Worried about the day you had at work? The bills? The new light needed for the car? If the gang will like the dinner on Saturday night?
Our body can react negatively to stress, leading to a whole host of physical and emotional problems. Worrying about your finances can cause headaches, anxious about the weekend’s plans can result in a tension pain in the shoulders…
Plus, women often have a stronger stress reaction than men.
It’s time to ID your stress area, how stress affects you and learn how to let it go.
From top to toe, we’ll guide you through the most common results of stress and how to combat them once and for all.
Stress ID One: Headaches
The science bit? Researchers believe stress-induced fluctuations in neurotransmitters, like serotonin and endorphins, also activate pain pathways in the brain, leading to headaches. The everyday bit? They hurt and can affect your daily routine.
The Solution: Just 10 minutes a day of mindful relaxation, like deep breathing or meditation, can ease the muscle tension that can trigger a headache. You don’t have to be an ‘OM’ expert. Sit in a quiet place and close your eyes. Take a deep breath through your nose. Let it fill your tummy. Hold it for five seconds and exhale.
Stress ID Two: Skin Breakouts
For some people, a bad day can go straight to their face. Stress hormones can increase oil production in the skin glands, resulting in anything from a blemish or two to full-blown acne.
The Solution: Drinking hot water with lemon is an age-old tradition that helps detoxify your skin. You could also try slowly rubbing a loofah sponge up your body, starting from the ankles. This is not only calming, it will help blood circulate.
Stress ID Three: Neck Pain
After tensing all day, neck pain in the form of sore, stiff muscles can occur.
The Solution: Treat yourself to a massage, or get a friend or other half to help you relax. This will help relax tight muscles in your neck and upper back.
Why not recruit a friend or other half to give you a massage?
Stress ID Four: Fatigue
If you’re yawning throughout the day, it’s bad news and it’s because you didn’t get a good night’s sleep. You might have thought you were sleeping but there are wake-promoting regions of the brain that get stimulated by anxious thoughts. Too many restless nights means your memory can become impaired and you could spend the day feeling miserable and moody.
The Solution: Progressive muscle-relaxation is one technique you could try. Starting at your toes, tighten the muscles in the area and release and continue up through your body.
Stress ID Five: Weight Gain
Stress can mean that, instead of burning more calories, our hyped-up systems produce more cortisol, a stress hormone that encourages the storage of fat. Add this to the fact that some women overeat in times of stress…
The Solution: Instead of snacking on a bag of crisps the next time you feel under pressure, take a deep breath and a good brisk walk. Studies have shown that exercise relieves stress and burns calories. Who says you can’t have the crisps when you get home? You mightn’t even want them anymore.
