In my opinion, stress is the most ignored and under-addressed health issue. Bold statement, right? But I really believe it. The negative effects of stress have been something that people are starting to realize and address more, thankfully, but in my opinion it should be a number one priority…even before diet & exercise.
I think what is most misunderstood about stress is that it’s not just a mental burden. Not only can stress manifest itself in physical ways, but it can also contribute to physical ailments and illnesses as serious as heart disease.
Stress is especially tied to our hormones, which control so much of how our bodies function. I’m certainly not an expert when it comes to this, but Robyn from The Real Life RD is, and she addresses hormones a ton on her blog. I especially love this article: “Nutritional minutiae doesn’t matter as much as we think it does.“
(On that note – before I go on, please note that I am NOT a health/medical/mental expert, and this is just my own experience/opinions. Please seek a professional before making any changes to your health routine.)
I’ve always been aware that I am someone who is very easily affected by stress. Some of the telltale signs for me is when I find myself more bloated/puffy than usual, have trouble sleeping, or just feel a sense of being more irritable & anxious. Those symptoms aren’t the norm for me, so when they spring up I know I need to take a step back and look at my lifestyle choices.
Over the past couple of weeks I began to notice myself feeling “off” and over-stressed for the first time in years, so I knew I wanted to nip it in the bud ASAP. Below are the main changes I’ve found work in my life. Within about 2 weeks I started to sense my stress levels lowering (whoop!) so I’m going to continue with these choices indefinitely, for the most part.
5 Tips for Reducing Stress
Stop dieting
I mean, you know how I feel about this one 😉 I’m not going to lie – when I start to feel bloated or like I’m gaining weight from stress, my initial thought is always to go on some sort of diet or “cleanse.” But if there’s anything I’ve learned over the years, it’s that that is actually the worst thing I can do.
For me, the stress and overthinking when dieting leads to my cortisol levels rising even more, making it even more difficult to shed weight. It seems so backwards – I know – but any time I’ve ever lost weight is when I was in a place of complete mental freedom surrounding food. Our bodies and minds weren’t made to be meticulously counting calories/carbs or tracking everything in an app, and those things can effect your subconscious more than you realize.
You can read more about this in my Food Freedom blog posts, and I also love the way Ingrid De La Mare-Kenny addresses this in episode 1 of her Pardon My French podcast.
“The stress over eating the cookie is worse than eating the actual cookie.”
Cut back on alcohol
Not to be a buzzkill (literally) but, alcohol doesn’t exactly benefit your stress levels. It may feel like it’s helping you relax, especially while you’re in the process of drinking, but it’s actually releasing a higher level of cortisol into your body (source). If you don’t want to cut out alcohol completely, just work on being more mindful when you’re drinking and don’t (read: never) overdo it. Not a good look. A good tip if you’re going to be having more than one drink is alternate with club sodas in between.
Cut back on intense workouts
Sorry intense cardio bunnies, I’m looking at you. I’m not saying intense cardio is necessarily bad – I do it myself from time to time – but I think it’s important to realize that intense doesn’t always mean better…especially when you’re doing multiple intense workouts a week. When I switched to shorter lower impact workouts, not only did my stress reduce but I finally noticed changes in my body that intense workouts never resulted in. Here are a couple of good articles on the connection between exercise and stress/cortisol:
Physically detach from technology
Disconnecting, unplugging, whatever you want to call it – these days it’s one of the most simple yet difficult ways we can reduce stress. I love the idea of putting your phone on airplane mode, but I personally feel the greatest release of stress when I’m physically detached from my devices. Some of my favorite ways to do so:
- spend an hour in an infrared sauna
- in a workout class (preferably low impact like yoga or pilates)
- go for a walk and leave my phone at home
- leave phone in another room while I meditate
- getting acupuncture for – you guessed it – stress relief
Side note: I started recently getting acupuncture again to help alleviate my stress. I’ve had an incredible experience with acupuncture in the past, and will do a separate post about that + my current experience. In the meantime if you’re in New York and want to visit WTHN, you can use code HUNGRYBLONDE to get 10% off treatments.
Stress-reducing supplements
Once again, you always want to consult a professional before adding new supplements into your routine! But a couple worth looking into that are my favorites are Ashwagandha, CBD, and magnesium.
- Ashwagandha is an ancient herb that can help improve thyroid function, treat adrenal fatigue, reduce anxiety and depression, reduce stress (source)
- CBD can have a calming effect + also reduce stress/anxiety (source)
- Magnesium is a mineral with many health benefits, including nervous system regulation and can have a natural calming affect (source)
You might also like:
The Truth About Sakara Life
6 Affordable Wellness Tips
Why I’m Obsessed with Infrared Saunas
I Tried Intermittent Fasting and Here’s What Happened
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