January 20, 2010 in Mindfulness and Meditation, Wellness by empoweringwellness

3 Simple Steps to Reduce Stress and Anxiety

2009 was a rough year for most people. With unemployment hovering around 10 percent, people are genuinely fearful about the economy and their future. Each week, I see more and more clients who suffer from chronic stress. Symptoms are wide ranging, but they include everything from hypertension to back / neck pain to loss of sleep and appetite.

What makes it worse is that in our society, we wear stress like a badge of honor. We work long hours, don’t eat properly, don’t get enough exercise, don’t take time for ourselves, don’t take vacation, and even when we do we remain tethered to our office through our Blackberry, email, voicemail, and text messaging.

If you are a woman with children, it’s even worse. Research shows that women with children have higher levels of stress related hormones in their blood than women without children. Does this mean women without children don’t experience stress? Absolutely not! Stress affects everyone. But, if you have children, it’s particularly important to for you to take steps to reduce the level of stress in your life. You will be in a better frame of mind to help your children and meet the daily challenge of being a parent, once your stress level is reduced.

Chronic stress directly affects your adrenal glands and can compromise your immune system. Stress can suppress the disease fighting functions of white blood cells, making you more susceptible to illness and disease. Although stress increases the rate of your metabolism, the essential nutrients required by your body are not absorbed. As a result, your intestinal tract is often affected, and problems with digestion often occur.

So, what can you do to reduce the amount of stress in your daily life? If you had all the money in the world, you’d probably book a weekend at a fancy spa or resort. For the rest of us, here are 3 Simple (and Affordable) Steps to Reduce Stress and Anxiety.

Focus on Breathing

You don’t have to join a yoga or meditation class to do this. You can do this all in the comfort of your home or even your office. Slow, deep breathing, taking the breath in through the nose and out through the mouth, with your eyes closed is a sure-fired way to reduce the stress response. Here’s how it is done.

- Sit in a comfortable position
- Close your eyes, and slowly inhale through your nose (counting to 5 in your head)
- Let the air out slowly through your mouth (counting to 8 in your head)
- As you breathe, let your belly expand outward, rather than raising your shoulders. This is a more relaxed and natural way to breathe, and helps your lungs fill themselves more fully with air
- Keep breathing this way for 1-2 minutes

Practicing this technique several times a day begins to reduce the level of stress and anxiety and helps bring about what cardiologist Herbert Benson called “the relaxation response.”

Movement and Exercise

It’s great if you can afford to belong to a health club or gym. But, if you can’t afford to do that, a 30-minute brisk walk outside will do wonders. Over this past weekend, I did an hour of work in the yard – mowing the lawn, raking leaves and pruning shrubs. I felt great afterwards.

Human beings were designed to move. We are supposed to hunt and gather our food, not sit behind a desk for hours on end. Movement and physical exercise is one of the best ways to reduce stress. It reduces the level of stress hormones and increases the levels of endorphins, neurotransmitters in our brain that enhances our mood. And physical exercise has the added benefit of helping you stay in shape, and look and feel younger.

Remember, you don’t have to be a member of a gym to enjoy the benefits of exercise. Regular walking in nature is a natural way for you to stay fit and reduce the effects of stress hormones.

Meet Your New Best Friend – Your Bed

Contrary to popular opinion and perception, it seems that Americans may actually be getting enough sleep. In a study released in 2008, Americans average a total of 59 hours a week or about 8.4 hours per night. That is really good news because inadequate rest impairs our ability to think, handle stress, maintain a healthy immune system and moderate our emotions. Without adequate rest, the brain’s ability to function quickly deteriorates. The brain works harder to counteract sleep deprivation effects, but operates less effectively: concentration levels drop, and memory becomes impaired.

So, what is the secret to a good night’s sleep?

According to FamilyDoctor.org, here are five things you can do to get a good night’s sleep.

* Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, including weekends, even if you didn’t get enough sleep. This will help train your body to sleep at night.
* Develop a bedtime routine. Do the same thing every night before going to sleep. For example, take a warm bath and then read for 10 minutes every night before going to bed. Soon you’ll connect these activities with sleeping, and doing them will help make you sleepy.
* Use the bedroom only for sleeping or having sex. Don’t eat, talk on the phone or watch TV while you’re in bed.
* Make sure your bedroom is quiet and dark. If noise is a problem, use a fan to mask the noise or use ear plugs. If you must sleep during the day, hang dark blinds over the windows or wear an eye mask.
* If you’re still awake after trying to fall asleep for 30 minutes, get up and go to another room. Sit quietly for about 20 minutes before going back to bed. Do this as many times as you need to until you can fall asleep.

The Bottom Line

Even during these difficult economic times, there are things you can do to help yourself. You don’t have to feel powerless, you can retain control over your lifestyle. And the good news is that none of these things will cost you any money.