A tight jaw?
Tense muscles?
Trouble sleeping?
Stomach in knots?
Racing heart?
Anxiety?
If you experience one or more of these symptoms daily, you may be dealing with the damaging effects of chronic stress. Unfortunately, stress has become a worldwide public health crisis. Did you know that the majority of doctor visits are stress-related?! Stress affects our overall well-being and should be taken seriously if we want to live healthy and long lives.
What Is Chronic Stress?
Stress is a physiological response to mental or physical pressure — think an upcoming job interview or overtraining at the gym! The brain signals your pituitary and adrenal glands to release stress hormones, preparing your body to face a threat. Digestion slows down, your breathing rate increases and extra blood is sent to your muscles.
Short-term stress is actually helpful as it provides the energy, strength and motivation to deal with immediate threats. However, living in a chronic state of “flight-or-fight” wreaks havoc on your mental and physical health (1).
Since 1992, April has been Stress Awareness Month. It's an important time to bring attention to the causes of stress and identify solutions to help you cope! Here are our 5 top tips to turn the dial down on your stress response.
Slow Your Breathing
How often do you think about breathing? We'll go out on a limb and guess not very often! Breathing is an automatic process that happens whether you take notice or not. However, controlling your breathing by slowing down your exhale is a fantastic stress management technique that stimulates the "rest-and-digest" nervous system (2).
An exercise called "cadence breathing" is an instant relaxation hack that you can do anywhere!
- Bring yourself into the present moment, notice the breath and place one hand on your belly
- Inhale slowly through your nose for a count of 4, breathing into your belly by expanding your diaphragm
- Take a slight pause and then breathe out through your mouth for a count of 6
- Repeat this for 1 minute, 5 minutes or 10 minutes (whatever you have time for!) as often as you can
Use a Mindfulness App
Meditation is all the rage nowadays, and research tells us it's super beneficial for stress management and overall health (3). But who has the time to set aside an hour a day to sit in silence?
That's why we love mindfulness meditation apps! Whether you have 5 or 10-minutes to spare, these apps provide guided meditations of various lengths to suit your needs. Some of the most user-friendly mindfulness apps are Calm, Headspace and Insight Timer.
Support Your Adrenal Glands!
Living in a state of stress puts a huge burden on your adrenal glands. These tiny glands sit above the kidneys and pump out cortisol in response to stress — no matter if the stress is real or perceived!
At MD Logic Health, we have a natural formula to nourish the adrenals and help you return to a state of calm and homeostasis. Adrenal Balance is a synergistic blend of nutrients like Vitamin C, B-complex Vitamins and Zinc. It also contains adaptogenic herbs such as Ashwagandha, Licorice Root, Magnolia and Phellodendron, helping you adapt to and manage the effects of physical and mental stress.
Regulating the stress response with this herbal formula may help to soothe anxiety and boost your mood.
Make Exercise a Priority
Regular exercise is one of the best stress-relievers on the planet! It expels nervous energy, boosts endorphins and releases "feel-good" neurotransmitters in the brain like dopamine and serotonin. Just 30 minutes per day of walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, dancing or yoga can make a big difference. It encourages present moment awareness and a connection to your body.
Try Essential Oils
Essential oils are potent plant extracts that, when inhaled, may help you unwind and ease anxiety and insomnia (4). Plus, playing with different essential oils makes you more mindful by engaging your sense of smell and creativity!
When you’re feeling overwhelmed, try this stress-relief blend and apply it to your pulse points:
- 2 drops Lavender Oil
- 2 drops Frankincense Oil
- 1 drop Bergamot Oil
- 1 Teaspoon of Jojoba Oil (or a carrier oil of your choice)
Recognize when you need more help
Know when to talk to a psychologist, social worker or counselor if things continue.
Final Thoughts
Everyone faces stressful situations at some time or another; the best approach is to manage stress in a healthy way by incorporating the tips mentioned here.
In addition to the Adrenal Balance formula, MD Logic Health has a collection of natural stress management supplements that support your nervous and endocrine systems to minimize the symptoms of stress. This includes Magnesium, Methyl Complete, Methyl B12 and Estro-D-Tox.
Resources
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5579396/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5769199/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28863392/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24238073/
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