Posts tagged StressReduction at That's Fit

Posts with tag StressReduction

Jumpstart Your Fitness: By identifying what stresses you out

Posted: Jun 23rd 2008 7:33AM by Rigel Gregg
Filed under: Stress Reduction, Jumpstart Your Fitness

Stress is a part of life, but it seems like lately with the economy in the state it's in (and gas prices skyrocketing to record high after record high), it's getting to be more than just a part of life -- for some of us, stress has downright taken over our lives.

Stress is bad, there's no doubt about that. Sure, in the case of meeting a bear in the woods, stress might help you run faster (or are you supposed stand still?) but in a civilized society, stress doesn't do much more than make us sick. Chronic mental illnesses like depression and anxiety are often directly linked to stress, as are physical conditions like high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, insomnia, and obesity, to name just a few from an ever growing list.

Continue reading Jumpstart Your Fitness: By identifying what stresses you out

52 ways to reduce stress

Posted: Jun 19th 2008 9:00AM by Maggie Vink
Filed under: Emotional Health, Stress Reduction

Deadlines, work, overbooked schedules ... we all have stress in our lives. Finding ways to cope with and release stress is essential to a pleasant and happy life. Goodness knows the things that are creating stress probably aren't going away anytime soon.

Good Housekeeping has a list of 52 ways to reduce stress. What I love about these ideas is that they're reasonable and easy to accomplish. After all, you don't want to add more stress in your effort to release stress. Some of my favorite ideas from their list include:

Uncork a Bottle of Whine. Call up a friend or get together just to vent. Be sure to listen to your friend's issues as well.
Bless Their Hearts. My maternal grandmother always said this, so maybe that's why I love this tip so much. Whenever someone annoys you -- a driver cutting you off in traffic, a rude sales clerk -- just think or say "Bless their hearts." Three simple words to remind you to be compassionate even in the face of annoyance.
Demi De-Clutter. Instead of trying to declutter your whole home, just pick one small area at a time... a drawer, a desk, the top shelf of your closet. When you break the job down to small portions, it's more manageable.

Check out the full list for more doable stress relievers. Also, visit AOL Health to check your stress level.

Life Fit Chat with Laura Lewis: Stress and Your Blood Sugar

Posted: Jun 12th 2008 6:30AM by Laura Lewis
Filed under: Life Fit Chat with Laura Lewis

Life Fit Chat with That's Fit Life Fit Expert Laura Lewis brings conversation provoking tidbits to your table, served up with a touch of spice! Byte-sized information that pack some punch, brought to you every Wednesday and Thursday!

You never get stressed right? Ah, if only that were true. But to live is to be stressed at some level, and stress causes your blood sugar to rise. If blood sugar is high and your cells are insulin resistant, the elevation of sugar in your blood can cause all sorts of problems including weight gain and diabetes. Our bodies are designed to biochemically deal with stress based upon survival. To those who don't know how stress impacts the body or even to those who are "in the know" let this information serve as a huge reminder as to why you need to keep your stress level down.

Centuries ago, when primitive man walked the planet, threats to survival were around every corner. If one was faced with a saber-toothed tiger in their path, they would have three choices: to fight, to run, or die. During this "fight or flight response," the body is being prepared to expend energy. Adrenaline is released, blood sugar is elevated, digestion slows as most of the blood is in the muscles preparing for action all with the primary purpose of surviving a threat! Either way, energy is expended. Running or fighting, excess blood sugar is used, stress hormones are decreased and all returns to normal.

In modern day, stress looks like: Sitting in traffic and steaming that it isn't moving; being uptight about deadlines; worrying about money; aggravation relating to situations that are not going your way.; and _________. (You fill in the blank with your "stressors") To prevent blood sugar from rising due to stress, practice stress management. Stress reduction techniques can be as simple as focusing upon deep breathing for a minute or two, listening to calming music, "romantic" time with your sweetie, exercising and of course meditating and practicing yoga. As brushing your teeth is included as part of your daily routine, stress reduction techniques should also be on your list each day. What ways do you decrease your stress levels?

