Health Information

Stress!

There is so much advice available about how to deal with stress that it can be stressful to sift through. Here is some of the core advice boiled down to essentials. Stress has been called 'the mystery factor of health', 'the curse of the strong', and even 'the silent killer'. High-achieving people are often drawn into or place themselves in stressful situations, often able, by virtue of their sheer willpower, discipline and talent to push harder, further and for longer. Sound familiar?

Stress is Good

In the comprehensive arsenal of human abilities, the stress reaction is a pretty cool high-tech piece of equipment. Strolling about the cave/savannah/jungle, you can conserve energy in an ordinary state, but when a threat appears, a squirt of adrenalin triggers the "fight or flight" response and turns you into a survival machine. Your heart rate, blood pressure and respiration all increase, so more oxygen is supplied to the heart-lung system and the muscles. Your senses sharpen ? dilated pupils, better hearing, and faster reflexes ? and your blood thickens, which stops any bleeding sooner with platelet clotting, fights off infections with increased white cell count, and increases oxygen supply to your muscles. The blood flow is prioritised: speech and digestion, for example, are low priorities compared to running or fighting. Finally, endorphins are released; natural painkillers that help you stay alert and keep going if you're hurt.

'Wow!' you might say, 'this "stress" of yours sounds fantastic! Where can I get some?'

Stress is Bad

Well, hang on a moment. There is a downside to this temporary bonanza, as you probably already knew. The short term gains are fantastic from the point of view of survival or sporting performance, but for desk-jockeys, couriers, home-makers ? in short, the modern urban human - it's a little more complicated. If every day of your life feels stressful, you'll start to experience the negative effects. Remember how your digestion was placed at a low blood-flow priority so you could fight off that enraged bear? Chronic stress impairs your digestion; nausea, dry mouth, butterflies in the stomach, indigestion, abdominal cramps are all possible symptoms. Remember how your senses shifted into amazing, terrible clarity? Tension, dizziness, headaches and other aches and pains, and even numbness can be the result of long-term stress. Remember how... you get the point.

Managing This Valuable Resource

Well, stress is a bodily reaction; part of a successful strategy to deal with it is bodily. Targeted nutrition aimed at supporting your adrenal gland, your immune system and your neural system is a very strong start. The human body has increased requirements during stressful periods; including B-Group vitamins, Vitamin C (when don't we need Vitamin C?) and zinc and magnesium (these support the adrenal gland). More details and information are available on the Blackmores website, suffice it to say that our understanding of stress and how to treat it has come a long way in the last 30 years or so.

Optional Extras

There is, however, one more complexity to master: there is some evidence that the supply of stress hormones doesn't deplete, but that prolonged exposure actually damages the body. This means that fuelling your body to its maximum efficiency is good, but not the whole job!

Exercise, relaxation, walks on the beach, holidays in the French Riviera all play a role. From the many choices, you can pick and mix, but allow me to put in a good word for an option that is often overlooked. 'Laughter is the best medicine' may be a cheesy adage that breaks down in extreme cases: for example the man who was rushed to hospital with heart palpitations during an especially riotous show ('The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)') but clinical studies have shown that laughter stimulates the immune system, off-setting the immunosuppressive effect of stress. Laughter can regulate your heart beat, relieve muscular tension, improve your breathing and flush you with enjoyable neuro-chemicals!

If you don't have time to go out to comedy shows, watch some on TV, if you don't have time for that, listen to funny songs or audio comedy in your headphones! Despite the many stressors ? the workplace politics, the tight morning schedules trying to run a family, the persistent use of the awful word 'deadline' - the world is a funny place regardless. Bill Cosby used to say 'if you can laugh at it, you can survive it' and this is true for everyone from the over-worked personal assistant to the pub bouncer to the scandal-prone politician under fire from the media.

So...

If you manage it correctly, stress is a valuable resource; you can enjoy big benefits from a properly functioning body. If stress starts to get the better of you, just remember that you're the one in control; you can manage your own performance, push your chemistry around to your advantage and approach your own moods strategically.

(about the picture: it made me laugh, I hope it does the same for you. Many thanks to http://www.jokefile.co.uk/office_jokes/stress.html)