Spoiler alert: Guys can be super critical of their bodies, too Continue reading
javahut healthy feed
What Men Secretly Stress About
Reply
Tag Archives: Stress
Get This: Stress Can Be a GOOD Thing
Check out the list of links that should be on your radar today:
Some stress may be beneficial for your brain, according to a new study. Another bonus: It can help you become better at public speaking. [Forbes]
Twitter Music launched today. [Newser]
Modern Family star Sofia Vergara is speaking up about her hypothyroid condition, a result of her battle with thyroid cancer. Learn how to detect (and prevent) the disease. [Huffington Post]
Want to file a complaint about a sketchy abortion provider? You’ll have to go through a lot of red tape first. [The Atlantic]
You probably only wear 20 percent of the clothes in your closet. What a waste! [The Cut]
Doctors order fewer tests when they know exactly how much you’ll have to pay for them. Because that’s definitely how it’s supposed to work. [NY Daily News]
Gwyneth Paltrow is the most hated celebrity? Sorry, Star, there’s no way. [Huffington Post]
Fast & Furious now has a clothing line with GUESS. Don’t everybody rush to buy it all at once. [Vulture]
When hospitals make surgical errors, you end up having to stay for longer—which results in more money for them, according to a new study. Well that’s messed up. [NY Times]
photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock
The Stress Buster You Haven’t Tried
“Stop and smell the roses” isn’t just good advice—it’s also a powerful safeguard against stress. Mindfulness, or the practice of consciously and non-judgmentally observing the present moment, has been linked to better wellbeing in previous research. And according to a new study from the University of Utah, people who are naturally mindful report being more emotionally stable during the day and more relaxed at night.
Researchers recruited 38 people aged 20 to 45 for the study. First, the subjects completed a questionnaire that measured how naturally mindful they were, including their ability to notice their surroundings and act consciously. For two days, the subjects were asked to rate their emotions throughout the day, as well as their physical and cognitive arousal before falling asleep (a measure of anxiety). The people who were naturally mindful had less variable emotions, described themselves as being more in control of how they felt, and were calmer at bedtime.
The study suggests that mindfulness can act as an emotional buffer, protecting you from the normal highs and lows of your day. “People who are more mindful are able to stay somewhat separate from shifts in their body and their emotional state,” says Paula Williams, PhD, associate professor of psychology at the University of Utah and co-author of the study. “They’re more observant, as opposed to reactive.” And when you’re not reacting to every little change in your environment, you’re bound to feel more at ease.
Luckily, mindfulness isn’t just a personality trait—it’s a skill you can learn. Susan Evans, PhD, professor of psychology in clinical psychiatry at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, offers these tips on how to be more mindful:
Ease into your mornings
On an average weekday, you may abuse the snooze button before scrambling out of bed to (just barely) make it to work on time. Rather than rushing through your a.m. activities, Evans suggests taking up to 30 minutes every morning to sit quietly and simply focus on your breath. “When your mind wanders, come back to your breath,” she says. This gives your mind and body time to transition from a resting state to an active state. If sitting still for too long makes you squirm, meditating for even just five minutes is better than nothing.
Step away from your desk
You don’t have to be a smoker to excuse yourself from your office for a few minutes to mentally recharge. In fact, Evans says it’s vital. If you take a walk, observe what’s going on around you—the color of the sky, the movement of the wind, and any physical sensations you experience. Mindfulness is the opposite of living your life on autopilot, and these mini-breaks will help train you to appreciate the here and now. “We get caught up in a lot of thoughts about the future, the past,” Evans says. “This an opportunity to kind of break out of that.”
Take a real lunch break (seriously)
We know it’s hard. The temptation to shovel food into your mouth while cruising the blogosphere or touching up that last work assignment can be tough to resist, but it prevents you from enjoying your meal—or even paying attention to what you’re eating. Try to ditch your desk for 20 minutes and carve out time for really zeroing in on the texture and taste of your meal. You’ll enjoy your lunch more, slow down, and—as an extra perk—eat less of it, Evans says.
Give yourself time to transition
In any given day, you might go from a career woman to a Zumba junkie to a domestic goddess. Rather than jumping from role to role, take a moment to mark these shifts. Doing so will help you get into the right mindset so you can better focus on the task at hand. When you sit down at your desk in the morning, for example, give yourself a full minute to center yourself and say, “This is where I am right now.” Likewise, when you come home at night, try to consciously change gears. It’ll prime you to embrace your new role and help you to be fully present for the people you’re around.
