7 Stress-Busting Techniques
1. Run away
One of the most effective ways to defuse stress is to run away from it -- or at least walk briskly. In a study that asked 38 men and 35 women to keep diaries of activity, mood, and stress, volunteers felt less anxious on days when they were physically active than days when they didn't exercise. Even when stressful events occurred, people in the study said they felt less troubled on their physically active days.
Why? Exercise acts as an antidote to life's pressures in several ways. First, it is a simple distraction from problems. Second, it may change the chemistry of stress, blunting the effect of hormones like cortisol. Exercise has also been shown to ease the symptoms of moderate depression. That, in turn, may help people deal better with daily hassles. And then there's the fact that exercise burns calories, an added bonus for dieters. Physical activity makes it easier not only to lose weight but to keep calories in balance once you go off your diet, and that's enough to make anyone feel good.
Virtually any kind of physical activity seems to relieve the effects of stress, although some researchers think that activities that involve repetitive movements -- walking, running, cycling, or swimming, for instance -- may offer the best defense. Many people consider swimming to be one of the most relaxing of all forms of exercise, a soothing way to literally go with the flow. Repeating a physical movement over and over again somehow seems to ease mind and body.
A few tips to make your workout even more relaxing. If you're a walker, be aware of the way your arms swing from front to back and the rhythm of your gait. Repeat a soothing word or phrase each time you exhale. If you work out on an exercise cycle or stair machine at a fitness club, you probably find yourself parked in front of a bank of television sets. Watching TV can prevent you from getting into the soothing rhythm of your workout. Studies show that watching television makes people more jittery, not less. So ignore the screen. Concentrate on your breathing and the repetitive movement of your arms and legs. If the gym plays music that gets on your nerves, bring a personal stereo with earphones and your own favorite music or use noise-blocking earplugs and enjoy a quiet interlude.
2. Do one thing at a time
Chances are you've heard of Type A behavior -- the hard-driven, competitive, take-no-prisoners personality type once thought to be linked not only to high levels of stress but to greater risk of heart disease. The original term for Type A behavior was hurry syndrome, because Type A's tend to do everything faster than more relaxed personality types. Type A's feel so rushed, in fact, that they often try to do three things at once.
If you find yourself falling into this behavior, make an effort this week to focus on the task at hand. Instead of balancing your checkbook while you're talking on the phone, give the phone call your attention, then turn to the numbers. If you're constantly being interrupted with phone calls while you're trying to work on something, let the answering machine take messages. Call people back when the time is right for you. Do one thing at a time and you may feel your stress meter reading begin to fall.
3. Put out the fire
Anger can be stressful, especially the "hotheaded" kind that lashes out and doesn't solve the problem that ignited it. But never expressing your anger can be harmful as well. If you feel your temper about to flare, stop, take a deep breath, and ask yourself three quick questions suggested by Redford Williams, M.D., the Duke University researcher who pioneered work in anger control:
If your answer to the last question is yes, then you're in luck. You can make a real change for the better. Let's say you're angry because one of the kids keeps leaving junk food lying around in the kitchen when you've specifically asked him to put it away. Lay down the law. Explain why you don't want junk food lying around. Get mad if you have to. Then let your anger go. If you have trouble doing that, ask yourself the first question again, but with a little twist: "What do I get out of staying angry?" Chances are the answer is not much, except a bunch of unpleasant aggravation.
If all else fails, try this: Imagine this is your last day alive and write down how you'd be dealing with the situation if you knew, assuming that you still have to go to work and do normal things. You're likely to find out you have better things to do than stay angry and tense.
4. Call a friend
Sure it sounds a little sappy. But talking to someone else -- even just calling someone to say a quick hello -- does more than take your mind off your troubles. It can be powerful medicine. Swedish researchers recently reported that people with a strong sense of social connection to other people were almost one-third less likely to die after they'd had a heart attack than those who were socially isolated. Part of the reason may be the stress-easing effect of close relationships. If you don't have a circle of friends to turn to, consider beginning to build one by volunteering for a local community charity, joining a club or a church group, or signing up for an exercise class.
5. Talk to yourself
Sometimes we're our own worst enemies. Instead of easing our pressures, we add to them by thinking in terms of absolutes, using words like "never" or "should" or "always": "I should never have done that." "Things always go wrong for me." "I'll never be able to lose weight at this rate."
If that sounds like you, be alert to moments when you're being unreasonably hard on yourself and try to lighten up. Counter the negative messages with positive ones. Don't be embarrassed to say them out loud if you're alone. "Whoa. Easy there. Give it a rest." Replace the harsh absolute with a more reasonable and forgiving thought: "So it's going to take a while to lose the weight. So what? No one's pushing me but myself. I'm doing fine." Take the broad view. Things don't always go wrong for you, after all. The truth is, things occasionally go wrong for everyone. And when they do, everyone has the same challenge: to sort things out and get on with life.
