Under stress – whether it is work, study or a relation, dietary habits change substantially. Some people lose their hunger when under stress whilst others tend to overeat – most often fatty, sugary and junk foods. Always blaming stress for making poor food choices is not the right approach. In fact, making the right food choices will help stabilize blood sugar levels and your emotional response. Good nutrition helps in balancing your stress hormones, relieving stress and boosting your mood.

Here are 8 foods to reach out for when you have just about had enough which will calm and soothe you.

OATS: Being a complex carbohydrate, oatmeal causes your brain to produce serotonin, a feel-good chemical. Serotonin calms you down and makes you feel good. Oats are also rich in beta-glucan, which help in lowering blood cholesterol level and also help in weight management.

NUTS: Nuts help replenish Vitamin B stores that are depleted in stress. The B vitamins help us manage the fight or flight response in stress. The potassium in nuts also helps keep the blood pressure in check thus reducing the strain on the heart.

SALMON: Eating salmon on a regular basis has been linked to reducing the risk of getting depression because of the omega 3 fatty acids present in it. It can reduce stress and anxiety in individuals when eaten even twice a week.

LEAFY GREENS: Leafy greens contain folate that produces dopamine in your brain. Dopamine is involved in the emotional regulation in the brain thus keeping you happy. Besides folate, magnesium in the leafy greens also helps in keeping us calm and good.

SEEDS: Seeds like the sunflower seeds, flax seeds, watermelon seeds, etc have stress-reducing benefits. These tiny powerhouses are rich in magnesium that promotes a healthy nervous system. They also are full of tryptophan which is an amino acid that helps in the production of serotonin that helps you feel calm.

AVOCADOS: Avocados are rich in the stress relieving B vitamins, Vitamin C and folate. They also contain potassium that naturally helps in lowering blood pressure. This makes them one of the best foods for relieving stress and anxiety.

MILK: Milk contains tryptophan, an essential amino acid which is a precursor for the neurotransmitter Serotonin. Serotonin is a “feel good” chemical known to promote relaxation and calm in a person. And, milk taken with another carbohydrate will help in the absorption of tryptophan.

LENTILS & BEANS: Being stressed can be detrimental to your nerve health. Lentils and beans are rich in magnesium, folate and potassium which help calm the nerves, reduce anxiety and promote brain health.

Researchers have found that eating a diet of processed, sugary and fatty foods increases the chances of stress and depression. So, as a general rule steer away from these foods if you are looking to improve your mood. Eating a healthy diet not only helps in maintaining a healthy body weight but also helps in keeping the moods in order.

Metabolism accounts not only for weight loss and weight gain, but also for immune system function, energy levels, mood and emotional health, hormonal balance, skin quality, body shape, elimination… In fact, every function you can think of in the body, physiological or mental, can be related to some metabolic process. Thus, conditions like diabetes, obesity, cancer, heart failure, chronic inflammation, depression, and even epilepsy – all of those (and many more!) can be linked to an underlying metabolic issue.

In truth, we metabolize much more than what we eat and drink. We metabolize our own hormones and the waste created as byproduct from physiological processes (including metabolism itself). And of course, we metabolize thoughts and emotions (some of which are often highly toxic) much the same way we metabolize food and drinks.

On the face of it, metabolism turns out to be at the core of our physical, mental and emotional health. Therefore, to optimize health, we must optimize metabolism. Importantly, there are three equally important factors to look at in order to improve metabolism: stress, sleep and diet.

Stress creates free radicals, i.e. more waste to be metabolized. The other problem with stress is that it turns on the fight-flight mechanism which leads to shutting down the healthy metabolic pathways. As a result, blood sugar and insulin levels go up making us store more fat (and fat cells, in turn, hold on to more physical and emotional toxins). Therefore, de-stressing practices such as meditation, physical exercise and some form of therapy are crucial to maintaining optimal metabolic health.

Lack of sleep also raises blood sugar and insulin levels and prevents the parasympathetic nervous system to kick in. Thus, instead of the parasympathetic rest-digest-metabolize-repair mode, we stay in fight-flight which, as already explained, leads to fat and toxin storage. To avoid that, make sure you are asleep by 11pm at the latest, and get at least 8 hours of sleep.

