How is Stress Bad For Our Health
It’s bad for our hormonal health. It can raise our blood pressure, mess with our metabolism, cause our immune system to not function properly and can cause weight gain.
It’s bad for our heart health. Chronic stress is linked to high blood pressure, increased heart rate and a higher risk of heart disease or stroke.
It can suppress our immune system. Long-term stress can weaken your immune response, making you more likely to catch illnesses and slower to recover.
It’s bad for our mental health. It’s a big player in anxiety, depression, and burnout.
It can cause digestive issues like stomachaches, nausea, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and changes in appetite which can lead to undereating or overeating.
It can cause issues with our sleep. Stress can keep your mind racing at night, leading to insomnia or poor-quality sleep—which in turn makes stress worse and cause a vicious cycle of poor sleep and then more stress.
How Can We Manage Stress in Healthy Ways?
Exercise: even just a few minutes a day will get those good feeling hormones firing!
Meditation: I like to use either the peloton app if you have it or a free app called Headspace. They have lot’s of different kinds of meditations. Doing 5 minutes in the morning and 5 before bed will be super helpful. Also, doing it for a few minutes when you are feeling overwhelmed works really well!
Listening to your favorite music
Doing a hobby you love
Journaling: writing out your feelings is therapeutic and proven to get your feel good hormones firing.
Eating healthy foods is actually good for our mental health. When we give our brain nutrient dense foods, it alters are body chemistry in a positive way and we are more likely to not struggle with things like anxiety, depression, etc.
Go outside! The sun gives us vitamins! Think of your body like a plant. If you water (hydrate) and you get plenty of sun, you will thrive! Plus, there is something calming about just being in touch with nature!