Fight or Flight: Acute Stress Takes a Toll on the Body
This has been the year of stress like never before; the whole world is experiencing simultaneous stress and insecurity.
Every country is facing a host of unknowns right now. Our nation is struggling through a lot of conflicting perspectives. If you aren’t feeling extra stress this year in any capacity, then you may be living in some kind of bubble!
Most of us are trying to cope with increased acute stress that has lasted for months. Identifying and alleviating that stress should be a serious focus for everyone.
Believe it or not, stress isn’t something you should naturally experience for long periods of time.
Stress is bad for the body and mind. The longer stressors plague you, the harder it gets to make them leave you alone. Long-term stress is harmful and should be mitigated as often as possible.
What Causes Stress?
From small irritants to big devastations, there are so many things that increase your stress levels.
Decision making is a stress inducer continually hanging over your head that requires you to make choices about what you want to wear, what you want to eat, which blog article to read, which social media posts to like—leading to decision fatigue and daily stress from seemingly "nothing."
And, while stress can gradually build with small stressors, it can spike with a major event too.
Stress is likely to exist with demanding tasks or high-level responsibilities. Stress typically occurs after the loss of something important, like a job or a loved one.
You may feel stress because of a negative environment or even just an unhealthy lifestyle. Stress is caused by an event of some kind. When you can pinpoint and eliminate (or manage) the stressor, you will alleviate the stress.
The Impact of Long-Term Stress
Stress is a good thing when it inspires us to act quickly. Our body sends an extra shot of adrenalin to help motivate us to change our situation when stress is triggered.
But, that burst of motivation should be short-lived. If we experience perpetual stress for long periods of time (or indefinitely), our body can’t sustain it.
According to research:
[If] the stress response is excessive or prolonged then any of a variety of clinical disorders can arise…different stressors elicit different patterns of autonomic responses, with exposure to some stressors differentially affecting sympathetic noradrenergic and adrenomedullary hormonal activities… Distress involves concurrent activation of the HPA and adrenomedullary neuroendocrine systems.
The Fight or Flight Response
When you are under stress, you are in a fight or flight state.
Your body is telling you to change the situation, so your heart rate is higher and you won’t be able to enter a true state of rest.
After a serious and short-lived threat, it will take between 20-60 minutes to reduce your heart rate back down to a normal level.
But, if you are under constant stress, even your resting heart rate will be higher.
One study done on resting heart rate looked at over 29,000 healthy people spanning 10 years and found that those with high resting heart rates (over 85 bpm) were much more likely to die (90%) during the course of the study.
Stress and Anxiety
There is a difference between stress and anxiety, though they are often linked and interchanged as similar things.
The biggest difference between stress and anxiety is what causes it.
Stress is caused by events that spark a response. Anxiety is in the mind and typically isn’t eliminated with the end of the trigger.
Anxiety can often lead to stress or be caused by stress, but it may require medication or therapy to alleviate the anxiety trigger.
Stress Leading to Burnout
Prolonged stress may lead to burnout. You might reach a point where you are overwhelmed by the continual feeling of stress and have no interest in productivity. If burnout occurs, you may face depression, lethargy, a complete lack of motivation and struggle to do even the most basic things.
It isn’t unusual for people in burnout to turn to unhealthy comfort foods and spend a lot of time sitting (or laying) around without being productive.
This is your body telling you that it cannot sustain the high stress and needs a break. However, burnout can also increase feelings of stress because of the lack of productivity, making it a very vicious cycle.
Physical Symptoms of Stress
Stress is physically hard on the body.
Not only does it raise the resting heart rate and potentially cause a stroke or heart attack, but it will cause a wide range of physical symptoms.
Stress can spike headaches or cause nausea.
You might experience hives because of stress or low libido.
It can make you feel dizzy or achy.
Prolonged stress can cause memory issues and make it hard to focus.
Unchecked, stress can lead to heart problems, high blood pressure, obesity, insomnia, diabetes
How Can You Naturally Reduce Stress?
With something so serious, you need to make changes to ensure you don’t stay in a continual state of stress. This year has been filled with a huge number of stressors we can’t control, so it is crucial you take the time to practice self-care.