Last but not least – diet. Now, there is a way to eat to increase metabolic heath, and there is a way to eat to destroy it. If you want to help your metabolism, you need to stay away from: sugar (especially fructose which is highly fattening and inflammatory), flour and starch, poly-unsaturated fats (especially seed oils), and alcohol and cigarettes. You also need to stay away from snacking: limiting your food intake to two or three meals a day will raise your metabolism and help you burn your own fat and toxins; constant grazing, on the other hand, will do the opposite. Lastly, don’t eat after 7pm for everything you put into your mouth after that time gets stored as visceral fat around organs (the worst fat of all).

In conclusion, eat right, love and pray, and sleep, and you will feel and look beautiful on the inside as well as on the outside.

Depression, stress, and anxiety are common yet serious problems that most of the men and women of our society are suffering from these days!

It starts with restlessness and end up ruining your life in every possible way. Loss of energy, loss of self-esteem and isolation from the society are some of the symptoms that depressed people suffer from in the initial stage. For anyone suffering from these problems, living life in a better way become an impossible dream.

If you are one of those who has lost hopes of living better than we are here with some proven solutions that can help you to fight these problems and enjoy your life to the fullest.

Fight with your isolation state.

It is often seen that depressed people or people who feel stressed out all the time, prefer staying isolated from the society. These kinds of people refrain from attending any type of social gatherings. To get rid of this problem, you need to forcefully ask yourself to be a part of the occasions that brings you closer to your family.

Find out things that make you Angry

Feeling of anger is spontaneous. You can’t hold yourself in the state of anger. Sit back and try to find out the things that make you angry. Then follow some simple tricks like drinking a glass of water, diverging yourself from the things that make you angry, counting 1-0, and so on. There are so many anger management solutions that are readily available over the Internet. If you are able to pen down things that make you angry, then half of your job is done.

Stay Active all the time

In the state of depression, stress or anxiety, most of the people prefer staying indoor. When you are dealing with such problems, do not show laziness at work. Stop yourself from neglecting people around you. Stay active and involve yourself in activities that you loved to enjoy in your childhood. Bring out the child in you to feel happier.

Watch comedy TV Shows or Movies

Doing silly things can make you happy at times. Watch comedy shows, reality shows, and Comedy movies that can bring smile on your face. The more you laugh; more you will be able to fight your state of depression, stress, and anxiety. Do not think that we are talking childishly. There are times when you need to forget your age and go back to your golden days when you were a child and your parents used to love and care for you. It is often seen that men and women end up compromising happiness for their kids or other household responsibilities. So, it is always a better idea to feel as a kid.

Don’t feel guilty of Feeling Bad

Depression, stress, and anxiety are the feelings that can make you feel bad all the time. So, make sure you don’t feel guilty of going through this stage. It is usually seen that people hesitate to talk about this problem but sharing your problem at time, can give you a solution to the problem as well.

Consult a Therapist

If the above things aren’t working out then the problem may be bigger. Do not waste your time. It is always a better idea to visit a Therapist and seek best advice.

Wrapping Up

There are so many solutions to fight problems like Depression, stress, and anxiety but the thing that matters is your dedication and willingness to get rid of it.

Life throws us curveballs every day. We do our best to deal with the unexpected situations and challenging events in our lives. However research shows that prolonged stress and anxiety can reduce life expectancy. Simply put, stress is a killer.

Are you able to identify and acknowledge the stress that you are experiencing? You can probably count at least 10 ways that stress has impacted your life negatively. Awareness is crucial in order to begin strategizing your survival plan. So what are you doing about it? Learn these 5 super stress buster tips that are sure to not only help you get through it and survive, but actually thrive.

Stress Buster Tip #1: Meditate daily.

Even if it’s only five minutes a day, meditation helps you to take a few moments to calm down, relax, breathe deeply, gain clarity and focus in your life. Through your meditation practice, you are acknowledging and prioritizing YOU. You are guiding yourself to set daily intentions or personal goals. You are setting yourself up for success. If you’ve never mediated before, no worries. There are a variety of quality meditation apps that are easily available to guide you as you explore the benefits of meditation, many at no charge. You will start feeling calm and confident again and will begin to feel your stress melt away as you practice daily meditation.

