Reduce Stress With Relaxation Techniques

Stress is one of the leading factors, which leads to health related problems in the 21st century. The economy, your job, family, finances, and even your health can cause one to have stress. When we encounter stress our bodies release chemical hormones, which flood our blood stream causing chemical reactions to determine how we react next. When these hormones overload our bodies because they are continuing to be released due to high stress situations they can have a negative effect on the body. Excessive stress can lead to conditions such as fatigue, heart disease, depression, anxiety, sleeping problems, high blood pressure, ulcers, migraines, and many more. Most people try to mask their stress by drinking alcohol, doing drugs or letting loose. However just like stress these bad habits can lead to their own set of health and non-health related problems. The best way to reduce stress is through relaxation techniques. Once you learn to reduce your stress its easier to compartmentalize and find ways to minimize your stress.

Relaxation techniques to reduce stress should be used along side positive coping methods such as exercise, getting enough sleep and have support from your friends and family. Relaxation is the process that decreases the effects of stress on your mind and body. Relaxation techniques refocus ones attention away from stress onto something calmer. They also increase awareness of ones body. Most relaxation techniques are free or low cost, pose little risk, proved health benefits and can be done almost anywhere. Besides reducing ones stress, relaxation techniques provide other health benefits such as slowing the heart rate, slowing breathing, lower blood pressure, increasing blood flow, reducing muscle tension and chronic pain, improving concentration, decreasing anger and frustration and boosting confidence. Learning relaxation techniques takes time. Find which technique works best for your personality and practice it. Overtime you will become accustomed and it will come naturally to you.

Autogenic Relaxation- Autogenic relaxation techniques use both visual imagery and body awareness to reduce stress. Autogenic relaxation comes from within you. You can repeat words, make suggestion in your mind and imagine a peaceful setting, control your breathing or feel different physical sensation sin your body. The point is that whatever you do its something from within you to reduce stress, relax your mind and reduce muscle tension.

Progressive muscle relaxation- Progressive muscle relaxation focuses on slowly tensing and then relaxing each muscle group in the body. Stress, anger, frustration and anxiety cause the muscle to tighten up and without the essential compounds within the body those muscles can stay tight. With progressive muscle relaxation you can become aware of the difference between muscle tension and relaxation. You can start from the head all the way down to the toes or vice versa. Tense each muscle for five seconds then relax for 30 seconds.

Visualization- Visualization forms a mental image within ones mind. The image allows the mind to travel to a peaceful and calming place thereby reducing stress. The objective is to try to use as many of your senses as possible to make the setting real and virtually eliminate your stress. To do visualization find a quiet place, close your eyes, and wear loose fitting clothing.

Deep Breathing- Deep breathing is the cornerstone of many relaxation techniques. It can be done by itself or in conjunction with other techniques such as mediation, yoga, tai chi, etc. Deep breathing is simple, because we have to breathe to live, but powerful and effective at calming the mind and reducing stress. Deep breathing focuses on breathing full, cleansing breaths from the abdomen. It's easy to learn can be done anywhere and it keeps your stress levels in check. Sit comfortable with b your back straight, inhale through the nose, as the abdomen rises. Inhale as much fresh air into the lungs as possible. This allows for more oxygen to enter the body. Exhale through the mouth, as the stomach falls, pushing out as much air as you can and contract the abdominals. If you have trouble doing this sitting try it first lying down. You can put your hands on your chest and stomach to know if you are doing it correctly.

Meditation- Mediation is used to clear the mind, expand ones consciousness until you are one with yourself. Meditation focuses on the sensation of breathing, inhaling through the nose, exhaling through the mouth. This clears the mind of stressful thoughts, which cloud our judgment and thoughts.

Yoga- Yoga is a series of moving and stationary poses combined with deep breathing. The benefits of yoga include reducing anxiety and stress, improving flexibility, strength, balance, and stamina. There are many types of yoga, if you have never done yoga before start off with a beginners or gentle class. If you are uncomfortable taking a class at the gym or studio you can purchase a DVD and do yoga at home.

Tai Chi- Tai Chi is a non-competitive series of slow, flowing body movements that can be used to reduce stress. Its roots are in martial arts, but now it is more for calming the mind, conditioning the body and reducing stress. Tai Chi emphasizes concentration, relaxation and conscious circulation of energy throughout the body. While doing Tai Chi focus on your breathing and keep your attention in the present moment.
By Sarah Labdar

Add Years to Your Life With These Anti-Aging Foods

When we talk about anti-aging foods, just how can foods actually help us to age slower? Certainly any food that will prevent diseases that are related to old age, such as diabetes, heart disease and osteoporosis, to name just a few, will help with slowing down aging. And through research, both recent and in the distant past we have found how certain foods can help us along these lines. Here are seven that we can put into the super-foods anti-aging category.

