal expectations, and the ability and resources to cope with the stress. So, stay tuned... tonight I'll post part 3 with lots of things you can do to manage your stress-levels and stay happy and healthy!
Labels: acupuncture, disease, eating, stress, stress management, stress-related
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Stress (part 1) - what is it?
Stressed. If you wanted to boil it down to a single word.
I recently did a talk about stress and how it changes both physiological (effects to your physical body) and psychological (effects to your mental state) processes in your body - and I'd like to share a little bit of that with you. I think it's important to understand where stress comes from, what it looks like and how it plays out in your body and brain in order to figure out the best way to manage it.
Believe it or not it can play a role in how you interact with your friends and family, your immune system, what you choose to eat and how you feel physically and mentally! I'm going to break this down into more than one post in order to facilitate easier reading. But first, let's look at what we mean by stress and what it looks like.
So, stress - if it seems a little vague to you that's because it is. This catch-all term for difficulties or perceived difficulties in life is a metaphorical use of the word stress that didn’t occur until the 1950’s. While originally adapted from the biological term (we'll get to that in a minute) what we’re usually talking about is change, or uncertainty. These events can range in size from almost trivial to life-changing – being late, missing a light, births, deaths, moving, shopping for gifts, seeing family, making a deadline... “stressed out” – covers anything from mild annoyances to actual physical distress. We’ve got a lot of uncertainty on our plates these days, and our ability to adjust and adapt – this is the key to managing stress.
So, what is stress, really? A biological definition of stress refers to the consequences of the failure of a human or animal body to respond appropriately to emotional or physical threats – whether real or imagined. This means that things that aren't actually happening can cause you just as much stress as if they were. The mind is a powerful thing, so being able to control your thoughts, and thereby your body's reactions is extremely important. The stress response, more commonly known as the 'fight or flight response' is the autonomic nervous system kicking into high gear.
The stress response has 3 phases:
1) a state of alarm: (this is the quintessential fight or flight response) it involves the production and release of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline.
2) short term resistance: this is where the body tries to adapt to the increased strain. Often this works for a while, you like the feel of adrenaline, it gets you motivated and moving, but ultimately this state cannot last.
3) exhaustion: here's your crash - the inability of the body to respond or maintain normal function, long term this affects organ systems.
While this response has it's place, and is vital to survival; often we trip the switch constantly with things that don't require the body to be this amped up, or spend resources we could use more productively. Managing stress doesn't mean eliminating it entirely, but finding ways to have th body respond more appropriately so it can manage itself better - which means you'll feel better!
So, maybe you know you're stressed... but to bring it home, here's a non-inclusive list of ways stress can present physically, emotionally and cognitively:
Believe it or not it can play a role in how you interact with your friends and family, your immune system, what you choose to eat and how you feel physically and mentally! I'm going to break this down into more than one post in order to facilitate easier reading. But first, let's look at what we mean by stress and what it looks like.
So, stress - if it seems a little vague to you that's because it is. This catch-all term for difficulties or perceived difficulties in life is a metaphorical use of the word stress that didn’t occur until the 1950’s. While originally adapted from the biological term (we'll get to that in a minute) what we’re usually talking about is change, or uncertainty. These events can range in size from almost trivial to life-changing – being late, missing a light, births, deaths, moving, shopping for gifts, seeing family, making a deadline... “stressed out” – covers anything from mild annoyances to actual physical distress. We’ve got a lot of uncertainty on our plates these days, and our ability to adjust and adapt – this is the key to managing stress.
So, what is stress, really? A biological definition of stress refers to the consequences of the failure of a human or animal body to respond appropriately to emotional or physical threats – whether real or imagined. This means that things that aren't actually happening can cause you just as much stress as if they were. The mind is a powerful thing, so being able to control your thoughts, and thereby your body's reactions is extremely important. The stress response, more commonly known as the 'fight or flight response' is the autonomic nervous system kicking into high gear.
The stress response has 3 phases:
1) a state of alarm: (this is the quintessential fight or flight response) it involves the production and release of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline.
2) short term resistance: this is where the body tries to adapt to the increased strain. Often this works for a while, you like the feel of adrenaline, it gets you motivated and moving, but ultimately this state cannot last.
3) exhaustion: here's your crash - the inability of the body to respond or maintain normal function, long term this affects organ systems.
While this response has it's place, and is vital to survival; often we trip the switch constantly with things that don't require the body to be this amped up, or spend resources we could use more productively. Managing stress doesn't mean eliminating it entirely, but finding ways to have th body respond more appropriately so it can manage itself better - which means you'll feel better!
So, maybe you know you're stressed... but to bring it home, here's a non-inclusive list of ways stress can present physically, emotionally and cognitively:
poor judgment
a general negative outlook
excessive worrying
moodiness
irritability
agitation
inability to relax
feeling overwhelmed
feeling lonely or isolated
depressed
aches and pains
diarrhea or constipation
nausea
dizziness
chest pain
rapid heartbeat
eating too much or not enough
sleeping too much or not enough
withdrawing from others
procrastinating or neglecting responsibilities
using alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs to relax
nervous habits (e.g. nail biting, pacing)
Click image for full size graphic
on how stress effects the different body systems.
on how stress effects the different body systems.
Image from The Washington Post, January 23, 2007.
Sound familiar? Then stay tuned... next up - some studies that show that stress is linked to decreased immunity, poor food choices and chronic stress and disease. After that - lots of little ways you can use to manage your stress and stay happy and healthy this holiday season.
Labels: acupuncture, holidays, stress, stress management
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