Workplace Fitness: Slow down and de-stress

Posted: Jun 11th 2008 10:01AM by Rigel Gregg
Filed under: Healthy Habits, Stress Reduction, Workplace Fitness

We're all stressed way too much -- I don't think anybody disputes that. Our schedules are too busy, our jobs too demanding, our family times too rushed. And although it seems like we're always talking about how we need to take it easy and relax,how often do we really make good on that? One bubble bath once every six months just isn't going to cut it!

The best stress relief happens when it's built right into your life, and the trick is to form a set of habits that you do on a regular basis without really thinking about it. You don't have to think "this action is meant to decrease my stress" in order to reap the relaxing and re-energizing benefits from it. Here are 5 ways to build stress-relief into your life:

Gallery: 5 ways to build stress-relief into your life

Continue reading Workplace Fitness: Slow down and de-stress

Jumpstart Your Fitness: By easing stress, pain, and bad moods

Posted: May 5th 2008 6:00AM by Rigel Gregg
Filed under: Jumpstart Your Fitness

Swimsuit season is fast approaching! It's just around the corner so now is the time to uncover that beautiful beach body you've been keeping under wraps all winter. Is yours hidden beneath an extra layer of winter flab? Have a great exercise plan in mind but having a hard time getting motivated because of stress, pain, anxiety or even depression? Relaxation is one of your body's best healing mechanisms, but it's not always easy to do. Natural techniques like breathing exercises, muscle relaxation, and guided imagery can help, plus you don't need any special equipment or training to reap the benefits.

Continue reading Jumpstart Your Fitness: By easing stress, pain, and bad moods

Workplace Fitness: How to make the most of your lunch hour

Posted: Apr 30th 2008 6:00AM by Rigel Gregg
Filed under: Workplace Fitness

Oh the good 'ol days when lunchtime was for nothing but eating, visiting with friends, and relaxing. When is the last time you did nothing but eat on your lunch break? We're a society of stressed-out, always-busy, multi-tasking maniacs most of the time, which of course sets us up for snarfing down fattening convenience foods from fast food joints and vending machines in an effort to save time. Not good. Not good at all.

Life is about more than just how much you accomplish each day and although being as productive as possible is not a bad thing, there's definitely something to be said for slowing down to smell the roses. Here's some good advice on how to make the most of your lunch break:

Get outside Depending on where you work, you're probably cooped up indoors in the same place for most of the day, so get outside and breath some fresh air to recharge your body and your mind.

Continue reading Workplace Fitness: How to make the most of your lunch hour

The "do nothing" yoga

Posted: Apr 29th 2008 3:00PM by Maggie Vink
Filed under: Emotional Health, Fitness, Stress Reduction

Yoga is well-known for the flexibility it promotes, but the meditative and relaxation qualities are also beneficial. If the twists and turns of traditional yoga methods don't appeal to you, you could try yoga nidra -- a style that focuses solely on the meditative side.

Also known as yogic sleep, yoga nidra involves lying very still and listening to meditative instructions. Fans of yoga nidra report better stress management and sounder sleep. So what exactly does it involve? Yoga nidra classes are usually 20-45 minutes long. Participants lie comfortably on their back and listen to a series of instructions including focusing on a goal, and focusing on awareness of each part of the body. Participants are also encouraged to think of a situation or emotion that is difficult and then think of its opposite.

While yoga nidra obviously doesn't have the physical benefits of more traditional yoga, the mind-body connection and stress-relieving aspects can be so beneficial for the body and spirit.

