HEALTHY LIVING Fix Your . . . Stress BY SYLVIA BOOTH HUBBARD


WHY YOU’RE STRESSED Age: We feel stress when our brains perceive a threat and set off a fl ood of hormones that prepare us for fi ght or fl ight. Usually, we relax once the threat disappears; however, as we age, repeated bouts of stress may wear out the brain’s ability to de-stress. Marital status: A national study shows divorced and widowed people face great physical stress that lingers long after the emotional wounds of losing their mates have healed. Work: According to several studies, job stress is starting to rival smoking and lack of exercise as a major threat to health. Working mothers in particular are confronted by stressful situations both at work and home, more so than men or other women, according to experts. Finances: Stress takes a devastating toll on the long-term unemployed and people with no health insurance. An analysis of 200 studies on the relationship between healthcare costs and money revealed that fi nancial stress contributes to roughly 60 percent of illness.


WHAT TO DO Identify the source: Try to shift from activities that produce stress to those that reduce them. Identify at least one activity that you really enjoy, and try to do it every day, if only for a few minutes. Network: People with supportive friends and family manage stress better. Those who are lonely or isolated are at greater risk. Exercise: The key is fi nding a physical activity you enjoy. Anything from a pickup basketball game to ballroom dancing to a walk helps. Whatever it is, schedule it and make it a part of your routine.


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Try alternative medicine: Aromatherapy, especially lavender, has long been valued for its calming eff ect. Check out the herb valerian but check with your doctor before taking this natural sedative. Eat dark chocolate: The “chocolate cure” helps many people de-stress. A clinical trial found that 1 ½ ounces of dark chocolate per day for two weeks reduced stress hormones. Be philosophical: Stress is a part of life; look for ways to lower it rather than get rid of it. The Serenity Prayer has wide currency for a reason: “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the diff erence.”


WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS Get professional help: If you are overwhelmed by stress, see your doctor, who can direct you to a counselor or therapist. You may be off ered cognitive-behavioral therapy, which helps identify sources of stress and helps you manage it. Biofeedback may also be available. Hypnosis therapy from a trained health professional may be helpful. All of


CAN STRESS MAKE YOU FAT?


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tress prepares your body to fight, flee . . . or feed?


If your body gears up for fighting or running, but you do neither — as is typical in modern times — many of us respond by eating. One of the stress hormones is cortisol, which urges the body to eat and replenish the energy expended when you run, say, from an angry bear. But these days, in the


post hunter-gatherer world, we are more likely to be threatened by huge credit card bills than by bears, and no physical energy is actually expended. The catch, studies show, is that your endocrine system still demands high- carbohydrate foods, and that’s where weight problems begin. One study, conducted


these therapies follow the thinking of many experts who believe the most important thing about everyday stress is not the stress itself but how you deal with it.


SOURCES: Mayo Clinic, National Institutes of Health, University of Maryland Medical Center, American Heart Association, National Institute of Mental Health, and WebMD


by researchers at Dundee University in Scotland, pinpointed a gene that leads to increased cravings for sugary and fatty foods during times of stress. One solution? Exercise.


Staying active actually relieves stress and can go a long way to keeping you thin as well.


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