The Effects of Stress and What You Can Do About It

The good news is we can minimize stress through several lifestyle changes. 

Author: Shari Dalal 

Everyone experiences stress, and short-term stress is manageable. When stress is experienced long term, however, the sympathetic system, or as it is referred to, the fight or flight system, is on overdrive leading to chronic stress. When the sympathetic system is on overdrive, the adrenal glands continuously secrete cortisol which negatively affects the body. 

The good news is we can minimize stress through several lifestyle changes. 

Get enough sleep 

By getting enough sleep, the body is able to repair, and hormones have an opportunity to balance. A good night’s sleep reduces anxiety and increases clarity. There are steps that can be taken to get good sleep. With an increase in the use of devices, technology often gets in the way, preventing us from getting a good night’s sleep. The blue light emission from devices keeps us awake as it is a cue that it is daytime. It is best to stop device use 1 hour before bedtime and reduce light in the bedroom. Deep breathing can also enable restful sleep. 

Use your breath

Often when we are stressed, we unconsciously shallow-breathe. Shallow breathing tenses up our muscles, increasing stress. By incorporating deep breathing techniques, we can alleviate stress. Yoga and meditation apps like headspace and calm can help. 

Exercise regularly 

Exercising regularly allows hormones to travel in the body, minimizes stiffness, builds muscle, pumps blood, and allows clarity and focus. Try using the stairs instead of the elevator and taking brisk walks when short on time. 

Eat mostly a Whole Foods vegan diet

Incorporating a variety of aromatics, spices, herbs, vegetables, and fruit, this allows the absorption of a variety of micronutrients, and particular foods have their inherent health benefits. For example, strawberries reduce anxiety, ginger helps with digestion, turmeric, when combined with black pepper, can reduce inflammation, and kale is a green vegetable with the highest nutrient density providing more Vitamin C than spinach. A variety of fruits and vegetables can also diversify our microbiome, or the array of microbes in the gut, providing a strong defense against external stressors such as viral or bacterial infections. 

These are some of the steps you can take to better your health and go on the path to wellness. Check out plant based recipes on VKind to help incorporate whole food plant based meals in your diet. Cheers to better health!

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