These activities can help reduce stress:
Spend Time in the Sun
The sun naturally increases your serotonin levels.
Even just 15 minutes every day will improve your mood and help you be able to relax. Take a brisk walk outside or take a project outside for a bit—even on cold or rainy days if possible.
Increase Exercise
Something relaxing and centering, like yoga or Tai Chi, can be very good for lowering stress.
Low-impact cardio workouts—like aerobics, pool exercise, the elliptical or the row machine—are great for strengthening the heart, stabilizing your mood and reducing your stress levels.
You should aim for five 30-minute workouts a week if possible. You can always start with two or three per week if five seems overwhelming—working out some is a lot better than not going at all because you aren’t ready to commit.
After a few weeks, you will start to notice increased energy and mental calmness.
Healthy Eating
Getting the right nutrients is crucial for keeping your body balanced and stress levels low.
Fast food, junk food and unhealthy eating can be stressors themselves. Most people feel “guilty” for eating poorly, so following a poor diet can lead to feelings of failure that result in increased stress.
Following a healthy diet is key. Supplementing your diet with focused nutrients will help further increase the effectiveness of a good diet.
Drink More Water
Help your body get what it needs by drinking a lot of water. Most people don’t get enough water, causing the body to strain in a form of dehydration.
Drink 8-10 glasses of water every day to give your body what it needs to function at a high level.
Cut Out Stressors
Cut out any unnecessary stressors.
This might mean saying “no” to commitments and activities that aren’t truly meaningful to you in an effort to slow down your schedule.
Reducing stressors might even mean staying off your phone to avoid frustrating news cycles and mindless scrolling of your newsfeed.
Reducing the strain of information overload is going to help with reducing your feelings of stress or anxiety.
So, look for ways to remove even the smallest stressors from your life so you are more prepared to handle the unavoidable ones.
Pursue Pastimes You Enjoy
Find a hobby or relaxing activity that you can enjoy.
Some people love puzzles, reading, art or music. You might find a spa day incredibly relaxing.
Some will find playing a video game or watching a comedy special is soothing after a stressful day.
You might prefer to do something more practical, like gardening (and dirt is great for boosting the mood!).
Whatever it is, find an activity that you find enjoyable, relaxing and rewarding.
This will help counteract the stressors in your life and bring you back to a state of calm.
Practice Deep Breathing
There are huge benefits to deep breathing exercises.
A number of studies have linked deep breathing to lower heart rates, improved wellness, lessened stress and deeper relaxation.
You should find a quiet place to relax, laying down or sitting in a comfortable chair. Breathe in and out through your nose, filling your belly with air.
Keep the breaths the same length (in and out). Completely fill up and empty your lungs with every breath, drawing from the belly. It can help to pair this practice with mediation or mantras.
Natural Supplements
Your diet and lifestyle is key to lowered stress, but supplements can really help spark a major improvement.
Anointed Nutrition Stress supplement is extremely effective in reducing feelings of stress, while improving focus and energy.
It will help you feel more balanced and relaxed without feeling sleepy. With a blend of several ingredients, the 5-HTP increases your natural levels of serotonin.
The L-Theanine included helps your brain reach a state of calm focus.
Simply take this supplement by mouth, and the incredible NanoZorb™ technology will enable the supplement to absorb into your mouth without even going into your digestive tract.
While most supplements are ineffective because they never make it to your bloodstream, our supplements are specially designed with nanotechnology to be absorbed quickly and 10x more effective than other products.
Continue to Alleviate Stress
It will take a regular routine and lifestyle to combat all the stress we face every day. Don’t look at these changes as a quick fix, but a long-term shift.
As you change your routines, you will be more effective at combating stress and finding a better balance. You will be more prepared to handle the increased strain and triggering events when you have tools in place to combat stressors as they come up.
Simply take this supplement by mouth, and the incredible NanoZorb™ technology will enable the supplement to absorb into your mouth without even going into your digestive tract.
While most supplements are ineffective because they never make it to your bloodstream, our supplements are specially designed with nanotechnology to be absorbed quickly and 10x more effective than other products.
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