I recently invited a friend
to join me for a yoga class. I asked her what she is presently doing in her
life for stress relief. Her brow furrowed and a long silence followed. She
couldn’t name a single thing. Now maybe she is just a more chill person than I
am but I NEED regular stress relievers just to make it though life with a
smile on my face at least some of the time. You guessed it-- our challenge for
this week is for you to participate in some kind of stress relief activities daily. Here are a few ideas (most
are from Reader’s Digest) to consider:
1. Sniff some
vanilla or lavender
Certain aromas can lift your
mood by influencing the production of endorphins the brain's
"feel-good" chemicals. For example, the scent of vanilla helps reduce
anxiety, which is often associated with depression. According to a study at the
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, patients undergoing MRIs who breathed
vanilla-scented air reported 63 percent less anxiety than those who breathed
unscented air.
To get the endorphin-boosting benefits
of vanilla, add a drop or two of vanilla to some herbal tea or cocoa, light some vanilla-scented candles, or add vanilla essential oil to your
bathwater.
In another study, conducted on college
students, inhaling the aroma of lavender essential oil improved symptoms of
depression and insomnia You can dab lavender oil on your wrists and temples or
diffuse it in the air or sprinkle it on your bed linens.
2. Take a
group exercise class
Group exercise has some
distinct advantages, according to a recent study. Not only will friends
encourage you, but the shared effort may give your endorphin levels an extra
boost. Researchers in 2009 found that college crews who rowed in
synchronization had an increased rush of these feel-good hormones compared with
those who rowed alone. But all exercise is good, whether solitary or with
others. Invite a friend along for walking, skipping, dancing, aerobics and running. The rhythm of
continuous exercise releases endorphins and encourages reflective thought.
4. Seek out
daily laughter
It's been observed that
children laugh about 300 times a day, whereas adults laugh, on average, only
about five times each day. The more we laugh, the better our perspective.
Problems also seem to shrink, bringing an increased sense of energy. Over the
centuries it has been claimed that laughter is one of life's greatest
medicines; as the Bible says, 'a merry heart doeth good like a medicine'
(Proverbs 17:22).
Laughter is sometimes described as
'inner jogging'. Research has shown that it can help to: lower blood pressure,
reduce stress hormones, boost immune function by raising levels of
infection-fighting cells, trigger the release of endorphins, the body's natural
painkillers and produce a general sense of wellbeing.
Modern humor therapy dates from the
1930s, when clowns were brought into American hospitals to cheer up children
hospitalized with polio. More recently, the role of laughter as an aid to
healing has been well documented in Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the
Patient, by the American journalist, author and professor Norman Cousins, who
created his own laughter-based, self-healing regime after being diagnosed with
a degenerative disease. He suffered adverse reactions to most of the drugs he
was given and decided, with the cooperation of his doctor, to take matters into
his own hands. Cousins discontinued his medication and, as well as taking
megadoses of vitamin C, spent his days watching Marx Brothers films and
episodes of the TV comedy show Candid Camera, as well as reading humorous
books. He claimed that 10 minutes of laughing gave him 2 hours of drug-free
pain relief. In time he experienced a gradual withdrawal of symptoms and
eventually regained most of his lost freedom of movement.
In India, Laughing Clubs, in which
participants gather in the early morning for the sole purpose of laughing, are
becoming increasingly popular, while in the UK, the psychologist and
psychotherapist Robert Holden launched the country's first laughter clinics in
1991 with funding from the NHS.
Here are a few
of my favorites (Note I enjoy ALL of the Jay Leno Gas tank news and Jay Leno Photo Booth epidisodes available on youtube)
6. Savor some
chocolate
Chocolate-lovers will be
delighted to hear that dark chocolate provides protection against heart attacks
and strokes. Thanks to its high content of polyphenols and other antioxidants,
dark chocolate reduces inflammation, lowers blood pressure, reduces LDL
cholesterol, boosts good HDL cholesterol and protects the health of your
arteries. It also contains chemicals that prompt the release of endorphins, the
body's pain-relieving and pleasure-promoting hormones.
