Stress and heart disease:
As we had discussed last week, stress has been shown in numerous studies to influence cardiovascular function, though a clear understanding of the relationship between chronic stress and the development of heart disease has not been proven. However, it is extremely important to control stress, not just to prevent heart disease, but also to improve our general physical, mental and social health.
Dealing with stress:
Alcohol and smoking continue to remain one of the favourite techniques of people, to deal with stress. However, this is quite contrary, as both these social vices tend to actually speed up our heart rate and blood pressure, rather than calm down the body.
Over the last several years, recreational drugs, such as ‘ecstasy’ are fast making their way as the favoured outlet of stress and the chosen method of attaining the ‘high’. It is a disturbing fact that now nearly 30 per cent of urban teens in India consume alcohol, and about a quarter of them smoke. The amount of drug users amongst teens is also showing a steady increase.
Stress management techniques can help you react to potentially stressful situations in more healthful and productive ways. Your ability to handle stress increases. In other words, your short fuse gets longer.
Stress Management Techniques:
There are a variety of stress management and relaxation techniques to help you deal with stress:
Exercise:
Deep breathing, meditation and yoga Progressive relaxation Stretching
The Role of Exercise in the Stress Response:
When you are faced with a demand or challenge, changes occur in your body to prepare you for physical activity (‘fight or flee’). Chemicals and hormones are released to provide the quick surge of strength needed to take action. In primitive humans, this response helped them to fight or flee from danger and was the key to their survival.
Fortunately, your response to stressors is not likely to require that you run away or fight as your body has prepared you to do. But the unused chemicals and hormones that remain in your body become harmful by-products of the stress response. Left unchecked, these products can produce a variety of negative physical, emotional and behavioral symptoms.
Physical activity or exercise, however, can reduce the effect of the harmful by-products by using them as nature intended - for increased activity. Since the stress response is intended to result in physical activity, the natural thing to do is move! Exercising is the most logical and beneficial response to a stressful situation. Exercise reduces the duration and the intensity of the stress response and helps the body return to a relaxed and balanced state.
Exercise Tips for Stress Management:
-Consider exercising at the end of the day to rid the body of stress by-products that have built up over the course of the day.
-If appropriate, go for a walk to take a break from problems. It helps to put problems into perspective so they can be handled with a clear mind.
-Avoid competitive physical activities for stress management purposes. You might be too aggressive.
Aerobic activities make the vital organs of the body such as the heart, lungs, and circulatory system stronger and better able to function properly when exposed to stress.
In recent years, scientists have discovered that strong, natural painkillers, called ‘endorphins’, are released during exercise and may remain in the bloodstream for hours. This discovery, in part, explains the tranquil, relaxed feeling of well being that so many regular exercisers enjoy.
Deep Breathing and Meditation:
Shallow and rapid breathing are a natural response to stress. With shallow breathing less oxygen is taken in with each breath. Deep breathing can reverse this effect. It can also help relieve stress-related headaches, backaches, stomachaches, and sleeplessness.
Deep breathing exercises to help soothe and calm the mind by purifying the energy centers. Normal breath flows irregularly, depending on one’s environment and emotional state. By inducing participants to control breath through a deliberate process brings about an optimal distribution of bio-energy and a synchronization of body and mind.
The objective of meditation is to clear the mind. There are many ways to meditate. While you can do it anywhere, anytime, some advance planning makes it more beneficial. The best times for meditation are before breakfast or before dinner in the evening. Begin with a 10-minute session and gradually work up to 20 minutes. It takes regular practice, day after day, to benefit from meditation.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation:
Progressive muscle relaxation helps you become more aware of where muscle tension is in your body. It can also help calm other reactions to stress, such as rapid breathing and a fast pulse. Many people use progressive muscle relaxation to relieve stress-related headaches and sleeplessness. In the beginning, it is best to do this exercise lying down. Choose a quiet place where you will not be disturbed for at least 20 minutes.
-Relax your entire body as much as possible. Begin with deep breathing exercises.
-You will begin with the muscles of your feet and work upward on the body - calves, thighs, buttocks, abdomen, hands, arms, shoulders. End with the face, mouth, jaw, eyes, and scalp.
-With each muscle group, contract the muscles as you inhale. Hold the contraction briefly, then relax and exhale. Let the tension flow out with each breath. Notice the feel of the muscles as they contract and relax.
Stretching:
Your muscles tighten in response to stresses. When the tension is held and the muscles are not used, waste products remain to cause pain and discomfort. Most people hold tension in their head, neck and shoulder areas. This is called the ‘stress triangle.’ Learning how to relax the muscles in this area can help you relieve stress and tension headaches. The base of the triangle is the mid points between your shoulders and your neck. The top of the triangle is on your forehead between your eyes.
Performing 6-12 repetitions of these simple stretches and rolls can help you relieve tightness in your stress triangle. You can do these stretches anywhere - at home or work. If you are performing a tedious task, stop frequently to do these stretches.
Neck Roll:
Keeping your left shoulder level, stretch your right ear to your right shoulder. Roll your head down so your chin is on your chest. Repeat the stretch on your left side. Do rolls only from side to side. Do not let your head drop back.
Shoulder Shrug:
Lift your shoulders up and make large circles going forward and back. You can rotate one shoulder at a time or stretch only one at a time.
Overhead Stretch:
With one hand, reach up as if you were picking an apple from a tree slightly ahead and far above you. Repeat with the other hand.
Standing Body Roll:
Roll your head forward until your chin is on your chest. Bend your knees slightly and continue rolling down until your hands are hanging near your knees. Rest there a moment, then slowly roll back up.
