Exercise and Managing Your Stress During Quarantine
April 13, 2020Undoubtedly, the number of us experiencing stress and anxiety during the April quarantine is increasing by the day. Our lives have been turned upside down as we now find ourselves working from home, homeschooling our children, or perhaps not working at all. Others, whose jobs are deemed as essential, like medical workers, are still required to go to work.
Regardless of what situation you find yourself in, finding time to exercise and manage your stress is essential to handle the day’s ups and downs. Exercise is one of the most effective ways to deal with and handle stress and anxiety. Exercise lowers your body’s stress hormones, such as cortisol, and it also helps release endorphins, which are chemicals that improve your mood and act as natural painkillers. Exercise, such as fast walking, riding a bike, Pilates or weight training can also improve your sleep quality, which can be negatively affected by stress and anxiety. When you exercise regularly, you may feel more competent and confident in your body, which in turn promotes mental wellbeing.
Managing Your Stress
Play Soothing Music
Music can affect both our emotional and physiological states. And just like bass-heavy tunes can get you pumped up for an evening out, the melodic tunes of classic music can calm your nerves. Specifically, slower instrumental music played softly in the background has proven to be so effective in reducing stress and anxiety that it is used to calm patients before surgery.
Bathe Yourself in Light
Intuitively, you know you feel better when you’re out in the sunshine. There’s something about the longer days of spring that just make us feel good. And that something is more complicated than the warmth of the sun on your face.
According to the Mayo Clinic, brain chemicals associated with mood and sleep are affected by exposure to light. Light therapy is intended to affect these chemicals and reduce the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
So, get out into the sunshine. Take a walk in a park or a short hike. As long as you aren’t in a crowd, this can be wonderful therapy for the cooped up feeling you may be experiencing. If you’re indoors, make sure you keep the blinds up and allow the light to shine in.
Enforce Some Quiet Time
With children home from school, establishing some quiet time may be difficult. At the same time, because they’re home from school, you could consider some peace and quiet essential to everyone’s well-being.
Turn off the tv. Shut down the computers, phones, and electronic games. Then, just be.
Meditation, making a gratitude list, deep breathing, yoga, and tai-chi are all ways you can relieve stress. Any repetitive action will also relieve stress, so go ahead and pick up the knitting needles, bounce a basketball, complete a crossword or other puzzle, do some weeding, baking, painting, or coloring. Each will help relieve stress and anxiety.
Chiropractic Care
Most people think of chiropractic care only when they’re in sudden pain or have thrown out their back. In fact, regular chiropractic adjustments (even when you’re not experiencing back pain), can help improve emotional well-being and reduce stress.
When we’re stressed, our muscles naturally tend to contract, and we therefore experience a feeling of tension. Many people may feel tensed in their shoulders or other muscles in ways that aren’t conducive, to a balanced posture.
When people undergo episodes of chronic stress, tensed muscles remain in that state without relief. When this happens, the muscles aren’t given the opportunity to rest and realign themselves. That means that while muscles remain constantly tensed, the bones, tendons, ligaments, joints, and nerves suffer.
Integrating in these simple strategies can help you to cope with the current crisis and be your best both mentally and physically. We remain committed to helping you in any way that we can as well. For more information on stress management visit our website at: https://www.vannesschiro.com/services/stress-relief-wellness/
