I want to talk about stress and the toll it takes on the body and the mind. How stress can affect every aspect of our lives and in the end even damage our organs.
My focus when it comes to health, diet, and exercise is always on longevity. Living a longer healthier life. The main reason for this is because my husband and I had a child very late in life and we truly want to be there for him, at least until he is grown and can take care of himself. What brought this to the forefront of our minds and really crystallized it for us was a health scare my husband had a couple years ago. Where my husband had to be hospitalized twice one summer with the first time having to have emergency surgery.
I found the stress my body endured from being unhealthy and inactive was mentally stressful.
I, also, worried constantly about my husband’s health. I worried about him having an aspiration event from vomiting in his sleep, and I worried about the few seconds when he would stop breathing in his sleep.
Yes, our lifestyle at the time was very detrimental to our health, but the mental stress and worry from it, also took its toll.
I had to stop thinking of food as being pleasure based, instead it is a tool, a means to fuel activity and gain mental clarity. Yes, food can bring me joy, but it can also make me feel terrible physically as well as mentally. What did it mean when my hips or knees hurt going up the stairs, when I got winded by doing minimal physical activity, or I couldn’t even bend over because my belly got in the way? I was unhappy with myself and what my life had become.
I had to stop using food as a cure for my unhappiness. The moment of pleasure that I derived from eating something unhealthy wasn’t going to help make me happier. All the compounded stress from being unhealthy and the worry that came from living that way, in the end it just hurt me.
It is well documented that stress hormones can have a disastrous effect on the immune system through its action on the endocrine system. It can make us more susceptible to infections with greater viral loads found in blood plasma of stressed individuals, it can have a negative effect on wound healing, and it increase inflammation within the body which can accelerate diseases associated with old age. And the act of sitting all day in and of itself, is incredibly stressful on the body.
One of the things I do to manage my stress levels is exercise. Working up a sweat is a great way to get out of my head and just exist in my body. And if my body feels achy or sore, I exercise to warm up and loosen those tight muscles. It’s a good stress reliever during this time of pandemic, especially if you can find something physical that you really enjoy doing. I’m actually one of those people that changes their at home workouts regularly. I might do weightlifting kettlebell type exercises 3 times a week for three months with regular aerobics. Or, I’ll do bodyweight exercises intermixed with HIIT workouts for a couple months. Sometimes I’ll just run for a couple months, or do dance aerobics or kickboxing for a few months.
Going outside to enjoy the sunshine or even to experience a rainy day is good way be out in the world while social distancing. It can be as simple as sitting on your front step while drinking some coffee or picnicking in your backyard. Now that it’s warmed up and headed into spring, I’ve started gardening. Raising some lettuce, herbs, snap beans, etc. My brother grows all his vegetables in pots since he lives at a very high altitude where their summers are much cooler.
But the most important thing I do for stress and my general wellbeing, is eat right. I eat as healthy as possible because I know I’m not getting enough sleep and I have a lot of work related stress. Fresh fruit, dried fruit, lots of vegetables, salads, seed and nut filled homemade bread, homemade yogurt with hemp seeds and muesli, and overnight oats with chia seeds and fruit. Sure I’ll eat a couple cookies most days or the occasional pizza or hamburger, but I just make sure the majority of the food I take into my body is as nutrient dense as possible. Instead of getting French fries, I’ll eat a salad with the hamburger or a giant salad as an accompaniment to the pizza. Each meal is a chance to make a good choice for my health.
References:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/much-sitting-linked-heart-disease-diabetes-premature-death-201501227618
http://www.discoverymedicine.com/Ronald-Glaser/2009/07/18/stress-damages-immune-system-and-health/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/expert-answers/sitting/faq-20058005
https://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/press-releases/2012/october/new-study-finds-that-sitting-for-protracted-periods-increases-the-risk-of-diabetes-heart-disease-and-death
2 comments:
Hi Phuong! Such a thoughtful and a thought-provoking post. I agree as well that stress can take its toll and its effects creep up on you. Making healthy choices most of the time, exercising and trying to keep unhealthy stress away sounds like such a great plan to lead healthy lives. Wishing you and your husband long and stress free and healthy lives!
Hi Chhaya,
Thank you! The body is amazing in its ability to heal. Making healthy choices for the sake of my well-being has been a gradual process, overtime those little choices made a big difference. And exercise has definitely helped lower my anxiety levels.
Post a Comment