Did you know stress can make you sick?

Quick Ways to Help you Reduce stress RIGHT NOW!

Stress in our lives in our lives is sometimes unavoidable, but its how we deal with that stress that effects us. When you allow stress to get the best of you, there can be damaging effects to your health. Stress can cause headaches, backaches, high blood pressure skin rashes, indigestion, chronic fatigue and even the common cold. When you are stressed your immune system is compromised and is not able to fight off harmful invaders. Stress also overstimulates the immune system. What does this mean? When your immune system is over working its may actually begin to attack itself and start attacking health tissue rather than fighting off bacteria and viruses. Yikes! 

Here are some tips to help you de-stress and in turn, stay healthy! 

Take 6 DEEP, SLOW diaphragmatic breaths

Something as simply as breathing may seem obvious, but when your in the midst of a stressful situation you may not even be aware of the way you are breathing. Being mindful of this technique will keep your stress levels in check. Stress can cause your sympathetic nervous system to kick in. When this happens you will start breathing shallower, your heart rate will go up, and your blood vessels will constrict.  This can lead to headaches, hypertension and more. Show your nervous system who is boss and get it back in line. You can do this by taking 6 deep breaths that will give your body the surge of oxygen it needs. This will help stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, which in turn will help you to calm down. 

Skip the Caffeine and Drink GREEN TEA

When your in a stressful situation you may reach for a cup of coffee to give you a boost but your actually making the situation worse by doing this. Caffeine can actually INCREASE the body's reactions to stress. It can do this by increasing your heart rate, blood pressure and even  the amount of cortisol (a stress hormone) your body releases when you are stressed. The negative effects of caffeine intake of coffee during stress has been clinically proven.  Next time, instead of coffee, reach for a cup of green tea. Green tea contains theanine which promotes relaxation. Theanine, is the antagonist of caffeine and will help to reduce your blood pressure as well as anxiety. 

      Listen to Music 

Music can not only take your mind off thinking about a stressful situation but research has shown it can actually reduce your heart rate! Research shows that listening to classical music can slow our pulse and heart rate, lower blood pressure and decrease the level of slowing the pulse and heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and decreasing the levels of stress hormones.

If classical music is not your thing, listening to music you enjoy is still beneficial to reduce your stress because it will release dopamine, a feel-good neurochemical that will help combat the negative feelings associated with stress.  In the words of Bob Marly, "One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain." 

Eat a food high in Vitamin C 

A study in 2002 showed that taking in a high amount of Vitamin C showed a significant reduction in the psychological effects of stress. In other words eating a food high in vitamin C, such as an orange, can help reduce blood pressure, cortisol, and the other effects stress can have on different individuals. 

See your Friends! 

Hanging out with friends is not only enjoyable but turns out can be good for your health! A study found that when you are with friends, less of the stress hormone cortisol is released during a stressful situation. No wonder why we may instinctually want to call someone close up during a time of stress. Not only can it help ease your mind, but actually has proven to be physically beneficial. So next time your overly stressed about something, call a friend and do something with them weather it be grabbing a lunch or talking over a cup of tea.