Stress Buster Tip #2: Practice physical self-care activities.

There’s no doubt that you are aware of the importance of the basics of self-care: a healthy and balanced nutritional plan, daily exercise and adequate sleep in order to live your best life. Knowing is one thing; doing is something else. Self-care addresses and reduces the harmful effects of stress on the body.

Be purposeful in practicing these three tenets of self-care:

Be vigilant about the foods that you eat. Plan ahead and make sure you are nurturing your body with a healthy and balanced regimen of nutrients including protein at every meal, a variety of vegetables, fruits and lots of water. Eating healthy provides positive energy to your body and is key to a healthy quality of life.

Be mindful of organizing your day to include a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise. Endorphins are released when you exercise, boosting your emotional outlook and providing a greater sense of well being. In addition to the physical benefits, when you incorporate regular exercise into your daily routine, you feel less stressed, more relaxed and ready to meet any challenges that come your way. In fact, many people claim that they do their best problem-solving and brainstorming during their daily workout. Whether it’s running, yoga, working out at the gym, or even walking your dog, make it a daily habit and embrace the opportunity to re-energize and de-stress.

Be laser-focused on making sure you are getting a full night’s sleep that is restful, restorative and recharges you to wake up every morning ready to take on a brand new day. The quantity of sleep varies for each individual. Whether it’s 7 or 8 hours, or a little more or less, studies have shown that maintaining a consistent schedule of going to bed at the same time every night and waking up at the same time every morning is key to optimal good health. Sleep relaxes you and recharges your personal battery, equipping you to face whatever challenges come your way, without undue worry or stress.

Stress Buster Tip #3: Practice attitudinal self-care.

In addition to the three basic fundamentals of self-care as noted above, let’s add another critical element of self-care: attitudinal self-care. You’ve heard the expression “You are what you eat.” Similarly, one of my Essential Mottos is: “You are what you THINK.” Practice positive thinking as much as possible. You’ve heard the expression: “If you can conceive it, you can achieve it.” With more positivity in your life, comes less stress or at the very least, manageable stress. You will be able to brainstorm solutions to your everyday challenges. Do you see the glass as half-full or half-empty? With a focus on attitudinal self-care, you will begin to see the glass as half-full. And then, it is likely that your vision of your world will be more open to infinite possibilities and probabilities. Another one of my Essential Mottoes is: “There’s no such thing as problems… only solutions.” See your glass as half-full. See the infinite possibilities. Smile and practice positivity every day, as much as possible. Your positive attitude will enable you to stress and worry less, and you will likely reap amazing benefits to mind, body and soul.

Stress Buster Tip #4: Reach out to a friend.

Social isolation increases the likelihood of loneliness, negative self-esteem and stress. Interacting with family and friends will help you to neutralize the anxiety and stress that you may be feeling. Reaching out to a trusted friend or family member is a positive step forward. Even if you are reluctant to make that call or send a text, know that there is a loving and supportive network out there for you to contact… and encourage yourself to connect with others. Caring for a pet is therapeutic as well. Positive social interaction and connection is key to reducing your stress levels.

Stress Buster Tip #5: Be more resilient.

A Japanese Proverb reminds us that, “The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists.” You may notice that some people seem to be able to handle their stress better than others. You may also wonder, in particular, why they seem to handle their stress better than you. Learning how to become more resilient will enable you to take things in your stride, cope better and handle difficult situations without undue anxiety or stress. Practice more flexibility in your life. Be less rigid. Become more resilient. You will stress less and become stronger like the oak tree in the Japanese proverb.

Indeed, we’ve all heard the quote “publish or perish” when it comes to the world of academia. There is also a lot of stress that happens amongst professors who cannot keep up with the need to publish research papers in a robust and rapid fashion, while continuing to teach their various classes. Not only that, but their research papers must be somewhat cutting edge, and on the leading edge of their area of expertise in that scientific niche.

Some professors get very good at it, publishing papers that is, as they use a specific format, and have grad students assist, and they can pump out those papers effortlessly. I am amazed sometimes. But, for me they are time consuming, and editing is tedious and slow. Now then, of course I am not an academic, or a scientific researcher, although I do run a think tank, and therefore am constantly interacting and interfacing with the academic world even though I have a slight disdain for it having quit school to run my company in my 20s.