Listen up
We’re all guilty of zoning out in the middle of a conversation. And let’s be real—water cooler chit-chat isn’t always the most riveting. But practicing mindful listening, where you focus on what the person is saying without judging or interrupting them, is a way of getting out of your own head. Think of it as a vacation from your own thoughts. It may even help boost your bonds—everyone loves a good listener.
photo: Brand X Pictures/Thinkstock
More From Women’s Health:
Meditate for Mindfulness
Stress Relief Tips
Good Stress: There Is Such a Thing
Slim down in 15 days! Expert Harley Pasternak offers a proven program to shed pounds without sacrificing health or convenience in The Body Reset. Order now!
6 Ways to Manage Stress
Stress is a normal part of life. But how you handle that stress has major implications for your long-term health. Turns out dwelling on daily stressors can double your risk of chronic health problems, according to a study published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine.
Researchers interviewed 435 people, asking them about the daily stresses they experienced, their mood, and the physical health symptoms they had. The interviews were conducted between 1995 and 1996 and then again 10 years later. The authors also analyzed participants’ levels of the stress hormone cortisol from saliva samples. They found that participants who dwelled on the small stressors, rather than letting the problems roll off their backs, were twice as likely to report an increase in chronic health problems 10 years later. The most common conditions reported: Pain (like arthritis and fibromyalgia), cardiovascular disease, and gastrointestinal problems.
How Stress Impacts the Body
It’s not news that stress can negatively impact your health. In the short term, people who experience stress are more likely to report headaches, stomach problems, anxiety, and decreased productivity. Stress can also affect memory and cognitive performance: You’re more likely to forget things and perform worse on cognitive tasks, as if you had the brain of someone about 6 years older, says study author David Almeida, Ph.D., professor of human development and family studies at Penn State University.
Almeida’s study is one of the first to look at the long-term effects of stress, however. As for why stress can leave lasting damage over a decade, Almeida has two theories. The first: “When we get upset in the face of stressors, we have increases in cortisol, or disruptions to our daily physiology. Over time, this could place the body at risk [for health problems].” For example, spikes in cortisol cause heart rate to increase, which make your cardiovascular system work harder.
His other theory is purely behavioral: When people are experiencing stress, they’re less likely to engage in the types of things that improve health, like exercising and eating well.
How to Manage Stress in a Healthy Way
Almeida maintains that stress in and of itself isn’t bad. “In the end, it’s healthy to have stressors in our lives—that means we have challenge in our lives,” Almeida says. “But we have to be aware of how we respond to these challenges.”
“If you’re carrying it with you when you go to sleep or if it disrupts your going to sleep then you’re certainly dwelling.”
Try these tips for managing frustration and improving your mood:
1. Break a Sweat
If at all possible, find an outlet for physical activity and exercise, Almeida says. It’s only natural. “We’ve evolved to mobilize energy in the face of a stressor,” he says. Heart rate goes up and glucose is sent to all parts of our bodies, but “our modern-day response to that is to sit and work out the challenge mentally when our bodies are saying ‘go out and do something.’”
If you know in advance that a certain day is going to be stressful, schedule a workout for that morning. If, instead, you’ve been blindsided by tension, make a point to hit the gym in the evening or work out at home. (Chill out with this relaxing yoga routine.)
2. Be Solution-Oriented
“Try to focus on solving the problem if it’s solvable, rather than focusing on your emotions about the problem,” Almeida says. Make a list of all the steps you need to take to get something accomplished and then cross them off as you complete them. When you see that you’re making progress on smaller, more manageable tasks, the job as a whole will feel less overwhelming, Dan Ariely, Ph.D., a professor of psychology and economics at Duke University who studies irrational behavior.
3. Laugh It Off
The people who do best at not dwelling are those who have some sort of positive outlook on life, Almeida says. “In the face of challenge they can maintain joy, happiness, or humor—that seems to help a lot in limiting the duration of the stress response,” he says.
Research shows that smiling and laughing increase feel-good endorphins. Cracking up also causes levels of the stress hormones to plummet. Your laughter Rx? Hit up Buzzfeed.com and belly-laugh at animal photos or watch a YouTube clip from your favorite comedian.
