Stressed? In Need of a Time Out?

Thinking about the reasons why I exercise and why it’s an important thing I do, I find that much of it revolves around wellbeing and managing stress levels. London is a stressful city; people are constantly rushing around and public spaces are crowded and I get seriously grumpy.

What is stress?

Stress happens when we feel that we can’t cope with pressure, perceived or real. The pressures will differ for each individual. These pressures trigger a reaction called the fight or flight response. Harvard physiologist Walter Cannon discovered that when our fight or flight response is activated, our body undergoes a series of dramatic changes. Chemicals like adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol are released into our bloodstream, preparing us physically and psychologically for fight or flight. These hormones help us to run faster and fight harder, they help save us, literally, from the perceived threat.

This was all and well when we faced immediate threat from charging elephants and sabre tooth tigers. Today we’re mostly safe against such predators, however that doesn’t mean the fight or flight response is no longer triggered. Today, the response is elicited by different events: traffic jams, noisy children, challenging colleagues. Things that are unexpected or frustrate us can trigger this response.

In the past, the physical activity of fighting or running away would effectively metabolize the stress hormones released. Our body and mind would soon return to a state of calm once the threat was no more.

These days many of us don’t do enough physical exercise to ‘burn off’ the effects of our fight or flight response so we’re left with stress build up. We learn to control our reactions, but this doesn’t counteract the stress response. A build-up of stress hormones over time can and will lead to long term health problems that will negatively impact your brain and body.

Burn it off

The simplest solution is to ‘burn off’ the excessive stress hormones and restore our body and mind to a calmer, more relaxed state. Any form of activity where we get to the point of sweating, effectively counteracts the ill effects of the fight or flight response, drawing it to its natural conclusion. It’s been suggested that 5 minutes of exercise, be it jumping on the spot or running up and down stairs, can help.

Let the happy hormones flow

Exercise increases our natural endorphins, these are often classified as happy hormones, which help us to feel better. When we feel good, our thoughts are clearer and we’re more positive.

Exercise is great, but what if we don’t like exercise or are unable to for whatever reason. What alternative activities can we turn to in order to counteract the effects?

Relax

The term Relaxation Response was coined by Dr. Herbert Benson, professor, author, cardiologist, and founder of Harvard’s Mind/Body Medical Institute. The response is defined as your personal ability to encourage your body to release chemicals which in turn slow you down.

So how can we make ourselves relax?

Methods typically mentioned focus on breathing and repetition. Activities such as yoga, mindfulness meditation, chanting or repeating mantras.

Meditation and Yoga aren’t activities that appeal to everyone. I’ve done my fair bit of both but I find the level of concentration required for some of these really slow activities is quite a challenge and my mind is often elsewhere, which totally defeats the purpose. It takes too long to get to where I need to be, so what else is there?

Focus on the moment

Adult colouring books have recently grown in popularity, but why? Like meditation, colouring allows us to switch off our brains from other thoughts and focus on the moment. Last year my boyfriend gave me a colouring book, was he trying to tell me something? Whatever it was, I clearly wasn’t listening as I’ve only used it once. For some reason, colouring doesn’t appeal to me. I’d rather write or doodle.

So why is it some activities work better for some people than others?

The short answer is we are all unique. Think back to when you were a kid. Did you like playing with the same things as everyone else? I suspect there were differences. This is no different today. How we play to help us relax varies from one person to the next.

Play for Ten

It only takes a few minutes to counteract the ill effects of fight or flight, so why not de stress by playing your way for 10 minutes. A small shot of play can make all the difference to how you feel in the long term. Try skipping or hopping around, or if you’re after something more sedate, remember paper aeroplanes — fold a few and throw them.

**

A Shot of Play aims to create a world where people are healthy in mind and body because they play.

Play is a purposelessness activity that you engage in for enjoyment or recreation. Play should be intensely pleasurable. You experience the here and now and you lose track of time. It should energise and enliven us. It should ease our burdens and renew our sense of optimism and open us to new possibilities. Play is not a luxury. It is a must have and is invaluable to our wellbeing.

If you share our vision of a world where people are healthy in mind and body because they play, then join the #shotofplay movement on Facebook. Pledge to play for at least 10 minutes a day, every day.