There are many students who would love to study science, whether it is the pseudo-sciences or social sciences, or the hard sciences. Some choose not to stay in the academic field or become a professor because they are intimidated by the stress of having to constantly put out scientific work, and write research papers. In many ways writing the research papers and staying in the flow of production is both an art and a science. Those that do well at this will eventually begin teaching tenure, and enjoy a high-paying and successful and rewarding career as an academic professor, those that can’t like the quote says; Will Perish.

Over the years, I’ve met many researchers who were quite prolific and have written well over 100 research papers, often writing them with their grad students, and dutifully signing their name to the work as the lead investigator or scientist. This is one way to do it, and perhaps the academic students do all the work, along with all the editing, and formatting make sure it is exactly correct as per the academic standards, or to the request of whichever scientific journal, or academic conference they are presenting to. It sure helps if someone else can do most of the tedious work, and the academic professor can concentrate on their specific area or niche of science.

Best of all, if they become the recognized leader in the field, and don’t start too many wars, they will slide through the peer review process very easily and quickly as the most authoritative source on the subject matter. If you plan on becoming a lifetime academic in the encapsulated world of higher education, perhaps you should consider all this, and not be intimidated by the large buildings, or the hoops one must go through to stay in the flow of the publish or perish world. Please consider all this and think on it.

Slowly, slowly, slowly…

Stress can kill you – from the inside out and often we are not even aware that we are stressed until it is too late. So what can we do? How can we identify stress? And most importantly, how can we eliminate it?

As easy as the initial answers may appear or as easy as we may wish them to be: they are not. Everyone experiences stress to some degree, at some level, at some point in time. However, when stress becomes that truly dangerous part of your life where it is “eating away” at you most literally that is where we need to start focusing. It is also quite often the case that others will alert us to our stress level while we may be unaware of it or truly denying it already.

For example, I remember clearly one afternoon when I was sitting at home; years ago and my voice became loud – much louder than I normally speak – and I actually saw and felt myself yelling at my cat. This was such a shock and such a wakeup call for me that I immediately realized I had to take action, I had to reflect and find out what exactly was going on. It may seem silly to some readers but part of recognizing your own stress level, like I was able to do in this example, is really knowing yourself as well as knowing a few other things, such as: is the object of your stress reaction also the cause?

Allow me to share with you a few thoughts, suggestions, and tips that have worked for many people I work with. Yet, please know that this is only a brief overview of a variety of issues that often require much deeper digging on your and my part.

The first step is to be able to identify some stressors (stress indicators) and these can be simply things such as muscle tension that continues over a long period of time, moodiness, constant fatigue where no stimulants can aid you, sensations of forgetting simple procedures or steps that you’ve been doing or engaging for years, continuously getting sick, falling asleep and not being aware of it, overeating/under eating, and drug use (this includes alcoholic beverages, legal and illegal drugs) to keep you going.

Once you identify that you are stressed or are realizing that someone else you know is clearly stressed but not aware of the danger s/he is in – hopefully you’re the angel assisting them at this point – you move towards managing stress and then ultimately towards eliminating the stress from your life. Easy right? Wrong. It’s not necessarily easy because often we are so deep in a cycle of stress or negativity that we cannot dig ourselves out and we need help. But at times we can or we do get the help we need. If you are not sure how stressed you are I invite you to take some tests addressing individual stress levels. I especially recommend “The Stress Reliever Personality Test” or the “What is your Stress Index” by the Canadian Mental Health Association. This will help you get started.

From there you need to identify your stressors: personal or professional. Again, I highly recommend working through this with a trusted person. Maybe you don’t do that in the first step but absolutely for reflection purposes. You need to look at both these arenas and even little things like flushing or increased sweating or indigestion and such are physical stress symptoms. Your trusted friends may be able to point out other things, such as your sudden inability to make decision, lack of clear thinking, constant doubts, poor productivity etc. These may be behaviors that you haven’t really noticed because you are caught up, naturally so for lack of a better term, in them.

