Stress Can Make or Break You By Eric Messersmith (Personal Trainer and Jeet Kune Do instructor) Stress is all around us and it takes no prisoners. Stress is intrinsic and extrinsic, emotional and biological, and physiological and environmental. The number of stressors is enumerable; air pollution, plant pollens, food allergies, overeating, refined foods, toxins such as pesticides and heavy metals, physical trauma, fractures, cuts, burns – almost everything can cause stress to the body. Stress is typically at the heart of heart disease. It is the major cause of insomnia, fatigue, headaches, hypoglycemia, arthritis, compromised immunity, and even cancer. Stress can even lead to baldness! Have you ever seen a seasoned marathon runner that wasn’t at least thinning on top? Stress of all kinds (intrinsic and extrinsic) depletes the adrenal glands. Sufferers become less an less able to adapt to normal day-to-day stress and, as a result, ‘everyday life’ suffers. In prolonged cases, the adrenals cannot raise blood sugar when necessary and hypoglycemia results. Along with low blood sugar other signs and symptoms can be:
However, there is good news. We can drastically strengthen our body’s ability to adapt to stress so that it doesn’t zap our mental and physical edge. The key is three fold: exercise, nutrition, and rest. With this three-pronged approach we can nourish and support the adrenal glands, which are responsible for the production of adrenaline and norepinephrine. These hormones help the body cope with stress by increasing metabolism, regulation of blood sugar metabolism, and a complex array of steroid hormones including cortisone, DHEA, aldosterone, progesterone, estrogen and testosterone. **Please keep in mind my dislike for cortico-steriods, a.k.a cortisone injections, is due to the shrinkage of the adrenal glands causing them to lose function over time with repeated use. A quick test you can perform to find out if your adrenals may need to be strengthened is as follows:
To nourish and strengthen the adrenals you should first and foremost avoid as much stress as possible, which would include exhaustive exercise such as lifting weights to failure too frequently, and performing exhaustive aerobic training too often. Make exercise eustress not distress, for example lifting with higher repetitions and less weight periodically, or walking and light jogging instead of running for every cardiovascular session. In you training approach keep in mind the wound heal model – walking or light weight training causes an inroad similar to a bruise, whereas sprinting and heavy weight training is equivalent to a deep cut. The deeper the damage the more time one needs for proper recovery (i.e. workout compensation and supercompensation). Not only will keeping your stress levels low significantly help, but also proper nourishment all the while is paramount. Eat numerous small meals low in sugar and fat. Avoid all stimulants like tobacco and excess caffeine, hard liquor, fats, fried foods, and highly processed foods. Instead eat fresh foods like fruits and vegetables, whole grains such as brown rice, beans, and raw nuts, cold water fish and low fat proteins. Rest and relaxation is the third and possibly the most important of the three strategies in regaining your pep. No matter whether you’re the type who likes to unwind in the pages of a good book or on a massage table, everyone needs to balance out stress with relaxation. I thank Steven Covey for his story of the man feverishly sawing down a tree. While this man was drenched with perspiration from working with great intensity on sawing down a tree a passerby walks up and asks, “What are doing?” The sawing man’s response was, “sawing…can’t you see?” “Oh…how long you been at it?” The sawing man’s response, “hours!” The passerby says, “Why don’t you stop and sharpen your saw?” the sawing mans replay, “can’t you see…I’m too busy sawing!” Stopping and sharpening your saw is very important to make you sharp, healthy, and ultimately more productive. Taking this information to heart and acting upon it may seem, at first glance, to take a lot of time and effort. However, the time and effort you will save is priceless. Is Physical Fitness a type of mental health? Yes it is! The mind/body connection is something that is always a subject of debate in regards to health. Just how much should mental health be incorporated into your life? Just how much physical fitness? Well, the Ultimate Guide to Mental Health (i.e. the Bible), gives an example of how to balance the two extremes: Growing in stature means physical health and strength. Christ may have been meek, but he was by no means a weakling. It is very important, especially in today's fast-paced world, to discipline ourselves to incorporate physical health in our schedule. Like most people, I have a desk-job. I have stress. I need to expend ambient energy and keep muscle tone. If the incredibly busy Messiah can take time to grow in stature, we can definitely follow his example. The result will enable you to balance your priorities of life without always feeling tired and depressed. Here are some mental health facts to encourage you to "take the plunge" and incorporate physical fitness into your schedule:
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