How Stress Impacts Your Health, and What You Can Do About It!

We all know that stress is bad for our health, but how bad is it, really? And what can we do about it, considering the modern world we live in? We’ve gone from go-go-go, to now-now-now. Between social media, instant communication, and environmental and societal crises on the daily, it’s a tough world to navigate, on top of our personal and work lives. But considering the impact of stress on our health, it’s crucial to come up with strategies for managing it.

 

How Does Stress Impact Our Health? 

When we’re stressed, our fight or flight response kicks in, which triggers the production of the hormone ‘cortisol.’ While cortisol is helpful in a real emergency, it becomes a serious problem when stress is chronic, and our relaxation response (which returns our body to normal function) isn’t stimulated. Chronic cortisol is inflammatory to our bodies, it lowers immune function, increases blood pressure, causes sleep disturbances, and increases our risk for any number of health-related issues.

 

Additionally, it impacts weight: the fight or flight response sends all of our energy to our extremities (in case we actually need to fight or run), and away from digestion. This causes digestion to slow, which in turn slows metabolism, making it more difficult to burn fat. Our bodies also tend to hang onto fat for survival (especially abdominal fat) when stressed. We’re also more likely to make poor food choices, since stress often causes cravings for sugar and carbs, and more food in general.

 

On a behavioral level, when our body’s in survival mode, it becomes distracted from anything other than surviving, making it harder to think straight. This decreases productivity and creativity, and increases irritability.

 

One of the problems is that our sympathetic nervous system doesn’t know the difference between a real life-threatening situation and an otherwise stressful situation, meaning it will respond the same to an emergency as to daily stress. So it’s up to us to help our bodies distinguish between the two, and to make sure we return to a proper relaxation response after stress occurs.

 

Strategies to Reduce Stress

Here are my top suggestions to lower every-day stress:

 

1. Breathe deeply. It sounds so simple, and it is, but the effect on your body is profound. Deep breathing sends oxygen to all the cells in your body, and reminds your brain that you’re safe; it triggers your relaxation response. Start by sitting for a few minutes and simply paying attention to your breath. Are you clenching your jaw and sucking in your abdomen? Release that tension and allow your breath to flow freely and deeply throughout your body. Dr. Weil, one of my heroes, has said many times that deep breathing is the most important thing we can do for our health.

 

2. Moderate aerobic exercise burns cortisol and increases endorphins, which promotes relaxation and elevates mood. Exercise such as yoga is particularly helpful, because deep breathing is incorporated into the practice. Try adding other elements to your exercise that aid in relaxation, such as getting out in nature, listening to music, or walking with a good friend, a loved one or a pet. One thing to note is that hard-core exercise can actually increase cortisol, so make sure you choose exercise that’s appropriate for your body and skill level.

 

3. Meditation allows the mind to relax, slows breathing, and lowers cortisol levels. It allows us to drop into the present moment, which is foundational for reducing stress and anxiety (check out the works of Eckhart Tolle on this topic). When done consistently, meditation gives you a base of relaxation to come back to as you move through your day. I’ve been practicing Transcendental Meditation for much of my life, and I highly recommend it for anyone who’s looking for a formal practice. But any meditation or mindfulness practice will work to lower stress. Luckily there are numerous resources available these days, from in-person classes to YouTube videos, to apps such as Insight Timer, Calm, and Headspace.

 

4. Create a Relaxation Menu. Write down a list of things that you enjoy doing that relax you. This could be spending time with a close friend, watching a funny movie, snuggling with a pet, taking a bubble bath, getting a massage, going to a sound bath- whatever works for you. Then, add more of these items into your life. You can start by picking the one you want to do the most, or that’s the easiest to implement. Do that thing at least once this week. Adding one small relaxing activity per week can remind your body of what it feels like to be relaxed- and you can carry that feeling with you for days.

 

5. Get adequate sleep. When you’re sleep-deprived, cortisol levels increase and your ability to handle stress decreases. On the other hand, when you get plenty of deep sleep, your body has a chance to heal and re-set.

 

6. Say no sometimes. Often, reducing stress is a matter of saying no to things that don’t serve us. Take stock of what causes the most stress in your life, and see if those things can be adjusted or eliminated. Even positive things can be too much sometimes, if you’re over-worked and sleep-deprived; a calm weekend at home might be just what you need to recharge your batteries.

 

7. Proper nutrition. Skipping meals or eating sugary foods and refined flours can cause blood sugar dips and fluctuations, which stress out your body and organs. Unstable blood sugar also lowers your ability to emotionally handle events of the day. Eat real, whole food in proper amounts to give your body the range of nutrients it needs to function properly. Additionally, make sure you’re getting adequate protein, since amino acids are the building blocks of neurotransmitters (such as serotonin and GABA), which help to calm the nervous system.

 

8. Supplement with Amino Acids and Magnesium: In times of prolonged, acute stress, your body might burn through your amino acid reserves, in which case you could try supplementing with GABA (Gamma-aminobutyric acid). I personally have found GABA very helpful in times of extreme stress. My favorite brand is NOW (750 mg). Supplementing with magnesium is also helpful; it can increase GABA and help regulate your body’s stress response.

 

9. Daily gratitude. Despite the worries and stresses in your life, when you focus your attention on gratitude, anxiety lowers and serotonin increases, promoting relaxation. Your practice can be as simple as listing five things in a notebook daily for which you’re grateful. What better month to start practicing giving thanks than November!

 

Start implementing your relaxation strategies today so you can move through the holiday season (which comes with its own stressors) with presence, joy, and ease.

 

Did you know that reducing stress is a crucial strategy to boost immune function? Join us on Nov. 15^th for the 7-day Immune Boost, and set yourself up for a healthy winter!