Is Your Stress Stressing You Out?
Ya, Me Too. Here’s How to Fix it.
Your boss calls you into his office. What does he want now?! You’re swamped. He assigns you another new project with a timeline that’s simply…not…feasible. He even has the guts to say, “Don’t stress out about it. I know you can get this done for me!” YIKES. You can’t help but stress.
The craziest part of this story? It’s not unusual. All too many of us have had this, or a similar experience. And at the same time, we’ve all heard stress is a problem. We should really manage it (insert eye roll). That doesn’t help us eliminate or even reduce it. In fact, it kinda feels like it just adds to it!
You see, to me, the difference between knowing what to do to reduce stress and actually doing it, is understanding why. Not just why we stress, but why stress is actually detrimental and why each stress reduction technique works. So, keep reading to learn small steps we can take to reduce stress since these situations are likely to arise again.
What Does Stress Do to Our Bodies?
Let’s talk about what happens when we get stressed. Stress is our body’s natural response to life threatening situations. Back in the caveman days, when a bear chased us, we went into fight or flight mode. This response produces more cortisol (the stress hormone), giving us the short-term energy to run away from imminent danger. This natural reaction to stress did a fantastic job at keeping us alive when we had the commonplace threat of being mauled by a bear while hunting. But in today’s world, what stresses us out is not a true imminent threat. Nevertheless, our bodies are reacting as if an approaching deadline at work is the same as a bear chasing after us.
This stress response designed to save our lives was also designed to be short-lived. It only takes so long to outrun the tiger. Today, though, our stressors are mental and therefore chronic which leads to a host of complications. The body’s response to stress, the increase in cortisol, turns off our body’s non-essential (for fight or flight) functions. This means the weakening of our immune system, slowing of our digestive system, the deterioration of our reproductive system, and a decline in our brain function. Losing these non-essential functions can lead to weight gain, an increase in blood sugar, and an increase in fat storage, specifically in the abdomen.
If you’re human like the rest of us, maybe you’ve had those stress cravings? It’s not just our emotional desire for comfort. It’s chemical! Stress cravings are caused by the increased cortisol levels telling our brains we need more energy and quickly! These include caffeine, chocolate, sugar, and fatty foods. Comfort foods like these are fast, short-lived fuel for our brain and muscles, which is why we continue to go back to them as the stress continues.
The effect of prolonged stress is what’s now diagnosed as adrenal fatigue. Adrenal fatigue occurs when our adrenal glands (the glands that produce cortisol along with other necessary hormones) basically shut down. This failure will make it difficult to build muscle, cause our metabolism to collapse, and create a hormonal imbalance. Let’s avoid adrenal fatigue. Yes? That means we need to avoid long term stress! Easier said than done, right?
What Can We Do to Reduce Stress?
Don’t stress! (Just kidding, I couldn’t help myself.) We CAN do something about our stress and avoid adrenal fatigue.
Some stress reducing techniques are simple, like smiling and laughing. These chemically fight stress by releasing endorphins, lowering our cortisol levels. Another method that releases feel-good hormones is staying connected with others or creating a community. As I like to say community builds immunity. Remember cortisol turns off our immune system so if we have a community to help us manage stress, we can maintain and support our immune systems. So, reaching out to that friend you haven’t talked to in a while has more benefits than you think!
Practicing simple relaxation exercises is another great way to combat stress. One I always recommend is taking slow deep breaths by breathing in for six seconds, holding that breath for four seconds, and breathing out while humming for eight seconds. These lengthened breaths, engagement of the diaphragm, and the longer exhale than inhale send chemical signals to our body and brain that the stressor has passed. Counting how long the breaths are and humming during the exhale will use many parts of the brain which forces us to return to the present moment. This helps us too! We can then think more clearly to take our next action.
Another stress reducing technique is journaling. Before you roll your eyes, keep reading. Writing out our worries can help alleviate some of the stress that has been placed on those situations. We can write all the thoughts and it’s amazing what happens! When they’re on paper, they no longer have to float around in our heads! We are better at processing our thoughts, letting things go, seeing a situation more clearly and moving on after a few minutes with pen to paper. But don’t worry, you don’t need to only write about your feelings! Following a prompt or even writing about what you did each day can be effective too.
If sitting down and writing isn’t for you, getting up and moving is a great way to combat stress. This doesn’t mean you need to go for a run if that’s not your thing! All we need to do is get our hearts pumping a bit; this can be from a ten-minute workout you find on YouTube or going for a walk around the block with your furry friend. This is great because exercise physically helps reduce cortisol levels, improve, and prevent the effects of adrenal fatigue.
Whenever I talk about reducing stress, my clients usually ask about how we should handle our stress cravings. What I try to do is keep some healthy snacks, like carrots, edamame, and almonds available during stressful times. Keeping these snacks at the front of our fridge or having a stash of almonds in our desk at work will provide us with better nutrition and longer lasting fuel, keeping us out of a cycle of our blood sugar spiking and crashing. And it can keep us away from chocolate or sugar! But remember, we are all human so it’s okay if you indulge in some of your favorite M&M’s!
How Can Sleep Affect Stress?
Another question I typically get is how stress affects our sleep and how sleep reduces stress. It feels like when we’re stressed, we need more time in the day and we sacrifice sleep.
Remember the expression “sleep on it?” This comes from the fact that sleep is a restorative state where memories and information go from short term to long term and our brains can tie everything together. When we wake up, our brains have organized information so we can tackle our challenges and a new day. This is why when something is stressing us out, we can step away from it for the night and return the next morning with a different attitude.
Sleep is a critical piece to reducing stress because when we sleep, the production of cortisol is inhibited. Our endocrine system (hormones) is linked to our circadian rhythm (sleep/wake cycles). When we sleep our bodies are producing growth hormone, prolactin, and luteinizing hormones, whereas cortisol peaks in the late afternoon. Because of the production of these hormones in our sleep, our cortisol levels drop in our sleep; proper hormone function is like a see-saw; they can’t all be high. So, it’s important for us to get enough sleep, especially during stressful times!
To get better sleep, we need to turn off the TV. I know! This can be difficult because Netflix is good at keeping our eyes glued to the screen! But, reducing our screen time, whether it’s a TV screen or our phone screen, will help us fall asleep easier. By now we’ve all heard about that blue light produced by electronics? If we shave our blue light exposure, we rest our eyes, help reset your circadian rhythm, support your body in producing melatonin, allowing you to fall asleep without putting your health at risk.
Getting enough sleep is critical not only for stress, but for our overall health. We usually struggle to identify a lack of sleep because it is often masked by other illnesses or symptoms. When we address a lack of sleep instead of seemingly unrelated symptoms, those symptoms will take care of themselves. I usually suggest aiming for 7.5 hours of sleep a night to stay healthy and functioning at our best. For more tips and tricks read my 3 favorite tips for restful sleep.
To wrap everything up, we now know what stress does to us, why it’s a problem and how to combat it. Reducing stress through activities like journaling or the breathing exercise discussed earlier will help us minimize the negative effects of stress. We also now know the importance of sleep, in relation to stress. Maybe that helps us prioritize bed time. In this moment, when we’re so concerned about our immune systems and staying healthy, it makes more sense than ever to focus on sleep and managing our stress. Our health just might depend on it!
