The First Thing You Should Do When Stressed

Is it possible for stress to be relieved by doing a few exercises? Check out this article and find out. We’ll be looking at how exercise actually reduces stress, if you have to exercise while stressed for it to have any affect and if regular exercise helps you cope with stress in general. Once you’ve finished reading you will have a better understanding of one of the best, non prescription, ways to combat stress.

Here’s brief overview of the process your body goes through when stress starts to take over. The stress you feel in your body comes from the release into the bloodstream of a hormone known as ACTH (adrenocorticotrophic). ACTH stimulates the cortex of the adrenal gland i.e. gives your body an adrenaline rush which it then has to try and come back down from again. When you’re in this state your body is ready to react to dangerous situations, this is also known as a ‘fight or flight’ state of awareness. This is actually a very good time to exercise because your body is in the right mode for some strenuous exercise, and that exercise is what’s needed in order to stimulate both the hypothalamus and pituitary gland into producing endorphins, which pain relieving neurotransmitters, that are then circulated through the body via the bloodstream. Endorphins are the body’s natural response to reduce pain, and the euphoric feeling they produce helps to combat the tenseness caused by the ACTH in your bloodstream.

With the processes mentioned acting on the body should we exercised when stressed? If it’s at all possible, based on when and how the stress attack hits you, then yes doing exercise as soon as the stress sets in is the best time. It has been said that you need to do some form of strenuous exercise for a period of 30 minutes for the endorphins to start being produced and circulating through the body, however it has also been said that you do not have to do the full 30 minutes in one session. You can makeup the 30 minutes from three sessions of 10 minutes each, but the exercise does need to be strenuous enough to get you out of breath.

Based on what we now know, would exercising regularly help when coping with stress in general? If you’re able to do some form of aerobic exercise on a daily basis it can help you to reduce your stress levels. While it’s not a cure on it’s own, you should also take measures like planning your day, taking time out to relax and having a healthy diet, it can increase your fitness levels to a point where stress will not take as much of a toll on you. Even just the act of doing something that has no connection with the situations that cause you stress can help to clear your mind and give you a chance to see the problem in a different light - the natural rush from the endorphins can also help you to look at things in a positive rather than a negative way.

In conclusion, can exercise reduce stress? If done at the right times and as part of an overall stress management regimen then the answer is yes. Prevention is always better than cure but not always possible, so if you can’t avoid the situations then exercise can be a major step in the direction of alleviating the stress when it arises.

Arthur Scott is a contributor to Stress and Exercise

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