Fight Stress

Some days it seems as if life throws you stress left, right, up, and down. It can drain your energy, destroy your good mood, and challenge your outlook. Those are the obvious mental repercussions.

Science has shown that stress causes your body to release hormones that raise blood pressure, speed up your heart and breathing, halt digestion, cause a surge in blood sugar, and more. When stress is constant, such as the stress caused by money problems, bad relationships, or a burdensome job -- this constant physical reaction can significantly raise your risk of colds, diabetes, heart disease, back troubles, and almost every other major health concern. Indeed, stress is emerging as one of the principal contributors to poor health in modern countries.

There's more, stress often leads to unhealthy habits. A really bad day pushes you to the nearest doughnut or ice-cream store. It saps your willingness to exercise or eat well or have fun. It causes you to tune out the world, to sit in front of the television and ignore your relationships.

And yet stress can be relatively easy to manage. All it takes is a mental commitment to it and an open mind. These approaches to stress management work. Give several a try.


Schedule six to eight hours of free time each week
Use the time to daydream, read a novel, take a nap, see a movie, or generally relax in whatever way feels best to you. This is your time. Guard it as closely as you do your PIN code for the ATM.

Walk the stress off
Stress hormones prepare your body for a physical response. A healthy way to respond to a rush of stress, then, is to get physical. Go for a brisk 15-minute walk and burn off your nervous energy. Use the time to think through the issue and return to a positive, peaceful frame of mind.

Switch exercises
If exercise isn't helping to lower your stress level, switch from a repetitive type of exercise to a type that engages your mind. Sometimes workouts are not effective at reducing stress because we use the time to think about all the stressful things we have going on. Step aerobics, very active spinning classes (where you change positions a lot), and circuit training or interval training (where you alternate different activities) prevent your mind from drifting, providing the mental break you need. A good option at home is dancing. Play your favorite music, and really get into it. Involve your whole family to benefit one and all, and add a great bonding experience into the bargain.

Take on just one new activity at a time
When you try to master too many new activities at once, you can easily feel overwhelmed. Both at work and at home, take on new commitments with care. When your job is pushing the envelope, don't do more at home. Don't buy a new house and simultaneously take on higher car payments. When your home life is stressful and changing, don't quit your job or change careers.

Unclench your muscles
Until you do this exercise, you won't even know how tense you really are. It's called progressive relaxation and it works like this: Starting with your toes and working your way up, clench each muscle for 10 seconds, then thoroughly relax them. The whole exercise shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes, and you'll feel as if you've just undergone a massage.

When you're ready to rip out your hair, phone a friend
People who have strong social ties live longer. A conversation with a close romantic partner, friend, or family member helps prevent stress hormones from triggering high blood pressure and other health complications.

Every night before bed, take five minutes to look over your day
Instead of asking yourself, "How did my day go?" ask "How did I handle my day, and how does that compare with six months ago?" Focusing on what you can control, your response to stress, will help you feel more in control.