6. Laugh it off
Laughter actually can be strong medicine, say researchers. The act of laughing eases muscle tension, relieves stress, and has even been shown to lower the risk of stress-related illnesses such as heart disease. In a study published in 2001, researchers at the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center tested 300 volunteers' propensity to laugh at everyday events. Those with a ready laugh were less likely to have heart problems than those who rarely broke a smile, the scientists found. Even among people with elevated blood pressure or cholesterol, the ability to laugh offered protection against heart attacks.
Now, it's not always easy to laugh when things go wrong. But if you need a good chortle, try renting a favorite movie comedy, watching your favorite sitcom, or keeping a humorous book handy. A collection of cartoons offers plenty of laughs. If you frequently fume in rush-hour traffic, try renting or buying an audio book -- preferably a funny one.
7. Practice relaxation
Another proven way to ease stress is what Harvard University cardiologist Herbert Benson, M.D., calls the relaxation response. According to Benson's studies, the method taps an innate mechanism that can be used to counteract the human fight-or-flight response that underlies stress. His research shows that it can lower blood pressure and ease muscle tension. Benson suggests setting aside 20 minutes and following these six simple steps:
Sound easy? In fact, most of us have a hard time letting our minds go quiet and our bodies relax. You may need to practice relaxing a few times before you master the art. But with some practice, you'll find that you can slip quickly into relaxation and away from stress.
One of the most effective ways to defuse stress is to run away from it -- or at least walk briskly. In a study that asked 38 men and 35 women to keep diaries of activity, mood, and stress, volunteers felt less anxious on days when they were physically active than days when they didn't exercise. Even when stressful events occurred, people in the study said they felt less troubled on their physically active days.
Why? Exercise acts as an antidote to life's pressures in several ways. First, it is a simple distraction from problems. Second, it may change the chemistry of stress, blunting the effect of hormones like cortisol. Exercise has also been shown to ease the symptoms of moderate depression. That, in turn, may help people deal better with daily hassles. And then there's the fact that exercise burns calories, an added bonus for dieters. Physical activity makes it easier not only to lose weight but to keep calories in balance once you go off your diet, and that's enough to make anyone feel good.
Virtually any kind of physical activity seems to relieve the effects of stress, although some researchers think that activities that involve repetitive movements -- walking, running, cycling, or swimming, for instance -- may offer the best defense. Many people consider swimming to be one of the most relaxing of all forms of exercise, a soothing way to literally go with the flow. Repeating a physical movement over and over again somehow seems to ease mind and body.
A few tips to make your workout even more relaxing. If you're a walker, be aware of the way your arms swing from front to back and the rhythm of your gait. Repeat a soothing word or phrase each time you exhale. If you work out on an exercise cycle or stair machine at a fitness club, you probably find yourself parked in front of a bank of television sets. Watching TV can prevent you from getting into the soothing rhythm of your workout. Studies show that watching television makes people more jittery, not less. So ignore the screen. Concentrate on your breathing and the repetitive movement of your arms and legs. If the gym plays music that gets on your nerves, bring a personal stereo with earphones and your own favorite music or use noise-blocking earplugs and enjoy a quiet interlude.
2. Do one thing at a time
Chances are you've heard of Type A behavior -- the hard-driven, competitive, take-no-prisoners personality type once thought to be linked not only to high levels of stress but to greater risk of heart disease. The original term for Type A behavior was hurry syndrome, because Type A's tend to do everything faster than more relaxed personality types. Type A's feel so rushed, in fact, that they often try to do three things at once.
If you find yourself falling into this behavior, make an effort this week to focus on the task at hand. Instead of balancing your checkbook while you're talking on the phone, give the phone call your attention, then turn to the numbers. If you're constantly being interrupted with phone calls while you're trying to work on something, let the answering machine take messages. Call people back when the time is right for you. Do one thing at a time and you may feel your stress meter reading begin to fall.
3. Put out the fire
Anger can be stressful, especially the "hotheaded" kind that lashes out and doesn't solve the problem that ignited it. But never expressing your anger can be harmful as well. If you feel your temper about to flare, stop, take a deep breath, and ask yourself three quick questions suggested by Redford Williams, M.D., the Duke University researcher who pioneered work in anger control:
- Is this really important to me? If the answer is no, leave what sparked your anger behind. If the answer's yes, then ask yourself:
- Am I justified in being angry in this situation? Argue the pros and cons, as if you had to make your case in court. If your answer is, "No, I don't really have much to gripe about," you're likely to feel your anger and stress dissolve. Of course, the answer may be, "Yes, damn right, that guy nearly ran me off the road, and he's so busy talking on his cell phone he didn't even notice it!" Then ask yourself just one more question:
- Is there anything I can really do about it? Honking like crazy isn't going to change anything. It's only likely to make you feel even angrier. Here's a case where the best response is to let it go, take a deep breath, and keep out of the guy's way.
