More ways to lower your stress levels ....

More ways to lower your stress levels

to help with weight loss

 

As my post on Lowers stress levels and how Stress can be a major hindrance to weight loss seem to have been more popular than anticipated and felt it a great idea to perhaps add some more options and techniques of lowering stress levels.  After all we are all individuals and what works for one may not work as well for another.

 

What is Cortisol?

Cortisol is the primary stress hormone that is secreted by the 2 cap-sized glands that are located on top of your kidneys in response to stress. It has been described as a low-grade adrenaline.

Mother nature equipped us with this hormone to assist us in situations where we had to "fight-or-flight" such as running from a lion or other predator. Its job is to quickly convert stored energy sources in the body into usable energy to save your life. This is one of its good points. In the old days, there weren't too many situations in which we were triggered into a fight-or-flight situation. Today, however, stress responses are everywhere. We as a society are constantly stressing out over bills, going to work, relationships, poor food choices, dehydration, overtraining with exercise, lack of adequate sleep, and those are just for starters! Every time the body becomes stressed, cortisol is released from the adrenal glands to combat the stressors on the chemical side.

This chronic elevation in cortisol is extremely detrimental to your health. It has been linked to, but not limited to, adrenal fatigue, hormonal imbalances, heart disease, excessive blood sugar levels, elevated cholesterol, and pretty much anything else you can think of that stress can create in the human body.

Other unwanted side effects of chronically elevated cortisol levels include excess bodyfat, particularly around the midsection, and depressed sex hormone levels, which kills the sex drive in both men and women. It also breaks down muscle tissue, which can really put a hold on your results in the gym.

Cortisol is naturally secreted in the body on a pretty set schedule throughout the day. It peaks at about 8am to get you out of bed and ready to start your day. Throughout the day, cortisol levels begin to drop off and reach their lowest at about 8-10 pm so that you can fall asleep. A cortisol rhythm that is disrupted by chronic stress, both mentally and physically, can impair your ability to fall asleep or even stay asleep.

You can improve your sleep consistency and quality simply by cutting your stress levels down. The following tips will assist you in decreasing your cortisol levels and allow you to improve your health and achieve your ideal body.

Ways to Reduce your Cortisol:

1. Use cortisol reduction supplements: I use a variety of herbs reduce cortisol at peak times. Some of my favorites include: ashwaghanda, phosphatidylserine, and rhodiola rosea.

2. Eat at regular intervals throughout the day: Avoid skipping meals, as this will create a cortisol release.

3. Eat right for your Metabolic Type: Excessive carbohydrate intake creates cortisol release in response to constantly elevated insulin levels. Find out your metabolic type and eat consistently with it.

4. Utilize stress reduction techniques at peak cortisol times: Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP), meditation, self-hypnosis, or simply lying on the floor doing belly breathing for 10-15 minutes can work wonders at reducing stress and thus cortisol levels.

5. Get to bed on time: Get to bed by 10:30 pm at the latest.

6. Avoid stimulants: Stay away from energy drinks that contain ephedra-like compounds and caffeine. Stimulants shift the body into sympathetic dominance, ie. "fight or flight". Stimulants can also disrupt your sleeping patterns. If you must have your daily coffee, be sure that you do not drink any after 12 noon.

7. Keep your workouts under 1 hour: At the 1 hour mark, your testosterone levels begin to decline and cortisol levels rise. Forty-five minute workouts are even better.

Sound Machines Can Lower Stress Levels

Stress is an unfortunate facet of modern life. As an adult, you get to fight with stress over your personal finances, your family life, and your health. You worry over your retirement, that funny noise the engine is making, and the strange sound coming out of the washing machine. What you need at the end of the day is a solution to help you put aside your stresses and worries and help you get some sleep.

Working with a sound machine, you can significantly lower your stress levels. The sound machine creates an artificial environment that shuts out the distractions and pressures of the outside world. As a result, you can drift off to dreamland with your mind processing the sounds of rainfall or Niagara Falls instead of the sound of the neighbor's car backfiring and the furnace clanking on and off.

With these troublesome noises blocked out, your mind will quit trying to process everything that is going on around it. Your alert systems will take a rest, lowering your overall adrenaline levels. As your body relaxes, you will be able to sleep more deeply without the brain and muscle tension that you usually carry around with you.

Even better? This doesn't have to be a temporary or home only solution. You will be able to take your sleep sound machine with you when you travel if you opt for one of the battery operated or battery backed models. This will ensure that when you are on the road you don't immediately bring back all of your internal stresses again.

Giving your body a break from your ongoing stresses will help you be more able to cope with the stressors in your life. It will also make you more conscious of the tension that you do carry with you. This will create a health cycle where your awareness of your tension will focus you on actively addressing and reducing your stress levels.

The net result is that by purchasing a sound machine, you have the potential to lower your long term stress levels and improve the amount of sleep you are getting. This helps you build up a reserve for coping with the challenges of life and functioning under minimal stress. Though stress may be a permanent part of modern life, you do have control over how you deal with it and how you use a sound machine to combat your stress.

 

 

References:

Melissa Nathans

Sam Visnic