How To Manage Stress By Keeping Your Stress Levels In Check

Why do we need to manage our stress levels?

The following  are some of the complications that can occur when you fail to properly manage your stress levels:

… a weak immune system (trouble fighting infection)
… heart problems (myocardial infarction, coronary artery disease)
… acid reflux, heartburn (dyspepsia)
… high blood pressure (hypertension)
… migraines, headaches and backaches (tension headaches

… chronic fatigue (lack of energy,feeling tired)
… diabetes (hyperglycemia, elevated glucose)

The key is in keeping your cortisol levels in check.

Cortisol, also known as the “stress hormone“, can have damaging effects on many of your bodily functions.

We are living in a fast paced society with constant deadlines, crazy schedules, a fast-paced society and not enough hours each day to accomplish every single task.

All of your daily issues can lead to health complications if you do not keep your stress or cortisol levels in check.

How to Keep Your Cortisol Level in Check

The following are 2 ways cortisol levels may rise in your body.

When your mind triggers a “fight or flight” response to something that is going on in your life, cortisol is produced. When your cortisol levels are high, your cardiovascular and respiratory health begins to decline immediately. As you can see from the list above, multiple bodily functions can be affected in a negative manner.

Cortisol is also naturally present in higher levels in certain foods.

So whether your stress comes from an outside source, or you get too much cortisol in the foods you eat, you can suffer the consequences of being anxious and stressed-out.

Decrease your intake of foods known to contain high levels cortisol or cause your body to produce increased cortisol levels.

Here’s how to keep your cortisol levels where they need to be:

Cut back on chewing tobacco and smoking cigarettes.

Limit your caffeine intake. This means fewer coffees, soft drinks and energy drinks, especially those which are loaded with sugar.

Cut back on the number of starchy carbohydrates in your diet. This means eating fewer foods like potatoes, french fries, bread, potato chips and pizza.

Exercise regularly, get plenty of rest and keep hydrated. Remember that during exercise, cortisol does spike naturally, so when you are through working out, enjoy some “recovery based” physical activities such as yoga, pilates, or simply take a relaxing walk.

You can also practice mindfulness meditation and visualization to control your stress levels.

Tell yourself that when you see a stressful situation arising, you will respond to it in a calm manner.

Visualize yourself relaxed and peaceful, recognizing the stressful event, but not giving into it.

For the best chance of keeping stress in check, combine several of the successful stress-relief tips listed above for a calm, low-anxiety response to life’s stresses and strains.