In one major review of 139 studies
conducted over nearly 40 years, researchers concluded that chocolate
consumption could lower the risk of cardiovascular death by around 19 per cent.
That's the good news. The bad news, for some, is that all you need to eat to
improve your health is 6.7g per day. That's equivalent to one small square two
or three times a week. Also the heart benefits tend to disappear with
consumption of larger amounts. A little dark chocolate may even help to curb
our appetite for unhealthier foods, according to research at the University of
Copenhagen, which reveals that dark chocolate is more filling than milk
chocolate and reduces cravings for salty, fatty or sugary items.
7. Listen to
Music
Listening to
music you love triggers joy by unleashing feel-good brain chemicals. Take
notice of what music is most able to lift your spirits and then look for times
to introduce it in your day. Sing in the shower, crank it up in the car, belt
it out in the kitchen. If you are someone that listens almost exclusively to
talk radio or audible books edge that out with at least a few minutes a day of
some joyful music.
8. Eat
something spicy
The hot, spicy taste of foods is not, in fact, a taste sensation but a
feeling of pain. Capsaicin the chemical compound that makes chili peppers hot
binds to proteins, or pain receptors, of nerve cells in the mucous membranes of
the nose and mouth. The nerve impulses produced in this way pass via the
trigeminal nerve into the brain, creating a painful burning feeling. The same
receptors also react to heat, so that when heavily spiced food is eaten hot,
the effect is even more intense. However, the pain is offset by the body's
reaction, which is to release endorphins naturally occurring opioids that
produce a feeling of wellbeing which could explain the popularity of hot, spicy
food. Another positive effect of hot spices is that they kill pathogens and
promote sweating the latter effect being especially useful for cooling the body
in hot climates. Another thing I like about eating spicy foods is that I have noticed for me less is more. Smaller portions of spicy foods because they contain so much flavor seem more satisfying than larger portions of bland foods.
9. Spend some time swinging your arms
Stand up, relax
and smile. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart, toes pointing forward.
Your arms should be hanging naturally at your sides. Let your eyes almost close
as you mentally focus down toward your toes. Now, extend both arms out in front
of you, then relax and let your arms swing naturally back behind you. Keep
swinging your arms back and forth like this in an easy pendulum-like rhythm at
least 100 times. (It’s called hand swinging because, of course, your hands go
along with your arms.) Keep your mind focused on what you’re doing. Breathe
naturally, and don’t let your attention wander until the exercise is completed
and you will feel the results of this endorphin encourager.
10. Hug until they let go.
Hugs are one of the most succinct
ways to encourage your body to release oxytocin, and the more oxytocin your
pituitary gland releases, the better able you are to handle life's stressors.
Oxytocin decreases the level of stress
hormones (primarily cortisol) your body manufactures and lowers your blood
pressure response to anxiety-producing events. Oxytocin quite likely plays a
role in why pet owners heal more quickly from illness, why couples live longer
than singles, and why support groups work for people with addictions and
chronic diseases.
Oxytocin has also been found to reduce
the cravings of drug and alcohol addiction, as well as for sweets. It even has
a positive influence on inflammation and wound healing. Even beyond this,
regular hugs have the added benefit of:
• Cultivating patience and showing
appreciation
• Activating the Solar Plexus Chakra,
which stimulates your thymus gland (this may help balance your production of
white blood cells)
• Stimulating dopamine, the pleasure
hormone, and serotonin,
for elevated mood
• Balancing out your nervous system
for better parasympathetic balance
So hug often and hug long-- hug until they let go.
So your challenge for the next week is to add
at least one activity each day specifically to raise your endorphins. It can be
something from the list above or any other idea that you know works well for you. It can
be a different activity every day or the same one for several days. But make
stress relief a focus of your week. For every day you do this you will earn 5
bonus points. (And yes you can include a small square of dark chocolate in your daily regimen without it counting as your sugar day if you can fit it in your daily calorie budget- I'm calling it "medicinal chocolate"!)
