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Managing Stress Through Fitness (Nov 17, 2008)
By Inshape | November 17, 2008
Stress is a given in life. In good times and in bad, work commitments, family obligations, finances, traffic, even the noisy neighbors can cause anxiety and stress. Some of these challenges generate positive results, because they force us to make adjustments, push ourselves, and reevaluate situations. Other stresses, like those many of us are dealing with in the country’s economic crisis, generate negative results. While people react to stress in many different ways, studies show that all people experience three types of responses to elevated levels of stress: physical, mental, and emotional.
Physically, the body reacts to stress by an increase in blood pressure, rapid breathing, and a breakdown of glycogen stored in the liver and muscles (which is used to produce glucose, the body’s energy source). These changes manifest themselves, in varying degrees, as chest pain, breathlessness, panic attacks, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, etc. Over time, chronic illnesses can develop and severely impact one’s quality of life. In addition to and to a certain degree, because of these physical effects, the body also experiences myriad mental and emotional responses to stress. Examples include restlessness, isolation, inability to focus, loss of productivity, irritability, rage, among many others.
Endorphins
Fitness fights stress by staving off the body’s various negative responses and thus, increasing your overall health and quality of life. One of the best known benefits of exercise is the spike of endorphins that are released into the blood stream. Endorphins are the body’s natural neurological pain reliever, and the increased optimism that results, which you can experience with a minimum of 30 minutes of intense exercise, can last several hours after a workout.
Brain Balance and Productivity
Regular exercise also improves blood flow to the brain, bringing additional oxygen and nutrients that are needed to focus and stay productive. In fact, studies also show that exercise leads to the creation of new brain cells in the hippocampus, which is the memory engine of the brain.
Nutritional Edge
Finally, a healthy lifestyle that includes regular exercise tends to live hand in hand with proper nutrition, which is also plays a major role in managing stress. Essential vitamins and minerals are depleted during times of increased anxiety, so it’s critical that you eat foods that do more than just satisfy hunger. Specifically, certain amino acids are needed to produce stress-fighting hormones during tough times, so a diet rich with proteins is beneficial. In addition, the body’s need for vitamin C dramatically increases during times of stress (because your immune system is compromised), and B vitamins can help alleviate cloudy thinking and other mental reactions to stress.
A Few Helpful Tips
1. Several times a day, take a few minutes to breathe 10 deep, diaphragmatic breaths. Slowly inhale through your nose (count to 10), then exhale at the same rate through your mouth.
2. Set up your exercise plan to succeed. If you know that your schedule includes late evenings and work dinners, plan your workouts for the morning. An hour less sleep is worth it in the long run. Likewise, if you simply cannot get out of bed early enough to exercise, schedule exercise for the afternoon or evening. And whatever the plan, stick to it!
3. Incorporate both cardio and strength moves into each workout. Studies show that you need both aerobic and anaerobic exercise in order to stave off the effects of stress, so make sure that if you go for a run or bike ride, you incorporate short intervals of push ups, tricep dips, plank, and crunches. You can also access one of several free workouts on our website.
Topics: Personal Training |
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