Stress: It’s Impact and Creating a Stress Free Environment
Filed Under Blog, Health, Life, Well Being |
Are you stressed? We live such hectic lives today, especially as women, we expect ourselves to have a high powered career, raise a family, be well educated, nurture our relationships, and keep our skin and bodies looking fit and beautiful. No wonder we can get stressed during the normal course of a day! Being stressed can actually become a habit and thereby be something you start to do without even noticing it. Ever ask yourself, why are my neck muscles so tight? Why am I exhausted? Stress effects us in many ways, it doesn’t only affect our muscles and mood, it actually affects how we eat and how our bodies heal.
When you are stressed there is a hormone called “cortisol” that is released in your body. Cortisol impacts your body in two main ways: first it prevents your skin from healing quickly by preventing cytokines, chemicals that bring white blood cells to a wound to help it heal, from doing their job. In addition to this cortisol also triggers cravings for high-fat and high-calorie foods, which if you’ve ever experienced wanting to eat a lot when you’re stressed, now you know why. Being stressed can also cause your heart rate to variate causing you to not be able to sleep deeply at night. No wonder you’re exhausted when you’re stressed!
Well, just as easily as you can make a habit of being stressed you can also make a habit of building a life that nurtures and relaxes you. It is important to surround yourself with things that remind you to relax, this reinforces the habit of relaxing rather than the habit of stressing. One way of doing this is by using scents as a type of aromatherapy treatment. When you are at home you can light candles with relaxing beautiful smells that remind you of things or places you love. At the office use an electric diffuser, these wonderful little gadgets just plug into the wall and disperse you favorite oil into the air around you. The Body Shop has an excellent selection of diffusers, they even have one for your car! When using aromatherapy scents that are very relaxing and stress relieving are lavender, jasmine, rose, and chamomile. But you don’t just have to use those, pick a scent that you love, maybe something that reminds you of your favorite vacation spot or your favorite flower.
When buying candles make sure that you buy candles that are made from high quality soy wax and high quality essential oils, remember, you breath in whatever you put in the air. Pacifica has an extensive and wonderful selection of soy candles made with high quality essentail oils.
Other stress relieving activities your can add into your life are practicing yoga, go to a spa or create your own, and eating foods high in antioxidants like white and green tea and fruits and vegetables that have a high color content, red and yellow peppers are a great choice!
The most effective stress relieving activity is actually all up to you, when you’re upset about something get in communication with someone about it. If you’re angry try giving up being angry, choose how you want your day to go and then if it starts to go a different way just stop, take a deep breath and realize that it’s just life. Right now you have one life that you are living, do you really want to spend it stressed over the little things? Or would you rather enjoy your life and spend it doing the things you love and with the people you care the most about?
Relax, chill! and enjoy the ride! For more about how stress affects you and stress relieving tips visit Skyn Iceland’s Solutions For Stressed Skin Center. They even have a test section to help you determine if you’re stressed and what might be stressing you out.
(Images Courtesy Pacifica, Ahava)
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Do they have something for the subway? LOL
I love this! I love the end part too. I think I’ll buy a lavendar plug for my wall at my office! I never thought of that! Thanks
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