Sunday, June 13, 2010

Factors that contribute to stress

Factors that contribute to stress

There are a number of factors that contribute to stress... Mental, Physical, Emotional (and perhaps Spiritual).

As mentioned above, exercise can increase endorphins and 'burn up' or convert chemicals and hormones that are part of the chemical cascade of Stress. These 'Stress Chemicals' are designed to increase our ability to survive, primarily through movement (think: run, fight).

Our current lifestyle generally does not often include much physical exertion but it does includes a lot of stimulation that triggers the Stress Response. Therefore we are building up the 'I need to Move to Survive Hormones and Chemicals' but not moving much to utilize them properly.

Movement does more than 'burn up' stress hormones... When we walk we stimulate a 'cross crawl' patterning in our brain which tends to balance the electrical activity which helps change our perception and therefore help us feel better. It is possible with brain wave training to 'unstress' in a few minutes. An accomplished meditator can do this.

When we are stressed our attention is on problems (past, future) and therefore feel the emotions and feelings of worry, fear, anxiety, grief, anger and frustration.

When we exercise there is a good possibility that our attention is on the present moment which allows feelings like joy, appreciation, happiness and being 'connected to something greater than ourselves' to be present. This in itself changes the chemicals that our bodies make which then affects how we feel.

In Chinese Medicine there is a lot of understanding and practice of balancing the 'Chi' or energy in the body. When we move we change the blood flow and the 'Chi' flow which directly affects how we feel. An acupuncture treatment can often quickly affect how you feel without the movement of exercise.

Part of the stress response is a contraction of various muscles... unconscious and instinctive. When you exercise often it will disrupt the unconscious contractions you are doing and then you will feel more relaxed, unburdened and more free.

On another level, it is possible to measure various kinds of electrical activity of the body (like brain, heart, muscles) using various BioFeedback techniques. Exercise changes these electrical patterns, usually for the better!

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5 foods you MUST AVOID to reduce stress

5 foods you MUST AVOID to reduce stress

Food plays a direct role in how we feel. In fact no other thing has so much pronounced affect on how we feel than food. Here are 5 foods that can we must avoid to reduce stress and feel better:

Alcohol

Alcohol makes you unconscious, giving you a temporary high and making you forget about the stressful situation. What it actually does is make you more irritable and stressful, which is experienced after the initial high is gone.

Caffeine

Caffeine just like alcohol gives you a temporary high by releasing adrenaline hormones, which is what our body does when stressed. So by consuming caffeine you are actually stressing the body even more, until it's completely exhausted from inside. Sources rich in caffeine are chocolates, coffee, tea and colas.

Sugar

Sugar is nothing but calories. It gives instant energy putting lot of load on the adrenal glands. Our body has to use it's resources (vitamins and minerals) to process it.

Salt

Salt increases blood pressure and exhausts the adrenal glands.

Fat

Fats put lot of stress on the digestive system. Moreover, saturated fats increases cholesterol, thereby increasing risk of stroke.
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