Stress Management: A Road To Boosting Wellness | Reevin

What Is Stress? 

Stress is a state of physiological and psychological tension when there is a mismatch between the demands of the situation and the individual's ability to cope with it. We experience stress at different stages of life as a student, a professional, a spouse, and a parent. When people are stressed, they feel physically exhausted, have headaches, have low mood or anger, have body pain, and disturbed sleep.

Impact of Stress on Mind and Body

Stress sets the body in flight or fight mode to deal with the threat in the situation. It activates the Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA axis), which further leads to cortisol secretion by adrenal glands in the bloodstream. Increased Cortisol levels make the blood sugar rise and impact various parameters.

1. Weight Gain

Stress increases the craving for high-calorie food like pizza, aerated drinks, sweets, or chocolate. False hunger signals sent to the brain make people overeat more than the required quantity at a time

2. Fat storage and Metabolism

Increased cortisol levels prevent the conversion of food to energy to fight the threat body stores fat. Constantly stressed individuals store more fat around the abdominal region. Cortisol moves the triglycerides from the storage to the fat accumulation region abdomen.

3. Blood Glucose Levels

Prolonged stress causes elevated levels of cortisol and leads to more glucose in the blood to fight the stressor. It also inhibits insulin production as it helps convert glucose to energy. The result is insulin resistance and the pancreas failing to meet demands for insulin, and glucose levels remain high. Which further becomes the cause of type 2 diabetes.

4. Sleep

 High cortisol levels during the nighttime prevent the body from relaxing and going into a deep sleep. Poor sleep quality further impacts the secretion of hormones responsible for our hunger signals. Leptin signals you are full and prevents you from eating further, and ghrelin makes you feel hungry.

Disturbed sleep due to stress increases ghrelin and reduces leptin secretion. As a result, the metabolism is disturbed, and there is an increase in appetite as leptin fails to signal that you have eaten enough leading to more food intake and weight gain.

Steps towards wellbeing and fitness

1. Keep A Check On Your Diet

Keep the focus of all your senses on food while eating, switching off the TV or mobiles. Eating small portions of food every two hours keeps the body assured, and causes better metabolism. It also prevents the body from storing fat

2. Maintain Sleep Hygiene

Wake close to sunrise and sleep at the same time daily. It ensures a properly aligned circadian rhythm(sleep/wake cycle) necessary for restorative sleep.

3. Exercise Regularly

Regular physical exercise releases endorphins in the brain that minimizes pain. It also enhances pleasure and well-being and stabilizes mood. Hence highly recommended for people suffering from depression, stress, and anxiety. 

Learning skills to manage psychological and physical stress is a necessary form of self-care. Some examples are breathing and muscle relaxation exercises, changing our perspective towards the stressful scenario, and coping with humor. It also helps prevent unexpected burnouts when managing multiple roles. Our daily health care choices and behaviors support our well-being and life satisfaction.