Stress management is one of the most important life skills that we all need to learn in this fast- paced life. Sources of stress are around us, from work, business, money, love, marriage, and even family. Thus, learning ways to cope with stress is inevitable. There are numerous ways to deal with stress depending on the stress level of the individual and overall attitude towards life.
Medics and other health experts have identified exercising as one of the most effective ways to deal with stress. The simple explanation for this is that physical activity improves both oxygen intake and blood flow in the body. This, in turn, leads to the production of hormone endorphins which is responsible for euphoria and overall improved well-being. However, this is not the only way that exercising helps to deal with stress.
Exercising helps you to focus more on your body and less on your brain. To understand this, we need to define stress. According to Mayo clinic, stress a form of mental tension resulting from some adverse demands, or simply put, when you feel you have to deal with more than you can handle. Thus, to answer the question what is stress management? It is all about taking control of your brain, emotions, anxiety and overall well-being. When you exercise you are focusing your energy on your body as opposed to your brain, or ease the tension and congestion in your brain. This way, you can think more clearly, more strategically and in a more organized way and get the solutions to the demands. Therefore, the next time someone tells you I need to clear my mind, understand that it is one of the best ways to cope with stress.
As one of the good ways to deal with stress, exercising improves the coordination of critical body organs in your body. When you feel stressed, this tension is transferred to your organs and this explains why stress is associated with life-threatening diseases like heart attack. When you go for a run, the cardiovascular, the muscular, the respiratory and nervous systems are engaged. This way, they learn to communicate better, thus improve their coordination when coping with the demands of your body. Think of it this way, if there is no coordination in your office, can you accomplish anything? Thus, when you think of the best ways to deal with stress; improved body coordination should top the list.
Eating is one of the unhealthy ways to deal with stress that some people adopt. When you are stressed, you eat, get fat, get more stressed and get into depression this becomes a vicious cycle. Luckily, exercising is not only one of the best ways to deal with stress and depression but also one of the most effective ways to burn those extra calories that can make you add on a few extra pounds. Thus, if you find eating comforting when you are stressed, go for a run after taking that unplanned meal and remain stress -free, healthy and fit.
If we write a list of 10 positive ways to deal with stress, getting adequate sleep is one of the leading ones. Sleep helps you mind relax, unwind and replenish to help you face the demands of the next day more effectively. Sleep deprivation makes us easily agitated, easily irritable and lower concentration level which can cause stress. Exercising helps you sleep better by increasing stress to your body. When the body is stressed, the brain response by compensating the time spent on sleep thus making you sleep for long. Further, exercising causes a rapid increase in the body temperature and an equal fall in temperature shortly after exercising. When this happens, it becomes easier to fall and stay asleep.
Thus, next time you feel stressed, go for a run, hit the gym or play some basketball with your kids. Physical activity is not only one of the best ways to deal with stress and anxiety but also a good way to stay fit and healthy.