Stress
Sources of stress in our daily life:
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The “little things” – small things that we think of as irritants but can cause life to seem
overwhelming because they are continuous.
Distorted thinking – Irrational overly emotional thinking that focuses on the negative and
unrealistic view of life. It’s the inner dialogue where we constantly criticize ourselves and
our actions.
Lack of goals – not knowing where you are going results in ongoing anxiety
Relationship changes – new college students and returning students change their behaviors
when starting college. Friends, family members and relationship partners generally feel out
of control and start applying stress to the student to “act like you used to.”
Finances, career, and grades
Health related areas where you can defuse stress
A. Mental Attitude – your attitude toward life can influence your stress level. For example, anger
can increase heart rate and temperature.
Stress level is lowered dramatically when you feel two things:
1. Control
2. Predictability
Lack of control = helplessness = anxiety= diminished immune system=stress=poor health
When you are in circumstances over which you have no control, you experience DIS-stress. You
must rely on coping strategies. For example:
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Create a distraction for yourself like reading, drawing, use your phone to talk to
others or play games (control).
Prepare for a variety of possibilities so you know what to expect (make the
possibility of stress predictable).
Employ relaxation techniques
1. Deep breathing
2. Progressive muscle relaxation
3. Visualization
4. Positive self talk
B. The Importance of Physical Health in Combating Stress
Sleep - 6-8+ hours are essential. Teenagers need more (9+ hours)
Without sleep the following is impaired:
1. Short-term memory
2. Decision making ability
3. Concentration
For example, the U.S. Depratment of Transportation attributes 200,000 traffic accidents /year to
lack of sleep in drivers.
Ironically, those who are stressed need more sleep. Yet, stress causes anxiety which generally
keeps you from sleeping.
You cannot “store” sleep by sleeping more on weekends. Being awake for 24-hours can creates
a chemical deficit in your system which can take as long as one-month of regular sleep patterns
to correct.
Get better sleep by:
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Sleeping on a regular schedule; otherwise, you will disturb your circadian rhythms. In
other words you will suffer from “jet lag.”
Be careful about napping - Naps detract from the sleep cycle.
Melatonin is a hormone that acts as an antioxidant. It can prevent tumors by destroying
free radicals. It also brings on the sleep cycle. There is 5 times the amount of melatonin
in your bloodstream at night as there is during the day because melatonin is released as
a response to darkness. As it grows lighter in the morning, then you begin to wake up.
As it gets darker at night, you produce more and you begin to feel sleepy. When you
nap, it’s light and you don’t produce the melatonin you needs for body repair.
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Naps also deprive you of REM and Delta sleep. REM sleep is dream sleep and Delta is
deep sleep. Both are necessary for alertness and tissue renewal.
Naps also allow you to put off work.
Exercising daily also promotes healthy sleep, but not right before you go to sleep.
Exercising before sleep makes you more alert.
A soothing routine promotes sleep such as taking a warm bath or reading a book.
Sleep in the same place every night—it’s a signal to your body that it is time to sleep.
Keep the room a comfortable temperature
Use relaxation techniques to promote sleep
Avoid caffeine and coffee
Side effects of caffeine (200-500 milligrams) – headaches, nervousness,
gastrointestinal disturbances (1 cup of coffee equals 90-150 mg per cup)
Eating for Good Health Helps Combat Stress
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Stress depletes vitamins and minerals. Eating regularly helps replace them.
60% of the population is overweight. 30% of the population is obese.
Two rules of weight loss:
1. Calories in/calories out
2. Portion size counts
For example, a medium soda, large fries, and a double cheesebuger equals about 1500 calories
and 60 grams of fat on the average.
To lose one pound, you have to burn 3500 calories
To maintain a healthy weight you should be eating:
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moderate proteins – lean meats, poultry and fish; to calculate recommended
amount of proteins divide your weight in half and multiply by 1.5 = the amount
of proteins in grams. If you are trying to build muscle, you need more.
complex carbohydrates – fruits and vegetables and whole grains
avoid processed foods (packaged foods which are high in fat and sugar)
avoid simple carbs – white pasta, white rice, white potatoes, white bread,
sweets/candy. Simple carbs are very easy to break down into sugars and when
you don’t burn them right away, your body stores them as fat. Complex carbs
take longer to break down, so you get the opportunity to burn them before they
are stored resulting in less fat around your middle.
Smoking – one cigarette reduces your life span by 7-11 minutes; within 3 seconds blood
pressure can increase up to 20 points and heart rate adds an extra fifteen beats per minute.
Exercise and Lowered Stress
“The less you move, the shorter your life span.”
Exercise reduces stress and alleviates depression. It has been found to alleviate average
depression than anti-depressants.
Anaerobic exercise – means without oxygen.
Includes strength training and resistance exercises. Helps prevent muscle loss over time.
People typically lose on the average, 10 oz. of lean muscle per year through life. They
replace that 10 oz. with the gain on the average 16 oz of fat tissue per year through life.
Aerobic exercise – means with oxygen.
This is cardiovascular exercise. It includes running, walking, swimming, biking, etc.
Benefits can be seen even with as little as 10 minutes per session. Walking for 10
minutes /4X a day is as good or better as walking 40 minutes once a day.
Lowers heart rate
Increases bone density (weight bearing exercise)
Releases endorphins (nature’s pain killer and “feel good” hormone) and norepinephrine
(promotes enhanced awareness)
Working out in the morning is the most effective and gets it our of the way.
Vary activities so that you don’t get bored and you can work different muscle groups