“Many of my patients say music is one of the most useful stress-coping strategies,” says Dr Muhammad Nasim, a GP at Northwood Medical Centre, Birmingham, who regularly sees patients suffering from stress. “[Listening to music and singing] reduces stress hormone levels in the blood.” Dr Mark Winwood, a London psychologist, also tells me that music fires “positive brain neurotransmitters”, which basically means you get more positive images in your head, which helps you relax.”
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Stress Hack: The Best 20 Minutes You’ll Spend Today
Leave Stress Behind – Enjoy Nature
Taking at least 20 minutes out of your day to stroll or sit in a place that makes you feel in contact with nature will significantly lower your stress hormone levels. That’s the finding of a study that has established for the first time the most effective dose of an urban nature experience. Healthcare practitioners can use this discovery to prescribe ‘nature-pills’ in the knowledge that they have a real measurable effect.
Stress Hack: Enjoy Nature’s Free Sound Machine
Nature Plays Its Symphony
While you walk in nature, leave your electronics behind and listen to the melodies nature has to offer: babbling brooks, bird songs, wind whistling through the trees and the scurrying of unseen animals through the canopy. It’s a lot more relaxing than the honking horns and text message alerts you’re used to, and it offers the opportunity to practice some meditative mindfulness in your tranquil surroundings.
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Stress Hack: Get Lost in the Forest
A Peaceful Walk Leads to a Peace-filled Life
Walking is good for you, but not all walks are created equal. Cruising the urban streets doesn’t provide the same mental boost as hiking a local trail or feeling the sandy beach between your toes. You don’t have to have a specific destination in mind, either – your goal isn’t to hike X miles, but to aimlessly immerse yourself in the natural world around you.3 The Japanese call this “forest bathing” and it can rejuvenate a weary mind.4
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Stress Hack: Mess Leads to Stress
Mess leads to stress, which leads to fatigue. “It takes energy to process the visual information in a cluttered space, and that drains our cognitive resources . . . Disorder is a type of chaos, which switches on our fight-or-flight response to a small degree. “It breeds anxiety, and anxiety is costly in terms of energy. Begin [organizing] with items visible on the desk, table, bed, or floor,” she says. “This will encourage feelings of mastery. When we feel a sense of control, it’s energizing.” Then move on to more complex tasks like revamping closet space or finally cleaning out the garage.
Source: Evelyn Spence in Prevention Magazine (Jun2018, Vol. 70 Issue 6, p78-83. 6p)
Stress Hack: Attitude Makes A Difference
You Can Have Stress – Don’t Let Stress Have You
Stress is inevitable. But its cumulative effects over time are what damage your health. Chronic stress has been linked to a host of issues, including anxiety and depression, weight gain, inflammation, digestive issues, fertility problems, even poor memory. The way to avoid repercussions is by dealing with stress in the moment, as it happens.
Source: Lara Fielding in The 4 Pillars of Health (Stephanie Booth, author)
The idea is to become psychologically flexible—or in other words, to learn to balance your exposure to stress with self-soothing efforts. I often equate this to standing on a surfboard, on top of a bowling ball. You can lean into your uncomfortable emotions, and then discipline yourself to pull out of that discom- fort. Being able to toggle back and forth like that will make you more resilient.
Research shows that it’s not stress itself but our attitudes and beliefs about stress that can make it “toxic.” When you feel powerless, that’s when stress becomes harmful. So it’s really not the amount of stress you have in your life that matters. It’s the way you ride it out.
Stress Hack: Run Away From Stress
“When you exercise, your brain and nervous system produce more endorphins, which are essentially natural antidepressants— neurotransmitters that make you feel good. Even better, any form of exercise can create this effect, so it doesn’t matter whether you lift weights, jog on the treadmill, or play pickup basketball. As long as you break a sweat, you’ll get this high. There are two other ways that exercise help you squash stress. First, according to the Mayo Clinic, focusing on the tasks associated with training or playing a sport will help you forget about your problems and leave you with a greater sense of calm and clarity. Second, working out relaxes you and boosts your chances of a good night’s sleep, which is another key to fighting stress, anxiety, and depression.”
Source: Muscle and Fitness: Mar2019, Vol. 80 Issue 3, p94-100.
Sleep Hack: Don’t Fight It
“It’s increasingly evident that a sound night’s sleep works wonders for your mood, energy and the long-term health of your brain and body. . . . Mindfulness is a well being practice that’s been on the radar for a while – you can use it to improve your sleep too. Mindfulness is all about acceptance of, but not dwelling on, thoughts and feelings, and instead focusing on your breath and being in the moment. “In this sense, trying to force yourself to fall asleep – or resisting being awake – is a non-starter,” says Anna Black, author of Mindfulness and Sleep. ‘Learn to move from a place of resistance to one of allowing it to be – since it’s already here. Paradoxically, by letting go of the need to fall asleep, you may find that your sleep improves.'”
Source: Good Health (Australian Edition) Aug2019, p24-27. 4p
Longevity Hack: Reclaim Your Mojo
The longest-lived, healthiest people in the world may not work traditional nine-to-five jobs, but they are not immune to the stress of daily life. Each culture has its own method of stress reduction: Sardinians drink wine with their friends and neighbors at happy hour, Nicoyans find time to partake in daily gossip, Ikarians take naps, Okinawans meet with their moai, and Seventh-Day Adventists participate in the Sabbath, where they often find peace in nature. Additional research shows that stress management is essential for those looking to reduce risk of many age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s or cardiovascular disease.
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Stress Hack: Chronic Stress Accelerates Aging
Chronic stress has been shown to have a number of negative health impacts, from insomnia to weight gain to an increased risk for heart disease — not to mention impairing the immune and digestive systems as well as the central nervous system. And when it comes to aging, we’ve all heard that worrying will give you wrinkles, but is the science there to back up the idea that stress accelerates aging? Although more research is still needed on the exact mechanisms by which psychological stress contributes to biological aging, what we do know is that stress can be a contributor to premature aging.
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