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As we had discussed last week, stress has been shown in numerous studies to influence cardiovascular function, though a clear understanding of the relationship between chronic stress and the development of heart disease has not been proven. However, it is extremely important to control stress, not just to prevent heart disease, but also to improve our general physical, mental and social health.
Dealing with stress:
Alcohol and smoking continue to remain one of the favourite techniques of people, to deal with stress. However, this is quite contrary, as both these social vices tend to actually speed up our heart rate and blood pressure, rather than calm down the body.
Over the last several years, recreational drugs, such as ‘ecstasy’ are fast making their way as the favoured outlet of stress and the chosen method of attaining the ‘high’. It is a disturbing fact that now nearly 30 per cent of urban teens in India consume alcohol, and about a quarter of them smoke. The amount of drug users amongst teens is also showing a steady increase.
Stress management techniques can help you react to potentially stressful situations in more healthful and productive ways. Your ability to handle stress increases. In other words, your short fuse gets longer.
Stress Management Techniques:
There are a variety of stress management and relaxation techniques to help you deal with stress:
Exercise:
Deep breathing, meditation and yoga Progressive relaxation Stretching
The Role of Exercise in the Stress Response:
When you are faced with a demand or challenge, changes occur in your body to prepare you for physical activity (‘fight or flee’). Chemicals and hormones are released to provide the quick surge of strength needed to take action. In primitive humans, this response helped them to fight or flee from danger and was the key to their survival.
Fortunately, your response to stressors is not likely to require that you run away or fight as your body has prepared you to do. But the unused chemicals and hormones that remain in your body become harmful by-products of the stress response. Left unchecked, these products can produce a variety of negative physical, emotional and behavioral symptoms.
Physical activity or exercise, however, can reduce the effect of the harmful by-products by using them as nature intended - for increased activity. Since the stress response is intended to result in physical activity, the natural thing to do is move! Exercising is the most logical and beneficial response to a stressful situation. Exercise reduces the duration and the intensity of the stress response and helps the body return to a relaxed and balanced state.
Exercise Tips for Stress Management:
-Consider exercising at the end of the day to rid the body of stress by-products that have built up over the course of the day.
-If appropriate, go for a walk to take a break from problems. It helps to put problems into perspective so they can be handled with a clear mind.
-Avoid competitive physical activities for stress management purposes. You might be too aggressive.
Aerobic activities make the vital organs of the body such as the heart, lungs, and circulatory system stronger and better able to function properly when exposed to stress.
In recent years, scientists have discovered that strong, natural painkillers, called ‘endorphins’, are released during exercise and may remain in the bloodstream for hours. This discovery, in part, explains the tranquil, relaxed feeling of well being that so many regular exercisers enjoy.
Deep Breathing and Meditation:
Shallow and rapid breathing are a natural response to stress. With shallow breathing less oxygen is taken in with each breath. Deep breathing can reverse this effect. It can also help relieve stress-related headaches, backaches, stomachaches, and sleeplessness.
Deep breathing exercises to help soothe and calm the mind by purifying the energy centers. Normal breath flows irregularly, depending on one’s environment and emotional state. By inducing participants to control breath through a deliberate process brings about an optimal distribution of bio-energy and a synchronization of body and mind.
The objective of meditation is to clear the mind. There are many ways to meditate. While you can do it anywhere, anytime, some advance planning makes it more beneficial. The best times for meditation are before breakfast or before dinner in the evening. Begin with a 10-minute session and gradually work up to 20 minutes. It takes regular practice, day after day, to benefit from meditation.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation:
Progressive muscle relaxation helps you become more aware of where muscle tension is in your body. It can also help calm other reactions to stress, such as rapid breathing and a fast pulse. Many people use progressive muscle relaxation to relieve stress-related headaches and sleeplessness. In the beginning, it is best to do this exercise lying down. Choose a quiet place where you will not be disturbed for at least 20 minutes.
-Relax your entire body as much as possible. Begin with deep breathing exercises.
-You will begin with the muscles of your feet and work upward on the body - calves, thighs, buttocks, abdomen, hands, arms, shoulders. End with the face, mouth, jaw, eyes, and scalp.
-With each muscle group, contract the muscles as you inhale. Hold the contraction briefly, then relax and exhale. Let the tension flow out with each breath. Notice the feel of the muscles as they contract and relax.
Stretching:
Your muscles tighten in response to stresses. When the tension is held and the muscles are not used, waste products remain to cause pain and discomfort. Most people hold tension in their head, neck and shoulder areas. This is called the ‘stress triangle.’ Learning how to relax the muscles in this area can help you relieve stress and tension headaches. The base of the triangle is the mid points between your shoulders and your neck. The top of the triangle is on your forehead between your eyes.
Performing 6-12 repetitions of these simple stretches and rolls can help you relieve tightness in your stress triangle. You can do these stretches anywhere - at home or work. If you are performing a tedious task, stop frequently to do these stretches.
Neck Roll:
Keeping your left shoulder level, stretch your right ear to your right shoulder. Roll your head down so your chin is on your chest. Repeat the stretch on your left side. Do rolls only from side to side. Do not let your head drop back.
Shoulder Shrug:
Lift your shoulders up and make large circles going forward and back. You can rotate one shoulder at a time or stretch only one at a time.
Overhead Stretch:
With one hand, reach up as if you were picking an apple from a tree slightly ahead and far above you. Repeat with the other hand.
Standing Body Roll:
Roll your head forward until your chin is on your chest. Bend your knees slightly and continue rolling down until your hands are hanging near your knees. Rest there a moment, then slowly roll back up.
http://www.andheriplus.com/fullStory.asp?articleID=AP6ART0817200764351