If your answer to the last question is yes, then you're in luck. You can make a real change for the better. Let's say you're angry because one of the kids keeps leaving junk food lying around in the kitchen when you've specifically asked him to put it away. Lay down the law. Explain why you don't want junk food lying around. Get mad if you have to. Then let your anger go. If you have trouble doing that, ask yourself the first question again, but with a little twist: "What do I get out of staying angry?" Chances are the answer is not much, except a bunch of unpleasant aggravation.
If all else fails, try this: Imagine this is your last day alive and write down how you'd be dealing with the situation if you knew, assuming that you still have to go to work and do normal things. You're likely to find out you have better things to do than stay angry and tense.
4. Call a friend
Sure it sounds a little sappy. But talking to someone else -- even just calling someone to say a quick hello -- does more than take your mind off your troubles. It can be powerful medicine. Swedish researchers recently reported that people with a strong sense of social connection to other people were almost one-third less likely to die after they'd had a heart attack than those who were socially isolated. Part of the reason may be the stress-easing effect of close relationships. If you don't have a circle of friends to turn to, consider beginning to build one by volunteering for a local community charity, joining a club or a church group, or signing up for an exercise class.
5. Talk to yourself
Sometimes we're our own worst enemies. Instead of easing our pressures, we add to them by thinking in terms of absolutes, using words like "never" or "should" or "always": "I should never have done that." "Things always go wrong for me." "I'll never be able to lose weight at this rate."
If that sounds like you, be alert to moments when you're being unreasonably hard on yourself and try to lighten up. Counter the negative messages with positive ones. Don't be embarrassed to say them out loud if you're alone. "Whoa. Easy there. Give it a rest." Replace the harsh absolute with a more reasonable and forgiving thought: "So it's going to take a while to lose the weight. So what? No one's pushing me but myself. I'm doing fine." Take the broad view. Things don't always go wrong for you, after all. The truth is, things occasionally go wrong for everyone. And when they do, everyone has the same challenge: to sort things out and get on with life.
6. Laugh it off
Laughter actually can be strong medicine, say researchers. The act of laughing eases muscle tension, relieves stress, and has even been shown to lower the risk of stress-related illnesses such as heart disease. In a study published in 2001, researchers at the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center tested 300 volunteers' propensity to laugh at everyday events. Those with a ready laugh were less likely to have heart problems than those who rarely broke a smile, the scientists found. Even among people with elevated blood pressure or cholesterol, the ability to laugh offered protection against heart attacks.
Now, it's not always easy to laugh when things go wrong. But if you need a good chortle, try renting a favorite movie comedy, watching your favorite sitcom, or keeping a humorous book handy. A collection of cartoons offers plenty of laughs. If you frequently fume in rush-hour traffic, try renting or buying an audio book -- preferably a funny one.
7. Practice relaxation
Another proven way to ease stress is what Harvard University cardiologist Herbert Benson, M.D., calls the relaxation response. According to Benson's studies, the method taps an innate mechanism that can be used to counteract the human fight-or-flight response that underlies stress. His research shows that it can lower blood pressure and ease muscle tension. Benson suggests setting aside 20 minutes and following these six simple steps:
- Find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed. Sit in a comfortable position, one that allows you to relax your body. Close your eyes.
- Starting with your feet and progressing upward, relax your muscles. End with the muscles of your face. Take a moment to experience the feeling of being completely relaxed.
- With your eyes still closed, breathe in and out through your nose, concentrating on each breath.
- Then, as you exhale, begin to silently repeat a short phrase or single word, such as "peace" or "calmness" or "easy does it." Choose a word that helps you focus your mind and banish distracting thoughts.
- Continue repeating your soothing word or phrase and concentrating on breathing. The experts usually recommend doing this exercise for 10 to 15 minutes. Don't set an alarm, though, or you'll constantly be thinking about when it will go off. Have a watch or clock handy and open your eyes now and then to check the time. And don't be discouraged from doing the relaxation routine if you don't have a full 15 minutes. Even a few minutes will help.
- Sit quietly for a few more minutes, first with your eyes closed and then with them open. Savor the way your body and mind feel.
Sound easy? In fact, most of us have a hard time letting our minds go quiet and our bodies relax. You may need to practice relaxing a few times before you master the art. But with some practice, you'll find that you can slip quickly into relaxation and away from stress.
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