There have been many clinical investigations which have revealed how adversely your health is affected by stressful occurrences in your life. That being said there are particular things you can do and ways to modify your reaction to stressful situations that can aid in your longevity and give you a better life in general.
More than fifty years ago Dr. Hans Selye identified the link between the mental and physical factors dealing with stress. Selye’s patients all experienced parallel physical and psychological distinctions, several being a reduced or loss of appetite and an elevated blood pressure. When still more investigation displayed that rats were showing the identical physical characteristics when undergoing stressful scenarios. Selye determined that stress is an imprecise response from the body when any demand is put upon it. Selye stated at the time that the stress was not doing the harm to us but the anguish that resulted from it was the reason. In short, the stress becomes a problem based on our reaction to it.
Prolonged unconstructive stress has proven to be a precursor to many medical ailments that include anxiety, headaches, depression, ulcers, allergies and heart disease. Over the long term, poor reactions to stress will break down the immune system and eventually result in diseases like cancer that are associated with aging in humans. In point of fact, rising levels of cortisol [the stress hormone], is also noticeable in the last week prior to death. Elevated cortisol is linked to numerous degenerative illnesses related to aging such as hypertension, diabetes and arthritis. High cortisol is also a feature to a certain point with obesity.
The good news is we have a good number of methods to alleviate the effects of harmful stress and our unhelpful reactions to it. Have a close look at these habitual practices and long standing applications that will reduce the amount of destructive stress you experience day to day.
• Highly recommended are consistent medical examinations. When your physician verifies that your health is fine you will be relieved and they are a great way of guarding against many common health troubles from worsening. Having an annual longevity physical check up needs to be in depth and include all suggestions from your doctor. Specific attention should be given to early discovery of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, stroke and metabolic ailments.
• Get yourself married! Research has proven that people who are wed are generally healthier than those single folks. Fact is that married individuals are known to have lowered risk of contracting illnesses, suffering accidents and dying by as much as fifty percent.
• Try having a quick nap. A fast siesta of twenty minutes or half an hour in mid afternoon is best due to your reduced metabolism. Having an afternoon siesta is in synch with your innate body circadian rhythm.
• Lighten your parental burden. Your kids will have successes and failure through life and accepting responsibility for both can be a stressful weight to assume. Your influence as a parent should never be overblown. It can be stressful for the entire family so cut everyone some slack – including you.
• Focus on maintaining quality relationships with friends and family. Your mental health will be enhanced long term if you have a close social network. Individually we can only support our self for so long and eventually having close knit friendships and solid family ties will pay dividends. Tight relationships will aid in easing anxiety and frustrations as we advance in age.
• Increase your spirituality, join a religious group you feel comfortable with or experiment with quiet meditation to open up your subconscious mind to new things. Having a religious support system surrounding us can be comforting and it will reduce our stress level significantly.
• Become a pet owner. Having a dog or cat is going to improve your life. Just knowing there is another heartbeat in your home is a stress reliever. Owning a pet is a fulfilling past time and they show undying loyalty without the baggage. They make great companions and offer comfort and purpose to anyone’s life.
• Try forming a special interest. Becoming involved in some past time or hobby will keep you focused and interested. Creating something from nothing will bring a feeling of accomplishment and concentrating on something inanimate for the purpose of stress relief is quite unburdening.
• Plan and organize your day. Having a time management plan in place or a “to do list” can increase your productivity while it relieves you of any stress. Knowing in advance what must be done take away pressure and allows us to focus on a task at a time. Getting things done in succession alleviates strain and stress and reduces our odds of burning out.
• Monitor your environment. Keep an eye on your surrounding area and if it can be identified as a root cause of your stress than you should consider moving away. Perhaps you have lousy neighbors or live in a “difficult” area of the city with police cars appearing frequently, this will elevate your anxiety. Seek out a quieter location to put down roots and where safety is a priority for you and your family. Once this is accomplished you will feel the stress slip away.
