Stress and stressors
Stress is the feeling of being under too much mental or emotional pressure.
Stress causes a surge of hormones in your body. When your body detects stress, a small region in the base of the brain called the hypothalamus reacts by stimulating the body to produce hormones that include adrenaline and cortisol.
Adrenaline increases your heart rate, raises your blood pressure and provides extra energy.
Cortisol, known as the stress hormone, also temporarily increases energy by triggering the release of glucose into the bloodstream, to help the person fight or run away.
Many of life’s demands can cause stress, particularly work, relationships and money problems. And, when you feel stressed, it can get in the way of sorting out these demands, or can even affect everything you do.
You may feel anxious, irritable or low in self esteem, and you may have racing thoughts, worry constantly or go over things in your head. You may notice that you lose your temper more easily, drink more or act unreasonably and headaches
Everyone needs a certain amount of stress or pressure to live well. It’s what gets you out of bed in the morning and motivates you throughout the day. However, stress becomes problematic when there’s too much or too little.
Stress that is too intense or prolonged causes your body to release stress hormones over a long period. This increases the risk of a range of physical health problems including headaches, stomach upsets and high blood pressure. It can even increase the risk of having a stroke or heart attack.
More often, stress leads to psychological problems. It can make people feel distrust, anger, anxiety and fear, which in turn can destroy relationships at home and at work. Stress also plays a key role in the development of anxiety disorders and depression and havoc to the immune system which raises the odds of developing viral infection.
If you’re not sure what’s causing your stress, keep a diary and make a note of stressful episodes for two-to-four weeks.
Take action to tackle stress
Exercise helps to bump up the production of your brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters, called endorphins
Regular exercise can boost self-confidence, mood and sleep quality, and lower the risk of depression
Exercise can reduce your risk of major illnesses, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer
Exercise helps to bump up the production of your brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters, called endorphins
Regular exercise can boost self-confidence, mood and sleep quality, and lower the risk of depression
Exercise can reduce your risk of major illnesses, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer
It can lower your risk of early death by up to 30
Exercises
Best exercise is Aerobics /cardiovascular which involve large muscle groups 3-5 days for 20-30 minutes
Muscle strength you need 8-10 separate exercise and 8-12 repetitions per set for 2 days per week
Flexibility is crucial to increase range of motion to stretch to a point of mild discomfort for 3-5 days a week