Stress Less: Grow your own tranquility

Posted: Apr 8th 2008 10:00AM by Deanna Glick
Filed under: Emotional Health, Healthy Habits, Stress Less

Medicinal herbs can be welcome relief for stress and it's side effects, including nervousness, anxiety and loss of sleep. Thus the market for consumption via herbal teas and supplements in pill or liquid form. Last week I wrote about the benefits of getting out in the garden to relieve stress. Then I got to thinking, why not include some stress-relieving medicinal herbs while you're at it?

Planting lavender, chamomile, lemon balm, passionflower, California poppy, and others in the relatively long list of herbs known for their calming effects would provide a constant supply of remedies and the peace of caring for them. Herbs that provide stress relief are often classified into various categories for treating related ailments, including anxiety , insomnia , nervousness and restlessness. There's also a breakdown of which herbs to use according to potency according to David Hoffmann's book Medical Herbalism. The same article describes such herbs as nervines: a plant remedy with some kind of beneficial effect upon the nervous system. Nervine relaxants are most important in times of stress and confusion, as they can alleviate many of the accompanying symptoms.

If you can't find appropriate plants or seeds at your local nursery, you can buy many of them online . There are also plenty of tips for growing herbs as well as ideas for growing indoors.

Feeling stressed? Head to the Garden

Posted: Apr 4th 2008 1:18PM by Mary Kearl
Filed under: Alternative Therapies, Emotional Health, Healthy Aging, Healthy Habits, Healthy Home, Healthy Places, Stress Reduction, Body Bloggers

Spring is here and that means flowers, nature in bloom everywhere, and as I just recently learned while working on an article for AOL Body (11 Reasons to Love Spring): the potential for improved health. While doing research for the article, I had the opportunity to discover a new reason to love spring, which is -- at the risking of sounding touchy-feely -- the healing powers of gardening.

"Watching something grow and even smelling flowers can have an impact on someone's health," says Mary Beth Miller, a horticultural therapist with Gardening for Good. A horticultural what? No, not a therapist for plants, but someone who helps her (human) patients address mental or physical health problems through gardening and connecting with nature.

What are the health benefits? The Horticultural Therapy Institute says this unique brand of therapy:

Continue reading Feeling stressed? Head to the Garden

Music therapy

Posted: Mar 22nd 2008 9:47AM by Maggie Vink
Filed under: Alternative Therapies, Emotional Health, Stress Reduction

For me, turning up the soundtrack to Rent and singing (questionably well) along can just wipe all my stress away. Finding relaxation through music is a wonderful thing, but it's not the same as true music therapy. So what is music therapy exactly? Music therapy involves a trained therapist who uses music as a medium to promote physical, psychological, and social well-being.

Music therapy can be used to help reduce stress for hospital patients -- reducing pain and improving mood. It has helped Alzheimer's patients remain calm and improve memory. It can help new parents calm infants and reduce anxiety in kids of all ages. Even the Cancer Treatment Center of America keeps a library of music and holds music therapy sessions to help its patients.

Bring yourself to deal with irrational fears about issues that aren't going away

Posted: Feb 6th 2008 11:30PM by Tanya Ryno
Filed under: General Health, Stress Reduction

All too often, you worry about work, your love life, your bills, taxes -- all issues that you know aren't going to go away. So, to turn around those irrational fears, you need to reprogram the way you react to the triggers that bring on your unwanted anxiety.

First: Make a plan. What helps me is to write down how I feel about certain triggers, why I react the way I do, and how I'd like to react instead. By breaking down my fears it helps me discover why they scared me in the first place.

The next step is to reprogram: When you're faced with a fearful situation, you freeze (like I do) because you've programmed yourself to freeze. Instead, concentrate on your breathing and try to visualize a place you associate with calm and serenity -- the beach, the mountains, or your hometown.

Lastly: Practice and improve. Once you recognize the onset of your irrational fears, you'll eventually reprogram yourself to react more pro-actively and that should reduce your stress.