• Inspire your creative thinking. Stress can be relieved by something as simple as changing the way you think about things. For instance, if you are committed to a commute on a daily basis, rather than get stressed out by it, think of it as a chance to simply relax and think about nothing in particular. You could pray during this time or simply reflect on your life and count your blessings rather than stress out over time and traffic.
• Maintain a close watch on your financial situation. Money in itself is a burden if we have too much of it or not enough. Be smart about your financial resources and understand that it has no bearing on your worth as a person or human being within society. Understand that the quality of your existence has nothing to do with your net worth and having material things can often be more burdensome than having only what we need. Many rich people are unhappy and are owned by their things rather than the other way around.
• Learn how to meditate and relax. Research is plentiful on the importance of taking the time away from day to day activities to meditate and relax in order to reduce tension and your blood pressure. It is a prime way of safeguarding against the risk of heart disease and other stress related illnesses.
• Smile more often. Researchers have detected a link between the muscles in your face when you smile and a part of your brain that discharges the neurochemical responsible for making you feel good.
• Improve your communication skills. When you can speak more concisely you will reduce your stress but also relieve any anger, irritation or bitterness existing in your life. When we give a mixed message we are stirring emotion and no one likes to give or get the wrong point. Not only should we become better at communicating but we need to improve our listening skills as a society.
• Start getting active. Physical training or some activity will reduce your anxiety as it decreases your depressed emotions and low sense of self worth. Exercise is quite possibly the most significant component of all stress reduction regimens.
• Start watching what you eat. By altering your diet you can reduce those few extra pounds that “weigh” not just on your frame but on your mind as well. Eating a proper balanced diet will improve your health in general and give you added energy while just making you a happier person.
• Decrease the amount of alcohol you drink. People often drink as a way of decompressing and alleviating their tension. Alcohol will never reduce your level of stress. In actuality drinking more than a couple ounces of alcohol will see your blood pressure rise, tempers begin to flare, brain cells become harmed and your stress will increase.
• Pass on the coffee refill. Caffeine is known to be an extremely disconcerting beverage and one your body has a difficult time handling. If you can drink a decaffeinated coffee over the normal “cup o Joe” you usually consume, you will be calmer and less jittery from the effects of the caffeine.
• If you smoke, you must quit! If you quit smoking immediately your health will begin to show signs of improvement almost straight away. You will find improved lung functionality in only days of stopping and you will cut the risk of dying from coronary heart disease in about a year’s time. You will have a reduced risk of mortality due to cancer in about three years time.
• Be an optimist. Positive thinking will aid in controlling your stress in a big way. No need to be an eternal optimist but try and hit a happy medium of optimism in your life. No one likes a cynic since they are actually boring and negative to be around. Pessimism will cost you years off your life span.
• Have no regrets. Nothing can be gained by rolling over past events or failures. When we live in the past you only stir up feelings of regret, guilt and shame and we need to let go of this negativity. Realize that everyone makes mistakes and if you must revisit them, do so in a positive manner and evaluate them fairly. There is no handbook for humans so we learn as we grow. Past failures can be amazing learning experiences and pave the way to future blessings.
• Try and be more assertive. Do this in a positive manner and make your point calmly and in a smooth way. Communicate your view to others clearly so they understand exactly where you are coming from, but remain calm.
• Control your anger. There is a positive and polite way to articulate your frustration without resorting to unhelpful negativity. When we are angered and display it in a positive manner the stress is actually good for us and builds character and strength. Unconstructive anger conversely when internalized, can result in a stroke, hypertension, and heart disease. Obviously your health and longevity can be affected by your ability or inability to manage your anger.
• Believe in yourself and have a strong sense of self worth. Low self esteem can cause hidden stress within us that accumulates and causes ill health over time. Turn these feeling into strengths you can utilize day to day. When you suffer defeat or loss, realize everyone has this experience sometime in their lives. Know that there is more to your makeup than what the setbacks represent in your life. Be your own person and revel in your capabilities – not your failures.
Anti Aging, Anti Aging Theories, Health And Aging, Lifestyle
Wed, Sep 1, 2010
Anti Aging, Anti Aging Theories, Health And Aging, Lifestyle