The biggest concern is that excessive or chronic stress has directly been connected to cardiovascular disease and depression. Both can be extremely difficult to get out of once the vicious cycle of unhealthy living has been entered into. This can mean heart attack in the first case or clinical depression which, left untreated leads to suicide in about 15% of all cases. These are proven numbers and you do not want to be part of either of this group, not do you want to grow an ulcer, become addicted to some kind of drug (whether legal or illegal) as all that happens is a constant veiling of the root cause. Which then bring us back to doing the work of identifying your stressors and your reaction. We are all different so your reaction to stress may be overeating while mine is not eating. This means you need to know yourself! Again, this may seem easy but it’s not. Most of us know the person we let the world see or the person we wish to be but truly knowing ourselves is not necessarily present at the beginning of this journey. Yet, this early stage is quick and the more you begin to know yourself the more you begin to understand and love yourself and both of these are key components of a stress free and healthy life.

Why is it so important that you know yourself if you are trying to identify, manage, and eliminate stress? It is crucial because if you don’t know yourself you may be choosing a strategy that helps others, possibly thousands of other people, but that cannot work for you because you are YOU. For some people I work with physical exercise is the answer to stress relief. They go to the gym or biking. Others go to the shooting range. These are great options as they get the adrenalin going (one of the physical reactions of your body to stress) and thus you immediately eliminate the stress. Yet, the results may be temporary only and I have seen people who have become almost obsessed with physical exercise as a way to not feel stress thus actually just covering up the root cause in their own way; meaning they avoid the real issue, which most of the time is based in a fear of knowing themselves.

For me, once I realized I was stressed to a degree where it could possibly kill me I made one very crucial decision: take time to get to know me or better: re-know me. I got up every day 30 minutes early – and I am not a morning person – to engage in light yoga and a good cup of Café Latte. These 30 minutes proved to be my life-changer and life-saver (in addition to my cat, who is the one alerting me to my stress level, of course). Did I do strenuous yoga: NO. Did I always do 30 minutes: NO. But I did take these 30 minutes every morning thus beginning the morning in harmony and quite time. Some people may call this meditation to some degree. From this first step I began changing my diet. This was a more subconscious switch because my body was suddenly not craving many of the bad foods any more as I was giving my body and soul sufficient attention every morning. I then also began to make more time for myself; such as not checking all the bills in the mail immediately upon returning home but first spending time with the cat or changing my clothes to shed whatever may have happened during the day. Then I began to meditate and things naturally evolved from there. I am providing this example because it highlights possible steps for you but also because it illustrates that we all need to find our own ways, our own strategies and if you are not sure what may work for you a coach or counselor or trusted friend may have some suggestions.

From here you need to identify the “Ws”: when do you feel stressed? Where do you feel stressed? Why do you feel stressed? This leads to “what” causes me stress. Very often, ironically enough it is you who is causing yourself stress because you are in disconnect with someone else’s preferences either in your personal or professional life. What this means is that your preferences of handling a situation, of spending the evening, of running a meeting may be very difference based on your personality than what you are encountering. This is normal but what you may be doing is blaming the other person or persons for their preferences while they are truly out of your power. Let’s face it: we cannot change another person unless they want to and even then we can only help. So if a friend wants to see a zombie movie and you don’t then there does not need to be stress. Instead both of you can agree to disagree and either watch a different movie, no movie or watch the movies separately. There is no need for stress but we do often stress over these seemingly simple items, don’t we?

What I am trying to get you to see here is that you will not change your friend’s preference for specific type of movie. Neither will you be able to change the fact that most offices and business open at the same time, which is likely the reason why you are stuck in traffic every morning, so all you can do is one thing: change your reaction to it.

In other words, when I teach about stress management I refer to a seemingly simple formula:

A + B = C.

A is everything that is NOT within your power and it really has no intrinsic meaning to you.

B is everything that is within your power, such as your reaction to an event or situation or person; which means you need to first stop and think to be rational about the situation. This can be done by simply taking in a few deep breaths; then you need to move to controlling the inner dialogue within you, avoiding the blaming another for your stress or discomfort (the blame game, which means you are giving away your power to the other person or the event) and to keep the perspective of how important this issue is, what it means to you and what you can do now.

C is the Consequence. This is entirely in your hands: you determine your attitude and thus your altitude.

