From the monthly archives:

May 2009

How To Relieve Stress

If you suffer from stress on a regular basis whether through an active social life, work, or emotional problems then you will be well aware of the physical and mental strain on your body as you cope with it day to day. For you, knowing how to relieve stress will be important so that it doesn’t have a long term effect on your well being.

How to relieve stressWhen we are under stress the body behaves differently than how it would when we are otherwise relaxed. The human body is designed to cope with pressure by preparing us for what is known as a “fight or flight” reaction. This stems from ancient times when humans were more vulnerable. Back then we may have been dealing with physical danger from wild animals or such. However, modern stress produces a similar effect on the body. Adrenaline is released into the blood stream and the more blood is pushed towards the heart and lungs. Our digestion system slows down and our heart will beat faster. If this pattern continues for a long period of time then it can lead to physical health problems. This is why more and more doctors now treat stress as a more serious condition than they may have done say 20 years ago.

There are a number of different ways that you can employ to relieve stress in your life. Probably the best of these is regular exercise. If you are stressed for most of the day in your job for example and then come home at the end of the day and simply crash out on the sofa then much of the adrenaline in your body will not be used up and the feeling of stress will stay with you for longer. If instead you go for a brisk walk in the fresh air then your increased muscle activity will help use up the unwanted adrenaline and will help the blood flow and more oxygen intake. Whilst some of the pressures of the day may still be on your mind, physically your body should feel somewhat better than before.

Once away from the source of the stress then you want to be able to close your mind off from it for a while so you need some form of distraction. Music can be a great aid to cope with stress and depending on your mood both upbeat or relaxing tracks can help. Some people even finding doing the housework helps take their mind of the cause of stress - this may work for you as to how to relieve stress and combined with some music should hopefully take your mind of other things for a while.

Probably the biggest cause is stress in the workplace, and if you can deal with this effectively then you can start to feel much better about things. Good preparation and time management in work can help you avoid getting yourself into stressful situations. If you find you don’t have time to organize yourself then see if you can delegate some of the tasks to someone else. Alternatively, try to start earlier or work later for a few days but make sure the extra time is devoted to organizing your activities for the long term.

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Stress In The Workplace

Stress in the workplace is common in most businesses and corporations and can be brought on in various forms from many of the day to day activities. Modern day pressures of getting the job done, together with competition amongst individuals in organizations means that most workers will feel some form of stress on a daily basis.

Stress in the workplaceWhen you were a kid and maybe had an argument with your parents you could easily go outside and take it out on a nearby tree or fence post in the yard - however try the same thing in the office and you could be faced with a repair bill and probably a suspension. Thus instead you will tend to store these feelings up inside of you which leads to stress.

Physically this stress causes production of adrenaline in the body which in turn causes blood to flow towards the heart and muscles, digestion of food slows down and the heart rate increases. If this cycle is repeated too often then it can have long term negative effects on the body and this is why it can directly affect your health.

Thus avoiding stress in the workplace is essential for the well being of employees. Having a good plan in place for handling your work tasks is an essential way to start reducing causes of stress. People who are well organized tend to be subjected to less stress because they are prepared for many of the upcoming challenges or questions they face. If you have deadlines to meet then good personal organization is key.

If you are in a position to do so then delegate some of your workload to reduce pressure on yourself. Too often employees try to take on too much work themselves and end up getting bogged down as a result.

Exercise is also an excellent way of reversing some of the physical and mental effects of stress. Even if you don’t have time to get to the gym after work, try spending about half and hour to an hour walking in the fresh air to improve blood flow and improve the health of your heart.

If you are an employer then seek out ways to ensure your workers are not subjected to unneccesary stress in the workplace. Ensure there is an even balance of workloads and that managers are spreading the burden equally among their staff.

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