Stress Relief

It almost blew me away when I found out that the American Medical Association stated stress was the cause of 80-85% of all human illness and disease or at least had a detrimental effect on our health. Therefore, I want to give you a few ways you can combat stress instead of covering it up

1. Proper Nutrition- Stay away from processed foods and sugar. Focus your diet on whole unprocessed foods, like fruits and vegetables and organic meats. Don’t overeat either since that stresses out our digestive tract. Only eat until you are not hungry no matter how much you have left on your plate.

2. Relieve Muscle Tension- Aerobic exercise 30 minutes a day 3 times a week works great for stress relief. You can make it fun instead of a chore… run or work out with a friend. You can even plug in that dance mat on the video game and have a blast! Massage therapy and weight lifting also help with stress relief.

3. Stay Well Hydrated- The formula for proper hydration is: divide your body weight in half and drink that many ounces of water every day. Water helps clean toxins out of your system and keeps your joints healthy.

4. Keep Breathing- When the stress hits, don’t hold your breath or tighten your stomach. Do some breathing exercises like breathe through your nose while pushing out your belly for a count of 10 and exhale through your mouth for a count of 10. It may take some practice, but your body will love you for it

5. Maintain Proper Nerve Flow- Your nervous system is the first defense against processing stress. When your body is functioning properly, it can handle “extras” for a short while without negative consequences.  Keeping your nervous system functioning well allows your body to communicate within itself to coordinate all of its functions.

Work on these suggestions and you may reduce your risk of stress related illness!