Stress management

A stressor is a
situation, thought or stimulus that triggers your stress response. We all need a
little stress in our lives. Good stress makes us feel alert and stimulated. But
chronic, acute stress can cause anxiety, depression and disease. Different
people may respond differently to the same stressor. It’s important to identify
what stressors cause you distress. The more you learn about your stressors, the
more likely you are to diminish, control or eliminate them.

When you’re
stressed, you lose sleep. When you lose sleep, you feel more stressed. Sleep
deprivation doesn’t just make you tired. It interferes with the natural pattern
of stress hormone production . . . . Exercise protects the body against the
effects of physical and psychological stress. But there are some caveats. First,
to reap anti-stress benefits, exercise should be aerobic. Weight training has
important health benefits, but it’s not a great stressbuster. Second, you will
get more benefits if you exercise in bouts of at least 30 minutes. This is how
long it takes for the brain to produce endorphins — those natural opiates that
give you the ‘jogger’s high’.

Third, you might
not benefit if you don’t want to exercise. When animals are forced to exercise,
they become more — not less — stressed. Take a deep breath. This is one of the
oldest stress management tips around. Take a deep breath and exhale — slowly.
When you inhale, you speed up your sympathetic nervous system. When you exhale,
you slow it down — a minitress reducer.

(Source : The Economic Times, dated 31-7-2010)