STRESS: BODY'S NATURAL RESPONSE TO STIMULI:
Deadlines, traffic, long queues, noise, financial pressure, family worries, health concerns. We're all familiar with these common stresses of modern living and know it's important to relax. But what exactly is stress? And how does one relax? Simply put, stress is the body's natural response to environmental & social stimuli. As external conditions change, body's internal systems react to allow you to adapt to those changes & survive. These internal reactions are often called the "fight or flight response".
You're sitting in your most comfortable chair, engrossed in a novel when you hear a strange noise. Your senses come to attention. Where is that noise coming from? What is it? Your muscles tense, your heart is pounding, and you begin to perspire. You try to quiet your heavy breathing and notice that you're gripping that novel like a weapon, ready to strike out. Should you fight or run & hide?
The fight or flight response is nature's way of protecting you in times of danger. That same response also helps you to meet challenges and achieve goals ( for example, some tension before the "big game" helps a team by preparing mentally & physically to reach peak performance).The problem comes when the stress is chronic & unrelieved. Your body is constantly on alert, and the protective changes brought on by stress can have harmful effect on your mental & physical well-being, and even make you sick.
PHYSICAL CHANGES CAUSED BY STRESS:
When your brain perceives a stress situation, it alerts the nerve centres in the spinal cord and the pituitary gland. The sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves stimulate your organs, and the pituitary gland signals the adrenal gland to produce adrenaline. The result:
- Heart rate increases and blood pressure rises.
- Respiration rate increases as oxygen consumption rises.
- Adrenaline, other hormones, and fatty acids are released into the bloodstream.
- The liver releases stored sugar.
- The muscles tense, particularly thighs, hips, back, shoulders, arms, and face.
- Blood flow to the digestive organs and extremities is constricted.
- Blood flow to the brain & major muscles increases.
- The body perspires to cool itself, since increased metabolism creates heat.
EFFECTS OF LONG-TERM STRESS:
Every day your body reacts to 20 to 30 short-term stresses. Usually, there's time to recover in between, but sometimes these minor stresses are unrelenting. Other stresses (the illness of a relative, divorce, or worries about your career) may stay with you over long periods of time. When stress accumulates, your body and emotions feel the strain. Eventually, the brain's stimulation threshold actually drops, and even minor stresses cause big physical reaction.
Doctors recognize a definite link between stress and heart disease, respiratory conditions like asthma, intestinal problems, and menstrual difficulties. Common headaches and migraines can be brought on or worsened by stress. Stress can also aggravate existing health problems. For example, it often exaggerates the symptoms of multiple sclerosis and diabetes. Emotional problems like anxiety and depression are frequently stress-related. Evidence is growing that chronic stress wears down the immune system and increases your chance of getting sick. The constant presence of stress hormones in the bloodstream blunts the response of lymphocytes, weakening the body's ability to combat diseases.
HOW EXERCISE RELIEVES STRESS:
Stretching, moving, and lifting provide immediate relief from the physical symptoms of stress in several ways:
- Stretching and moving relax tense muscles.
- Exercise uses up the excess hormones, sugar, and fatty acids dumped into the bloodstream by the flight or fight response.
- During exercise, the body produces endorphins, neuroinhibitors that calm the stress response and create a peaceful, euphoric state (the "runner's high").
- Relaxation gained through exercise lasts many hours after the workout session.
- People who exercise and play sports are better at finding ways to relax and are more able to relax under pressure.
SPECIAL PROGRAMMES:
Try taking an exercise break instead of a coffee break at work. Include some exercise (even just a stroll) in your lunch hour. You'll find that some stretching and moving are much more refreshing, and ultimately more healthful, than ingesting caffeine and sugar! If you can exercise to relieve the physical and emotional symptoms of stress as they arise, you'll be calmer, more alert, and more comfortable, and you'll have less accumulated stress at the end of the day.
GOOD STRESS/BAD STRESS:
Physical challenges like lifting weights or playing a tough game of tennis allow you to feel the stress reaction in your body and recognize it. Often in stressful situations, when your mind is absorbed by the problems at hand, you may not notice the reactions in your body- like higher blood pressure, faster heart rate, and tension in the muscles. But during exercise you're more attuned to your body. Once you're familiar with how your body reacts to stress during exercise, it's easier to recognize in everyday stress situations. And then you can take control and do something about it. Remember, the flight or fight response is your body's way of protecting you- it's how you manage the response that makes it beneficial or harmful.
Stress experts agree that how you perceive a stressful situation and your characteristic emotional reaction often determine how will your body copes with the stress response. If you see new situations as an interesting challenge, the stress response stays at an appropriate level and can aid you in meeting that challenge. If, however, new situations make you feel uncertain, doubtful, and out of control, physical stress responses are extreme and put the body on "full alert" many times a day, often with no relief. Exercise can improve your ability to cope with stress by giving you more self-confidence and a better self-image. The physical strength and courage you develop through exercise will carry over into your everyday life.
HOW TO EXERCISE:
Of course, how relaxing it is to exercise depends on your attitude. If you approach your workouts like a competition or a chore, they'll just increase your stress. As researcher Dr. John Yacenda says, "If you go out and run to 'work off' tension, but the work of 'working off' the tension exceeds the pleasure of running, you are not inducing relaxation." Exercise should, above all, be fun! By setting exercise goals that are attainable, you'll experience real success and personal fulfillment.
Exercising at a gym or with friends can provide relaxed social interaction and encouragement. Working out with others relieves the feelings of isolation that so often accompany stress. Enjoyment and laughter are proven stress busters!
