2019: a stress-free year

I do not believe in the success of a New Year's resolution. It is the same as saying how you will change something on Monday. If you want something changed, change it now. Why wait until a specific date? You can read about the psychology of it in my post The psychology of New Year's resolutions and why they don't work. That is why I have tried to trick my own brain and started implementing some life changes in December. What changes? 2019 will be a stress-free year.

Stress has become a frequent companion in our lives and we sometimes forget what it does not only to our psychological health but to our physiological too. You may stress about the politics, weather, your financial situation or how your son resembles the postman more than you but whatever your reasons are, consider doing something about them. If you want to change the world, start with changing how you react to it first. Want to be healthy and happy? Relax and read this post, it a good place to start.

When we feel under too much pressure, our nervous system instructs our bodies to release stress hormones adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol which produce physiological changes. Those changes help us deal with the threat we see endangering us. Keep in mind that stress is not always a negative thing. It makes us alert, motivated and focused. The problem arises when we have too much of it. Our entire body then feels the negative effects of it.

When you are under stress, your respiratory system gets affected. You start breathing harder and more quickly to distribute oxygen-rich blood around your body. If you have asthma, this could be a big deal for you and not to mention that quick and shallow breathing may lead to hyperventilation, especially if you have a history of anxiety and panic attacks. Cortisol, on the other hand, suppresses your immune system so you get more susceptible to infections and chronic inflammatory conditions which means that you can not fight off illness as you would if you were happy and calm. Your muscles tense up and those in the shoulders, neck and head result with migraines. Heart rate and blood pressure rise up and, in repeatedly experienced chronic stress situations, lead to damaged blood vessels and arteries increasing your chances of hypertension, heart attack or stroke. Yup, too much stress might just kill you. If it does not kill you, it may give you diabetes. Glucose is produced by the liver to provide you with the energy to deal with the stressful situation so if you have problems with reabsorbing the extra blood sugar when the stress subsides, then you are in trouble. Heartburn, acid reflux, stomach pain, bloating and nausea, diarrhea or constipation, and reduced ability to absorb nutrients from our food are gastrointestinal effects of stress but your reproductive system is in danger too. Stress affects the production of testosterone and sperm, and may lead to erectile dysfunction or impotence in men while it can change the menstrual cycle and increase premenstrual symptoms in women. Having read all this, don't you think it is wise to manage your stress until it manages you? Remember all those times when I told you how you should be happy, this would be the reason why.

There are people who handle stress pretty well and the same situation will not be nor experienced nor handled the same by different people. What puts a lot of stress on me, may just be like a walk in the park for you. Stress-resilience depends on neurochemical, genetic, and epigenetic processes so a group of scientists came together and examined the hormones, neuropeptides, neurotransmitters, and neural circuits associated with resilience and vulnerability to stress-related disorders. Basically, your genetics (like with everything else) play a big role but your attitude and a willingness to change how you handle situations, helps. Some will maybe work harder than others but unless there is a physical trauma to the brain, there is no such thing as not being able to learn how to deal with stress. Not wanting to is another story.

If you think that I am done being all negative and paranoid-ish about stress, nope, I have just started. One of the studies from 2018 has shown how stress may impair your memory now and quicken cognitive decline later in life.

Doctors have found that people with higher blood levels of the hormone cortisol performed more poorly on memory tests and had a slightly shrunken brain volume compared to people with a normal level of that hormone and the effect was more evident among women. Did you hear that ladies? That yoga class does not sound too bad now, right? This study reveals how there is an association between stress and brain function that's consistent with previously conducted laboratory-based studies on mice. Dr. Justin Echouffo-Tcheugui, an assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore and a lead study author said how the findings are not surprising because people with Cushing syndrome, (a condition that has a persistently high level of cortisol) often experience poor memory, and problems with attention, moodiness, and depression. You can read the study here:

No one can help you if you do not at least try to help yourself first. There is probably not a doctor in the world (or at least there shouldn't be) who will not tell you how it is beneficial that you have enough sleep, food, and stress-free time in order to be healthy. Those 3 things are crucial for your normal functioning.

I have decided to do everything in my power to reduce the stress I am under and I suggest you do the same. This year could be amazingly calm if we stick to our decision. Working on your behavior and thought patterns is a good way to prevent stress from happening so regular self-analysis and contemplation through meditation or any other technique is a good way to prevent the problem before it happens. Since life has its ups and downs and self-work is an ongoing job, it is good to know what to do if prevention fails and we do get stuck in stressful states. The best way would be to change your attitude according to Harvard and Yale researchers. They found how your attitude toward stress matters and you can learn more positive attitudes. People who concentrate on the positive aspects of stress actually felt less stressed, are happier and healthier, and have a 23% decrease in stress-related physical symptoms. You can read the study here:

Exercise is beneficial and there have been numerous studies which talk about how exercising will help you to boost your mood, improve sleep, and sharpen focus. You will feel fitter, more confident, and have a fresh regular dose of those happy chemicals like dopamine and endorphins but just as you need to keep active you also need to keep calm. Meditation is a great way to do that. A study by the University of California, San Francisco, found that meditation bolsters brain chemicals and hormones that help with regulating stress, fighting off sickness, lowering blood pressure and enabling people to react to stressful situations with more patience. You can check that study here:

Green has always been my favorite color and being in nature has huge benefits for human health. Stanford researchers have even found that taking a stroll through nature reduces anxiety more than walking on a busy street and has some cognitive benefits. Sometimes even looking at pictures of nature or imagining it works for me but nothing can replace the actual feeling of being outside. Researchers found how at a neurobiological level, nature experience leads to decreases in sgPFC activity, a brain region that has previously been shown to be associated with a self-focused behavioral withdrawal linked to rumination in both depressed and healthy individuals. You can read the full paper here:

Next time you find yourself under a lot of pressure and feel stress, go outside. Find a forest or a park and take a walk, go to the beach or even your backyard. Smell the plants and listen to birds. Sometimes the simplest things have the biggest effect on us. Do not underestimate the calming power that nature has.

Meditation, Exercise, Herbs, Nature

Formulations of dietary supplements and herbal extracts for relaxation and anxiolytic action: Relarian by Weeks BS
An alternative treatment for anxiety: a systematic review of human trial results reported for the Ayurvedic herb ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) by Pratte MA, Nanavati KB, Young V, Morley CP
Omega-3 supplementation lowers inflammation and anxiety in medical students: a randomized controlled trial by Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Belury MA, Andridge R, Malarkey WB, Glaser R

Some scents are especially soothing

The effects of aromatherapy in relieving symptoms related to job stress among nurses by Chen MC, Fang SH, Fang L
The effects of aromatherapy on sleep improvement: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis by Hwang E, Shin S.

And the last piece of advice

If you are interested in learning more on this subject, check out these REFERENCES:

How Your Body Reacts to Stress from smithsonianmag.com
Stress effects on the body from American Psychological Association
Adapting to stress: Understanding the neurobiology of resilience from sciencedaily.com
It Might Stress You Out to Know What Stress Is Doing to Your Brain from livescience.com
16 Simple Ways to Relieve Stress and Anxiety from healthline.com
6 Proven Ways to Recover From Stress from psychologytoday.com
The Art of Relaxation: 10 Highly Effective Ways to Relieve Stress Naturally from consciouslifestylemag.com

Until next time,
KEEP YOUR SMILE ON!
and relax

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