Stress is a normal part of a busy productive lifestyle that can be beneficial, helping you to push your boundaries and grow both personally and professionally. But too much stress can be harmful to your health and overall wellbeing. Stress management strategies help you maintain control over the many facets of your life without becoming overwhelmed.
Stress Kills!
Sadly, many of us allow stressful circumstances to balloon out of control, leaving little room for unplanned events like family problems, illness or accidents. When that happens, we are likely to fall into a negative spiral of coping, compensating, and collapse. Rather than employing coping strategies that bring us positive outcomes, we may turn to alcohol, pharmaceuticals and withdrawal techniques that block out stressful situations and suspend us in a negative state of denial.
When high levels of stress become the norm rather than the exception in your life, your body chemistry changes. Chronic inflammation sets in, leaving you vulnerable to metabolic disorders like hypertension, diabetes, obesity and heart disease. Excess alcohol, drugs, smoking and poor eating habits that often accompany stress can cause further physical decline. The American Psychological Association links chronic stress to six leading causes of death, including suicide.
Squash Stress with these 7 Simple Hacks!
Stress management strategies that are productive can enhance your health and wellbeing, equipping you to cope when your life hits a speed bump. Adopting these simple hacks into your lifestyle is a matter of making them a habitual part of your daily routine. After a few weeks of deliberate practice, these simple hacks will become a natural part of your daily life.
- Exercise! You don’t have to join a gym or take classes, so long as you get up and move! Take a daily walk, put on some music and dance, stream a workout routine or go out and play with your kids You will feel stronger, more energetic, happier and less stressed.
- Drink more water! Your body tissues are mostly water, and when you dehydrate, you slow down your metabolism. Even your brain gets sluggish when you are dehydrated. Water makes you more alert, keeps your systems humming along, and helps you feel more focused and competent to deal with stress.
- Eat real food! Processed and fast foods are full of chemicals and empty calories that deprive your body and brain of the micronutrients they need to perform. Fresh whole fruits and vegetables and responsibly sourced animal products should form the basis of your diet. Sugar and refined carbohydrates may make you feel better for a short while, but they make you sad and fat, and interfere with your ability to cope over the long run.
- Get outdoors! Sunshine and fresh air are two of the best coping mechanisms for stress. Enjoying nature gives you perspective on your problems, and makes you feel empowered to deal with whatever comes your way.
- Avoid negative people and situations! Whether in person or on social media, the world is full of Danny Downers who make you angry, stressed and depressed. If watching the news makes you sad, don’t do it! Instead, seek out people and situations that make you feel happy and encouraged.
- Get enough sleep! Sleep deprivation will undermine your ability to cope, increasing your overall stress levels. Log off social media, turn off the TV, diffuse some lavender oil and settle in for a good eight to nine hours. Within a few days, you will find yourself better able to handle life’s little stressors.
- Try Cryotherapy! Chronic inflammation and stress create a vicious cycle of poor health and inability to cope. Regular cryotherapy sessions will help reduce systemic inflammation and stimulate endorphin release to boost your sense of well-being. Just the act of doing something for yourself will make you feel more in control of your life. Plus, cryotherapy is known to promote deep rejuvenating sleep!
The professional staff at Advanced Cryo NYC is dedicated to helping you manage your stressful lifestyle. Take refuge in our spa-like clinic in the heart of SoHo for whole body cryotherapy or a relaxing CryoFacial. During your visit, browse our unique menu of therapies geared to health, wellness and beauty. Contact us today, and make Advanced Cryo NYC your go-to clinic for stress management and total wellness.