Pets can be good for your health

Posted: Jan 28th 2008 2:00PM by Bethany Sanders
Filed under: General Health

Fellow pet lovers know the joy that a animal can bring to your life. Whether it's a dog, cat, or less popular but equally loved animal, pet ownership has been shown to reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and improve quality of life. Some people even claim that their dogs have helped them to lose weight. What else can a pet do for your health and well-being? According to eDiets:

A dog can help you feel more secure on your daily walk.
Pets help children develop higher self-esteem and build confidence.
Kids who own pets are generally more involved in activities like hobbies, chores, and sports.
People who suffer from heart disease and own pets have longer survival rates than those who are pet-free.
Seniors who own pets tend to be more active and need less medication.
Pets -- especially dogs -- may help you be more social.

(Of course, pets are also a huge commitment, requiring time, energy, patience, and money. So running out to get a pet when you aren't at a place in your life where you can care for one will only increase your (and your pet's) stress levels.)
What about you? How has your pet improved your well-being?

The 5: Ways to keep your mind and body healthy

Posted: Jan 24th 2008 3:59PM by Chris Sparling
Filed under: The 5

I frequently speak about the mind-body or mind-muscle association here on That's Fit, pointing to the importance such interconnectivity plays in your total health. More or less, what this relationship requires is a connection between your emotional/mental health and your physical well-being.

That's all well and good, but in today's busy world it may not always be a realizable goal. Oddly enough, the side of that relationship that most times gets neglected is our state of mind. We rush around all day long, only to then spend an hour or so hammering away at our bodies in the gym. When do we make time for our mental health?

To that end, here are five easy ways to help both your body AND mind stay as healthy as possible.

5. Be Positive - I've mentioned this poem before; two men looked out from behind the prison bars, one saw stars and the other saw mud. A positive outlook can protect and improve your health in both the short and long term.

4. Be Calm - If yoga does it for you, great. Meditation works? Great. Exercise let's it all out? Awesome. Whatever you need to do to release stress, do it. High levels of stress can be extremely debilitating, leading to free radical damage and an increase in the muscle-ruining hormone cortisol.

Continue reading The 5: Ways to keep your mind and body healthy

Want your kids to have less stress in life? Breast feed them

Posted: Jan 8th 2008 2:35PM by Brian White
Filed under: Stress Reduction, Healthy Kids

The debate rages on with natural health supporters and practitioners who claim that natural breast feeding is much healthier for babies than commercially-produced formula.

Aside from health benefits, researchers in Sweden believe that breast feeding may also lead to less stress in those who are fed that way as babies.

9,000 kids from the UK to -- all born in 1970 -- were observed to provide researchers with the conclusions they were looking for. All were given a "anxiety level" rating by their childhood teachers. Parents were also asked about major life events such as divorce that happened when kids were between the ages of 5 and 10.

Although some non-surprising results were found, there was one surprise: striking differences were found in stress levels between kids who had been breast-fed and those that had been bottle-fed. One is a natural nutrition source connected to a mother: the other is an artificial device that mimics the breast. Which would you prefer as a baby?

Yoga in the car?

Posted: Dec 4th 2007 12:00PM by Bethany Sanders
Filed under: Emotional Health, Spirituality and Inspiration, Stress Reduction, Healthy Products

When I read about Yoga in the Car, I laughed out loud. My car got rear-ended last summer -- hard -- by some kid who was paying more attention to his cell phone than he was to the road. The last thing drivers today need are more distractions.

But after reading this review of the CD, I can at least see the logic behind Yoga in the Car. In fact, there's a warning label right on the CD that tells users only to use it in bumper to bumper traffic -- kind of like your own personal road rage prevention system. Reducing stress is always good for your health, and traffic backups are enough to make anyone's blood pressure rise.

Between refereeing arguments from the back seat and the children's music blaring on my CD player, my car is the last place I'd consider trying to focus on my inner peace. But if you find yourself stuck in traffic, reaching your boiling point, Yoga in the Car may be for you. (Just be careful, ok?)

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