Yes, it is that easy and Yes, it is that difficult but most importantly: you can distress your life, slowly and deliberately in accordance with who you are. This means you are slowly turning the tide on the silent killer: stress.

I wish you the best and I know it can be done because I did it and many others do it: just remember that you may need to ask for help and that is the first sign of courage and strength on your road to determine your own stress-free life.

Natalie Forest

Super Focus Mentor

https://www.life-transforming.com

©11/2013

Meditation is a way of relaxing which can prevent and reduce stress, help you to sleep better, alleviate depression and give you a new and better perspective. We all should be self-aware and meditation is a natural way to develop yourself. The work which you put into mediating will pay off handsomely.

Learning to relax through meditation gives you nothing less than an entirely new way of living. You can become more successful by relieving stress, alleviating pain and getting more restful sleep. You can then wake up every day refreshed from meditation and a good night’s sleep.

Learning to meditate for success in your personal development takes a little time, there are several steps along the way to becoming the person you’ve always wanted to be.

Thinking clearly about your self-image will prove to be very helpful in improving your physical and mental health alike. Setting and meeting goals will keep you thinking positively about your process of self-development and progress.

Learning to meditate will give you a positive attitude towards life and will make you much more prepared to successfully navigate the process of your own self-development.

Of course, you have to start off on the right foot, begin thinking positively in general. Write down your goals on paper and look at them. Visualize achieving these goals one by one, moving down the list.

Learning meditation will enable you to reduce the stress which makes it difficult for you to make the tough decisions, have more energy thanks to better sleep and have the winning attitude you need to make all of your goals realities. You will find that your goals can really be achieved, and you will achieve them!

After setting your goals for your future, begin learning to meditate. For more information on the specific methods of meditation, you can look either online or at your local library.

Don’t be shy about asking for information if you can’t find what you’re looking for.

You can also join a yoga group to learn some self-development skills. These people are all there looking for the same thing as you are; they are trying to learn meditation in order to achieve better physical and mental health.

Joining a group will also let you meet new people and develop your communication skills, it is helpful to talk over your problems with others and it can be educational to listen to what they have to tell you. You might get some useful information which can help you to achieve your own goals this way.

Yoga will demonstrate to you how something seemingly as simple as your movements and breathing can make you feel better in the body and assist you in achieving a meditative state of mind. The breathing techniques used in yoga will help you to reduce stress and anxiety; something which you can use each and every day. By learning to breathe slow and deep, you can have the peace of mind you need to tackle the tough decisions you face in life.

Different positions and movements used in the practice of yoga can help. If you are experiencing tight muscles, soreness and other stress-related symptoms, yoga can relieve these symptoms. Back pain and other stress-related muscle pain can be relieved by standing or sitting in the correct position, something which you will learn from practicing yoga.

Have a look for information on yoga online or at your local library. Find everything you can about meditation, just reading about what others have been able to accomplish is likely to make you begin to feel better.

Learning meditation skills for personal development will help you to get in control of your life. You’ll feel better and you’ll be happy that you took the time to look into the necessary skills and practices for self-development. Enjoy yourself and your new self-development skills.

Here is a 20 minute plan that can be practiced daily for you to begin living a new life.

Step One: Meditation

Recline or sit and relax, both body and mind. This will help to bring them into harmony with each other which is the idea of meditation. Then focus on an object which is in the room with you and forget everything else in your surroundings. You must learn to eliminate distractions from your mind to be successful in meditation.

Focus on your toes; try to put all else out of your mind and move up from there, concentrating on your legs. Keep moving all the way up to the top of your head and relax as you go. You should feel some tingling in your body; this is normal and is the sign that your body is relaxing.

Step Two: Imagination and focusing

Visualize yourself somewhere that you have always wanted to go, or somewhere that you have always wanted to be. Think about being alone; just by yourself with the breeze blowing through your hair. Use your powers of imagination to visualize this, this will relax your mind and free you from the stress of the day.

Step Three: Take 20 minutes

Using meditation to relax with meditation will take about 20 minutes out of your day and make you aware of your inner capacity for self-development. Meditation should be practiced at least once a day, twice daily if possible.

