Stress Information

Article Navigation

Click Here for more articles

How to Relieve Stress

by: Trevor Dumbleton

Copyright 2005 Trevor Dumbleton

One question that is not asked enough by people under stress is how to relieve stress. Unfortunately, people who are under stress tend to simply take it as a matter of course and simply accept its existence as though it was some sort of natural occurrence, or even a boon! Thus, people who are feeling the effects of stress do not actually take the time to notice that they are under stress and need relief. And when people are under stress, the first part of tackling the problem of how to relieve stress is actually realizing that there is stress that needs to be relieved.

Are you having trouble concentrating? Are you struggling with a project that doesn't seem to be going anywhere? Are you dealing with people who simply will not listen to sense? Are you frustrated with the way things are going? Congratulations, you have stress. Okay, this is not really something to be congratulated on, but it is important to understand this fact. After all, the beginning of the "How to relieve stress" problem begins with recognizing the warning signs. Then, once the warning signs are seen, healing can begin.

The first thing to do when you want to know how to relieve stress is to learn how to walk away. That's right, get up, go someplace else, and just cool off. It is often vital to hit that reset button and take a few deep breaths away from the action. The work will still be there when you get back, but being there beyond your breaking point will not get it done. An overabundance of things to do will not be helped by a clouded mind, so give your mind a break. Then, once your head is clear again, you can head back and bang out the projects with the greatest of ease. Or at least more ease than when you were sitting in front of a pile of work and wondering how you would get through it all.

Okay, so you need a break, you have walked away, but you are still so stressed that you are ready to pop. Unfortunately, the previous lesson on how to relieve stress has not worked and you need something more powerful. Well, you need to pull out a better method. This means that you need to simply concentrate on nothing.

When stress is way too much for a simple period of walking away, you need to practice an exercise in meditation. This means sitting down, closing your eyes, and thinking about absolutely nothing. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to think about nothing, so you should think about your breathing. Take a deep breath in and feel the air moving through your nostrils, down your windpipe, and into your lungs. Then push that breath out and feel it moving all the way up from your diaphragm, up into your lungs through your windpipe and out of your nostrils. Feel every motion of the air and notice how it feels as it exits. Imagine your tension flowing out with the air, evaporating into the endless space of the atmosphere, diluting into a complete dilution of oxygen. Think about nothing but breathing and notice every moment of the experience. Then, after about 3 or 4 breaths -- or as many as it takes -- open your eyes. You should feel as refreshed as though you just took a quick, refreshing nap. If you don't repeat the exercise until your mind is clear and you are able to concentrate on your work again.

These activities are very effective for a short period of time, but you will also need a method for relieving stress in the long run. After all, it is taxing to notice that you are under stress and it takes a great deal of will to make that leap and push away all those feelings. Thus, you need a way to relieve stress in the long term.

In the long term, the best method to choose, when you want to know how to relieve stress, is to do what you always say you are going to do: eat right, exercise, and get enough sleep at night. Yes, we all say that we will do it, but none of us every actually follow through. But, if you eat right, you will feel better during the day, if you exercise, you will feel better during the day and sleep better at night, and if you sleep enough, you will actually clear away all that fogginess that can lead to stress. So do your body and your mind a favor by taking care of those little things that you keep telling yourself you will do tomorrow. After all, today was yesterday's tomorrow.

When you want to know how to relieve stress, you should begin with a few simple methods as you slowly build up your will power to tackle the larger work of exercising, eating right, and getting the sleep you need. By doing all of these things, your mind will be cleared up, you will feel better during the day, you will sleep better at night, and you will not have to worry about stress nearly as much. After all, once you are relieving stress routinely, you won't have to worry about how to relieve stress.

About the author:
LowerYourStress.com: for everything to do with stress. Get a free ebook to help with your stress levels:

Circulated by Article Emporium

Read Articles:

Set Yourself Stress-Free

What is a Body Massage?

Beating the Freshman 15

5 Tips To Boost Your Spirits

The 7 Myths Of Relaxation

CUT STRESS THROUGH EFFICIENCIES

5 Top Tips To Boost Your Spirits

Discover the Hidden Power of Self Motivation

10 Ways to Reduce Commuting Stress

Quiet Time

How To Stress Less and Smile More

10 Unusual Ways to Reduce Stress

A Simple Tip For When You're Stressed

A Guide to Female Hair Loss -

The Social Web of Stress - Simple Solutions

Discover Yoga's Healing Power

Stress, Anxiety and Depression - What is the d...