1. Blueberries. The compounds in blueberries prevent oxidative damage that is related to loss in memory and motor skills. These are issues most common with people as they age. Other berries have these properties as well, but blueberries have been found to have the most benefits in tests. This brings us to another berry high in antioxidants, grapes, which produce wine.

2. Wine. Especially red wine, and when consumed in moderation may activate genes that slow cellular aging, according to animal studies. The compound in red wine that might actually do this is called resveratrol, and has been the subject of many studies over the last few years. Drinking any alcohol in moderation seems to protect aging people against diabetes, heart disease and memory loss.

3. Chocolate. Cocoa, which chocolate is derived from, is especially rich in flavanols that help keep blood vessels functioning well. Strong blood vessels maintain a good flow of blood to the cells, which will decrease the risk of dementia, kidney and type 2 diabetes, as well as keep blood pressure in check. Once again, moderation and the ingredients that are added in to that healthy chocolate have to be monitored.

4. Nuts. They provide similar benefits as olive oil as a source of unsaturated fats. I happen to love nuts as my favorite snack food, and I also find they help increase my intake of water, which is never bad. They are rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, and will be especially beneficial for those on vegetarian diets.

5. Olive oil. The important anti-aging agents in olive oil are polyphenols, which are powerful antioxidants. This is an important part of the Mediterranean diet, which many dieticians believe is responsible for the longevity and low rates of heart disease and cancer in places like the Greek Island of Crete.

6. Fish. Another staple in the Mediterranean diet is fish, and depending on the fish you eat may be very high in omega-3 fats. One of the problems people have as they age is the buildup of cholesterol in the arteries, and omega-3s is a known preventative of this issue. Researchers have noticed that the Inuit, natives of Alaska and people who have a diet very high in fish are remarkably free of diseases of the heart.

7. Yogurt. We don't really know if or why yogurt causes people to live longer, but it has long been thought that there is a connection. It is rich in calcium, which deters osteoporosis. But perhaps most importantly is probiotics, or good bacteria that helps keep digestion health in order.

We can see that all of these anti-aging foods are also foods that are good to eat, and can easily be worked into any diet. With a little creativity these foods can be brought to the table in many delicious ways.

Anxiety And Stress Symptoms

Anxiety is a general feeling of discomfort and fear, which can occur due to stress. On the other hand, stress can cause anxiety. These two usually coexist and are interdependent. So, when left unattended, causing a negative effect on a person suffering from it. In general, anxiety is a good factor, which allows a person to push or to respond positively and act in a given situation that causes stress. The fear of future conditions and, indirectly, the person may be required to take the necessary measures to ensure that his fear that to happen in the future. How can a man know if you are stressed and anxious? There are a variety of anxiety and stress symptoms may occur in different ways.

What people must understand is that there are types of anxiety. Apart from being a reaction to stress, anxiety can also be a symptom or medical can lead to a medical problem. There are different ways to deal with issues of anxiety, depending on the type of disorder a person suffers from. Symptoms of anxiety and stress manifest physically, emotionally, behavioral and psychological.

Physical symptoms may include headache, diarrhea, constipation, frequent urination, dizziness, dry mouth, difficulty swallowing, muscle tension, headache, fast or irregular heartbeat, stomach pain, excessive sweating, and tremors or shaking, chest pain, nausea, fainting, frequent colds, loss of sexual appetite, indigestion, muscle aches and tingling in the fingers.

Emotional symptoms can include irritability, or have a quick temper, mood swings, depression, anxiety, feelings of loneliness and feeling overwhelmed. Behavioral symptoms would be under or over-sleep, alcohol, nail biting, not to mention responsibility, overeating or not eating, and with a cigarette or drugs.

Psychological symptoms are not limited to but includes the fear of madness, anger, fear of future death, feeling cut off from reality, often a major concern, irritability, fatigue, excessive negative, memory disorders, loss of concentration, poor judgments, anxiety and sleep disorders.

These symptoms of anxiety and stress may or may not occur together, depending on the person's coping skills and stress and anxiety. Although many of these symptoms are not very alarming, others say the opposite symptoms. When the symptoms begin to affect your quality of life of people is a sign that the problem went away and needs outside help. If anxiety and stress are the result of underlying medical problem or a symptom of psychological problems, the patient is cared for by professionals to ensure proper treatment and adequate.

Anxiety and stress can happen every day, as there are daily stressors or anxiety-provoking situations such as the resolution of the fear that drives a person to make choices and compromises, social anxiety, pressure for someone to socialize and behave according to social norms become socially acceptable for performance anxiety, which induces a person to excel beyond its capacity for acceptance and recognition and the angst that define a person's reasons for existence. These factors can be easily handled and responded to depending on how mentally strong and able a person is.

Symptoms of anxiety and stress should be monitored to maintain and care for mental instability, behavioral, physical and emotional person.
By: Enzo Boa