Chronic stress has been tied to almost every physical and mental problem you can name, from depression to obesity to insomnia to hives. That’s the bad news. The good news is that experts tell us we bring on much of our own stress, and we can make much of it go away by making a few lifestyle changes.
The name of the game in reducing stress, according to current theory, is minimizing the production of cortisol, a hormone released by the adrenal gland when we’re in a stressful situation. According to Dr. Don Mordecai, chief of psychiatry at the Santa Teresa Medical Center in San Jose, Calif., cortisol puts our bodies into a “fight-or-flight” mode, which is great for dealing with emergencies such as a head-on car wreck, but bad for coping with daily rush-hour traffic.
So how do we avoid — or at least reduce — chronic stress? Try the following tips:
1. Give yourself a break
Take a few minutes everyday to meditate in a quiet spot, or take a walk before or after work since even simple walking cuts stress. Try to exercise a little every day. One recent study published by Harvard University found that women who exercised regularly at age 60 were twice as likely to reach their 70th birthday with no physical or mental health limitations. Another study found that men and women over the age of 55 who engaged in aerobic exercises four times a week cut their risk of developing dementia in half.