4 Steps for You to Help Yourself During Chemoth...

Food for Thought

Myth Busting: What Causes Mental Breakdown?

Plan To Succeed!

The Curse of Work

Rio Light Mask Photic Stimulation Therapy For M...

Alternative Therapies for Acid Reflux Disease

T'ai Chi in the Information Age � Ancient Cure ...

How to Increase Your Energy Naturally

Plantar Faschitis And Heel Bone Spurs Causes

Even Dogs Get the Holiday Blues: Meditation Can...

The Benefits of a Memory Foam Mattress

Adult Acne Solved!

Skin Care Secrets � You can have Beautiful Skin

The Cause of Hair Loss -

WONDER PILLOW Memory Foam Pillow For Orthopaedi...

Treadmill vs elliptical: A never ending argument

Understanding Depression

Causes of Canker Sores

Environment - Anxiety & Panic

Conquering Your Acne - A Few Helpful Tips

Press Release "Is Spike in pain?" ...

Suffering From Constant Headaches - 3 Proven & ...

The Truth About Acne

Acne and Skin Problem Myths Debunked

Don�t Let a Headache Keep You Down

The Modern Steam Bath -- A Healing Remedy for S...

Top 10 Causes Of Acne

Acne Myths, Finally Some Facts

Viagra Is Good for the Heart

"Your assigned character in life"

Breathing And Relaxation Techniques To Sleep Be...

Research Confirms Drinking Relieves Stress

A Cure For Erectile Dysfunction And Impotence -...

Hypnosis: Benefits You Can�t Live Without

Menopause and Weight Loss

Gearing Up for Flu Season

Fit for What?

Seven Easy Ways To Do Aromatherapy Skin Care At...

The Benefits of Taking a Daily Multivitamin

9 Tips to Stop Food Cravings and Help You With ...

Do Cellulite Creams Actually Work?

Busting Acne Myths Requires Individualized Trea...

More Article Pages 1 - 2 - 3

Mom's Job Stress May Spread to Kids
by: Rita Jenkins

Low job satisfaction in working mothers increases the stress levels of their children, but allowing them to spend more time in childcare can help overcome these effects, according to new research published in Developmental Psychobiology.

Children whose mothers found their jobs emotionally exhausting or otherwise less rewarding had higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol than children whose mothers reported more enjoyment from their jobs, researchers found in a study involving more than 50 nursery school children.

Levels of cortisol in the evening were more than double in the children whose mothers experienced less job satisfaction. Placing those children in childcare would help to significantly reduce their stress, the research suggests.

The researchers also found that children from families that were either highly expressive or very reserved exhibited higher than average cortisol levels.

Greater support is needed for working mothers to help improve their job satisfaction and increase the availability of affordable childcare options, says the report.

More Time in Childcare

Dr. Julie Turner-Cobb, a health psychologist and senior lecturer at the University of Bath, Dr. Christina Chryssanthopoulou from the University of Kent and Dr. David Jessop, a neuroimmunologist at the University of Bristol collaborated on the study.

To measure cortisol levels, they took saliva samples in the morning and evening from 56 children aged three to four years old. They also surveyed mothers about their workplace conditions and home life over a six month period.

"Spending more time in childcare makes a big difference to the stress levels in children whose mothers have low job satisfaction," says Dr. Turner-Cobb.

"It can help protect children from the effects of their mother's low job quality and emotional exhaustion. Ensuring that mothers of young children have good support in the workplace is essential for supporting both mothers and their children," she adds.

"Improving the job satisfaction of working mothers means that they are less stressed themselves," says Dr. Jessop, "and extending the availability of affordable and adequate childcare may not only improve the quality of life for the mothers but, in doing so, may improve the long term health of their children."

Healthy Adaptation to Stress

Cortisol is a steroid hormone that regulates blood pressure and cardiovascular function and immune function. It also controls the body's use of proteins, carbohydrates and fats.

Cortisol secretion increases in response to stress, whether physical -- such as illness, trauma, surgery or temperature extremes -- or psychological. It is a normal and essential response without which we would not be able to function in everyday life.

When these levels remain high or become disrupted in some way over a prolonged period of time, however, they may have consequences for health. It is important to promote healthy adaptation to stress in children, and good quality childcare is one way of doing this, say the authors.

This Static Spot is open for sponsor

This Static Spot is open for sponsor