1. Get to Know the Benefits of Exercise
You’ve heard exercise is good for
you. But what does it do, exactly, and how can it help relieve stress?
Here are some of the benefits of moderate exercise:
“Exercise helps the mind to feel more in control and able to manage stress.”
• Stronger muscles
• Better flexibility
• Increased heart and lung efficiency
• Decreased risk of developing heart disease
• Decreased risk of developing lung disease
• Improved overall circulation
• Reduced cholesterol levels
• Reduced blood pressure
• Strengthened immune system
• Decrease in excess body fat
• Increased energy
• Decreased symptoms of depression
• Decreased symptoms of arthritis
• Decreased risk of diabetes and decreased risk of complications from diabetes
• Decreased risk of osteoporosis and decreased risk of complications from osteoporosis
• Improved quality of sleep and decreased insomnia
• Increased mental acuity
• Improved posture
• Improved self-image
• Decreased frequency of injuries in daily life
• Decreased effects of stress
• Improved ability to manage stress
Not only
does exercise help the body to deal with the physical effects of stress,
but it helps the mind to feel more in control and able to manage
stress. Add to that the positive effect exercise has on so many other
disorders and its ability to help prevent many physical problems, and
you’ve got a stress management tool that is both preventive and
proactive.
2. Make the Fight-or-Flight-Response Work for You
Moderate exercise may be the single
most effective way to get stress under control. You’ve learned how
stress evokes the fight-or-flight reaction by releasing stress hormones
into the body designed to give us sudden, quick reactions, extra
strength, and endurance. When we don’t respond to the stress response by
moving quickly, using our strength, or taking advantage of the added
endurance, our bodies are all geared up with no outlet for that energy.
Muscles stay tense. Blood pressure stays high. Breathing stays shallow.
Cortisol and adrenaline course through the body causing all kinds of
problems when the body doesn’t react the way it is being programmed to
react.
3. What Exercise Means to the Stress Response
Exercise changes the picture, accomplishing two important things in the wake of the stress response:
• Exercise allows the body to
expend energy so that while your brisk walk around the block may not
actually be “fight or flight,” to the body the message is the same. That
extra energy available to your body is being used, signaling the body
that it can, after exercise, return to equilibrium.
• Exercise releases chemicals like
beta endorphins that specifically counteract the effects of stress
hormones, alerting the body that the danger has passed and the
relaxation response can begin.
In other
words, exercise makes the obsolete fight-or-flight stress response
relevant again. It lets your body respond the way it is trying to
respond.
4. Get Motivated
As you probably know, making yourself get up and exercise is the tricky part.
For some people, exercise is
already a good habit, or a priority to keep energy high and weight under
control. For others, exercising is akin to having a root canal. Most of
us are probably somewhere in between. We know exercise is good for us
and we do it . . . occasionally—when the mood strikes or time permits.
The
trouble is, exercising in fits and starts isn’t enough to accomplish
long-term stress management or a decreased risk of developing chronic
illness.