Relaxing via meditation will make you more aware of the stresses which cause you to make bad decisions. The consequences of these decisions will make you feel poorly about yourself, it’s a vicious cycle. Before you know it, you’ll be facing depression and all of its attendant side effects.

Take control of your life again by using the practice of meditation to improve your self-development capacity. Using materials which are available online, at your library and elsewhere, you can learn the skills needed to achieve your goals and be successful.

Sometimes we can all use some help, and today’s technological advances make it easier than ever to get the help you need. New information becomes available every day about the practice of meditation for you to improve your self-development skills.

When you get angry of stressed, take a step back, calm down and assess the situation. Use positive thinking and ask yourself why you are so upset in the first place. How can you make things better? Don’t let negative emotions rule your decision-making process and cause you to lose control of the situation.

You can begin the process of meditation for self-development today. With each skill you learn, you’ll find that your quality of life will improve in all areas, at home, at work, everywhere!

Are you too busy to get a good night’s sleep? Do you use your night trying to fit in jobs you didn’t have time to get done through the day?

Some activities, such as working or caring for dependents, are usually classified as being unavoidable. That’s because they usually are! Other activities such as socializing and entertainment, even though optional and discretionary, are still considered by most as necessary for a fulfilling life.

Sleep is often slotted into whatever time is left available after everything else has been attended to or indulged in. Are you still doing laundry at 2:00 a.m.?

However, would you prioritize sleep if you knew that it can help make you more capable of achieving your desired level of productivity? Or that it can strengthen your immune system and help prevent a slew of diseases and conditions?

Adequate sleep and healthy sleep patterns can prevent Alzheimer’s Disease manifesting later in life and can assist in repairing the effects of chronic stress now.

Anyone who has lain awake after a hard day knows exactly how it feels when stress makes resting so elusive. The link between stress and sleep is very much a two-way street. While stress can make it difficult to fall asleep, sleep deprivation can largely contribute to causing stress and worsening its effects and symptoms.

Shift Work Sleep Disorder

Whether you are working as a long-haul truck driver or a college student pulling an all-nighter just to beat your assignment deadline, lack of sleep definitely takes a toll on your physical and emotional health. We’re not nocturnal creatures. This is why those who are working on the night shift will often find themselves having difficulty overcoming their natural diurnal pattern and sleeping on demand. Sleep deprivation is very common among night shift workers. It has become prevalent enough for it to have an official name: ‘shift work sleep disorder’.

The book titled Principles and Practice reported that night workers often have five to ten hours less sleep every week than those who are working a regular daytime schedule. Medscape Neurology and Neurosurgery reported that those people working on a night shift are at higher risk of suffering from stress. In turn, they are more prone to different kinds of stress-related health problems such as heart disease, hypertension, infertility, weakened immune system and stomach problems.

How Stress Impacts Quality of Sleep

Most people find it hard to sleep at night as they ruminate on stressful thoughts. Several scientific studies show that stress can have a huge impact on a person’s quality and quantity of sleep. Individuals suffering from insomnia were found to experience a greater number of stressful events in life compared to people who were not insomniacs.

Studies also show that personal perception or appraisal of stress can either increase or reduce the tendency to suffer from insomnia. This means that even if you haven’t been experiencing situations which others may consider stressful, but you perceive these things to be stressful, you will more likely to suffer from insomnia.

This reinforces the understanding that lack of sleep and stress both negatively impact the other. The bottom line is that being able to rest, or the lack of it, has a huge influence on the number of stressful events that you will likely to experience and how you well you’ll be able to deal with them.

Sleep Deprivation Influences an Individual’s Perception

Lack of sleep can strongly influence your perception of the events that are happening in your life. In order to support this statement, a study was conducted in which the participants were asked to take an exam that was judged to be mildly stressful. The results indicated that those participants who were sleep deprived experienced higher levels of stress while taking the exam, compared to participants who had no issues with sleeping difficulties. Other research done outside the laboratory also showed that sleep deprivation leads to psychological strain and stress.

The good news is that you don’t have to be a life-long victim of sleep deprivation and stress. Make the effort to assess your lifestyle habits and make healthy changes to them. Subtle changes to behaviors and diet can provide an increase to both the amount and quality of sleep. This will lead to noticeable improvements in productivity and short and long-term health, especially relating to overcoming stress and its effects.

