The Different Ways to Reduce Stress
The Importance of Exercise and Eating Right
A Summary​
Managing our stress levels can be very challenging, but the best way you can build a strong foundation of which stress can be better managed, is through diet and exercise. Studies have proven that diet and exercise are the 2 main components of keeping us physically and mentally healthy. Additionally, numerous clinical trials have verified just how effective they are in treating depression and anxiety. These two components go hand in hand, and together, they are a powerful tool for combatting all types of stress.
Exercise: Can We "Work" Our Stress Out?
Simply put, the answer is Yes! At the hormonal level, as soon as you start your workout or exercise, your brain(specifically the pituitary gland and hypothalamus) begins producing endorphins. Also known as the "feel good hormone" or often termed as the "runner's high", this hormone is also responsible for fueling your reward system by making you more optimistic and energetic after your workout, as well as promote feelings of calmness and peacefulness. If that isn't already amazing, endorphins are our body's natural pain killers: they have the ability to "turn off stress" by putting you in a feel good state of mind(euphoria), and greatly reduces feelings of dread and anxiety(Harber, 2012). Exercise also is impactful in reducing blood cortisol levels, which is the stress hormone. During exercise, cortisol levels increase with the intensity of the work being done(Hill, 2008) but is greatly reduced after exercise, which allows you to sleep better at night. This is the attributing factor to being able to sleep better after exercising.
What Exercises are Right for Me?
Now that we know the benefits of exercise, picking the right exercise or physical activity is the next step. According to the CDC, each week adults need 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and 2 days of muscle strengthening activity. Additionally, it's important to note that you don't always have to go so hard when exercising; a little bit of physical activity is better than none, and you still reap the benefits of physical activity. Doing something you enjoy would also allow you to adhere to it better. Below are 4 types of physical activities or types of exercises that you can do, which are fun, interactive, and can give you a sense of progression and accomplishment.
Exercise Adherence: Sticking to the Routine
Exercise and physical activity are important for reducing stress, but you can only reap its benefits if you stay consistent. In today's world, it's becoming increasingly difficult to get out of our way to do some form of physical activity, but some tips that can help you keep things in check:
1. Create a Schedule
An easy way to stick to your workout of choice is by adding it to your calendar or reminders app. Adding a reminder to workout 30 minutes today is more manageable than having to do 1 hour, as long as you complete the 150 minutes a week prescription.
2. Perform Small Bouts of Exercise
If you can't commit to doing a full workout, pick an exercises that can be done with moderate intensity in short bursts. An example would be doing air squats in between your work, or doing a lap around the neighborhood after you finish a task. The little things add up, so don't feel discouraged if you can't do a full work out in one session.
3. Do Something You Enjoy!
The final tip may seem obvious, but possibly the most important thing you can do to stick to your workout is doing an activity you actually enjoy! What better way to exercise when your doing something that brings a smile to your face, or doing something you truly enjoy. By the time you finish your 150 minutes of exercise per week, your going to be sad that it was over because of how much fun you were having.
Eating Right to Reduce Your Stress
The food we eat has a substantial impact on our bodies, with effects ranging from weight loss and muscle growth to reduced stress and improved mental state. It cannot be understated that having a healthy diet will benefit a person's life in more ways than one.
How can Eating Right Combat Stress?
Diet plays such a huge role in our livelihood, often the first thing people change when they are trying to improve on themselves is to modify their diet. While its often not thought of as a way to improve your stress levels, it absolutely should be. If your diet focuses more on sugar as its primary fuel source, you tend to go through periods of high and low energy, or highs and crashes. It's hard to finish everything you need to in a day where you are following that pattern of energy, potentially adding to stress. But biologically, diet can have a bigger impact on stress than what we see. According to the article, "Exercise, diet and stress as modulators of gut microbiota: Implications for neurodegenerative diseases", high fat and carb diets can actually increase the rate of neurogenerative disease progression and play a role in how or if they will begin at all. On the other hand, healthier diets like the ketogenic or Mediterranean diet can improve cognition and gut microbiota, and slow progression of neurodegenerative disease. It's also important to highlight that there has not been a causal relationship demonstrated in studies between the poor diets and the ailments discussed, however there is an extremely high correlation between the two. Further studies will have to be conducted to see if the relationship between the two might be causal, not just correlational. (Gubert, 2020)
What Should I Eat?
Below are a few helpful hints on what to eat, coming from the article "Diet and Stress" written by Dr. Michael Gonzalez published in the journal Psychiatric Clinics of North America in 2014.
Free Range Meats and Wild Caught Fish
Free range meats are free of the synthetic fertilizers, antibiotics, and steroid hormones found in non-free range farms. Having these things in your food creates physical stress as your body works to rid itself of the contaminants.
Omega 3 Oils
The human body cannot produce Omega 3 and Omega 6 oils by itself and must take it in as part of your diet. Omega 3 oils are anti-inflammatory substances and are often not consumed much in the American diet. Foods with Omega 3 oils include wild caught salmon, walnuts, and flax seed oil
Fiber
Fiber is a non-digestible carb found in fruits, grains, and vegetables. it is beneficial because it can help clear out the intestines of toxins and fat molecules. The World Health Organization recommends a diet that includes 30-40 grams of fiber every day.
While these are three good examples of what foods you can eat to reduce stress, there are a multitude of other options available. Each one combats stress in its own way, often by focusing on a tertiary cause of stress, not by trying to prevent the primary cause.
How to Start Changing Your Diet
1
Start Small
Big changes don’t happen overnight, it’s hard to stick to a diet plan if you completely change everything right away. It’s much easier to stick to the plan if you slowly stop eating some foods and introduce others.
2
Find Simple Recipes
Changing your diet can be a big challenge on its own, not to mention the added time cooking and prepping meals it may take. It’s important to find some recipes that are easy and quick to make, that you also enjoy eating.
3
Stay True
It’s okay to have cheat meals every now and then, sometimes it's too hard to get around, especially if you’re out with others. At the same time it’s important to try and keep them to a minimum, and not let cheat meals become days or weeks.