4. Count Your Blessings
Being grateful can help calm you down. In a study published in Applied Physiology, people who focused on feeling grateful at bedtime were less worried and anxious and their overall sleep quality was better compared to previous nights. To improve your mood and outlook, make a list of five things for which you’re grateful every night, no matter how small.
5. Massage It Out
A rub doesn’t just make your muscles feel good—it can also do wonders for your anxiety. When the nerves in your skin sense firm pressure, your brain activates your parasympathetic nervous system. As a result, your adrenal glands cut back the release of stress hormones such as cortisol and vasopressin and your brain boosts production of the feel-good neurotransmitter serotonin. (Here’s how to give yourself an amazing DIY massage right now.)
6. Eat Your Veggies
New research shows that happiness is highest among people who eat seven servings of fruits and vegetables per day. The more good-for-you foods people ate, the more likely they were to report satisfaction and happiness and the less likely they were to experience nervousness and “feeling low.” The positive effects topped out at seven servings, which might seem like a lot but it’s doable. Try these tricks for squeezing more fruits and veggies into your diet.
Additional Reporting By:
Women’s Health Editors
photo: Comstock/Thinkstock
More from WH:
Beat Job Burnout
Your Body on a Massage
6 Ways to Add Years to Your Life
Get a Sexy Yoga Body! Discover the power of yoga to tighten, tone, and calm. Buy The Women’s Health Big Book of Yoga today!
Do This With Your Hands to Relieve Stress
Ever feel so stressed you could pull your hair out, mindlessly stuff your face, or chomp away at your cuticles? Turns out there’s a way more productive way to relieve stress and put your hands to use using a technique that could also help you drop a few pounds and even nip that back pain in the bud.
Research shows that the Emotional Freedom Technique (a.k.a. EFT or tapping), a treatment which combines ancient Chinese acupressure with modern psychology, can reduce cortisol levels in the body and counteract the negative impact of stress by sending a calming signal to the amygdala (the part of our brain responsible for our fight or flight response).
You won’t need metal-toed shoes for this kind of tapping: It involves repetitive finger-tapping on acupressure points of the body (listed below) while repeating certain statements aloud.
“A regular tapping practice can create numerous physical and psychological benefits like increased circulation, deeper and more satisfying sleep, relaxation in muscles and joints, improved immune system function, digestion, and sports performance, and increased energy, mental clarity, and focus,” says Jessica Ortner, co-producer of The Tapping Solution, a documentary film that explores tapping.
Skeptical? The Women’s Health team was, too—but we were also intrigued. So we invited Ortner to our office in New York City to give us the deets.
Turns out that, although it remains unrecognized by the American Psychological Association, clinical trials, studies, and research show EFT can be effective for treating certain conditions like post-traumatic stress syndrome and stress. In fact, researchers at Griffith University found that tapping can even help you to lose weight (by focusing on particular foods you crave and thoughts and emotions related to overeating, you can actually reduce cravings in the short and long term!).
“For a relatively new technique, it is very widespread and used around the world–a recent Google search for EFT showed over 25,000 related videos on the topic,” says Ortner. Not to mention, the 2012 Tapping World Summit, an annual online event, attracted 500,000 participants.
Ortner showed the WH staff how to tap to relieve stress. “Tapping while experiencing or discussing a stressful event counteracts that stress and reprograms the response to it,” says Ortner, but it can also be done on a regular basis as a form of preventative self-care. Ortner says that the length of tapping time can vary greatly. “Some aspects of an issue can be cleared in minutes while others may take repeated sessions,” she says.
Here’s how to try EFT:
FIRST: Identify your tapping points.
THEN: Learn how to tap.
- Start by using the tip of your index and middle fingers to rhythmically tap the side of the hand point while saying the “setup statement” aloud (speaking out loud will help with focus):
“Even though I have this problem [insert your particular problem, such as neck pain, stress from a deadline, or anxiety], I accept myself.”
Repeat three times.
- Tap briefly on each of the other points in the order they are listed in above while you express how you feel aloud, as if you’re venting to a friend. It doesn’t matter what side of the body you tap or what you say, says Ortner.
- Once you’ve tapped on each of the points, take a deep breath to complete round one. Continue for as long as you’d like, or until you feel better.
Check out this video demonstration from Jessica Ortner for more on tapping.
photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock
More from WH:
How Integrative Medicine Helps You Heal
Stress Relief Secrets
Acupuncture to Relieve Pain: Does It Work?