How Stress Affects the Individual

Stress can have very negative effects on individual people. Just how much stress impacts a person depends on several factors. This includes their levels of personal resilience, the coping mechanisms they can utilize, how severe the stress is, and how long the stress has been happening.

Whenever we feel challenged – taken out of our comfort zone – the body automatically initiates a survival mode called the stress response, commonly known as “fight or flight”. This is an inherent and ancient human trait; a survival mechanism that allows individuals to quickly respond to danger and return to a position or feeling of safety. To this day, the stress response serves as a way to cope appropriately with negative situations. Short term stress results in heightened awareness and thinking, elevated heart rate, increased muscle tension, strength and aggression, and momentarily decreased digestive and immune activity. This is simply the body preparing for immediate and decisive action in order to mitigate the perceived threat.

However, if the stress continues for extended periods – if this heightened state continues to run without ceasing – these symptoms can become harmful. The effects of prolonged or excessive stress include, amongst others, insomnia, anger, decreased appetite, binge eating, withdrawal, obsessive thinking, anxiety, depression and even chronic health conditions such as type II diabetes and asthma.

How Stress Affects the Workplace Environment

Even a single person who is experiencing the effects of prolonged or excessive stress can contribute to the development of an underlying tension in the workplace environment. It can quickly start a chain reaction, which may affect the entire company. Employees may lose motivation for work, and they certainly won’t want to stay late. They will half-heartedly do the work they once looked forward to.

What to Do About It

The workplace will always have a certain amount of change. There is nothing that can be done about that. Things like restructures, changing deadlines, employee turnover, and difficult customers are going to happen. What is within your power is to develop and implement the policies necessary to provide your staff with the skills they need to self-manage the physical and psychological effects of change.

For your staff, a great resource is stress management training. This simple training will give them the coping skills necessary to better handle any challenge comes their way.

In terms of policies, ensure you enact a “zero tolerance” policy for workplace bullying, which is one of the primary factors of a stressful environment. Take a look at your overall approach and implement the changes required to make your company an even better place to work.

Stress and anxiety can be a root cause of hemorrhoids developing. Natural home remedy cures, over the counter products, and surgery are effective ways to treat, cure, and remove a hemorrhoid. To prevent piles from returning it is important to understand how to stop stress and anxiety from causing inflammation in the anal region. Internal and external hemorrhoids are often caused by high stress levels and anxiety.

It is frustrating after having treatment done to have hemorrhoids return giving the sufferer discomfort, itching, pain, and in some cases bleeding. There is a way to avoid this by taking steps to reduce stress and anxiety.

Stress and anxiety are not the only contributing causes to hemorrhoid symptoms. However, they are near the top of the list of leading causes. When the body is under stress and anxiety tension it constricts making bowel movements very difficult. This causes blood vessels in the anus to become inflamed until a painful pile develops.

Hemorrhoid medication and treatments are great for instant relief from anal itching, pain, and bleeding. It is still very important to manage stress and anxiety to prevent piles from returning. After medication, natural treatments, or surgery it is time to take action to reduce stress and anxiety. Here are a few proven methods that will help remove tension from your body.

Meditation is a wonderful solution to gently reduce stress and help control anxiety that can lead to painful hemorrhoids. There are many methods available from guided imagery audios to calming music. It can be done in your home or office in as little as 15 minutes. Controlled breathing is a very relaxing part of meditation.

Yoga has many amazing benefits for the body and is very low impact. Stretching in yoga is a proven way to help natural body functions, like bowel movements, flow much better. Straining when having bowel movements often leads to internal and external hemorrhoids returning. Yoga is fantastic for improved blood circulation and stress reduction.

Living hemorrhoid free does not have to be only dream. It can become a reality by taking steps to reduce stress and anxiety in your life. After your piles are treated and healed, reducing tension will prevent them from returning. Explore meditation and yoga techniques to prevent hemorrhoids.

Ignoring a hemorrhoid will not cure it. You have to be proactive when it comes to finding relief and eliminating them. The only way to regain your life is by reducing stress and anxiety that can cause piles to reappear, even after having extensive treatment done. When you are able to get to the root cause, you can prevent future piles from developing.