The word "stress" gets bantered around a lot, and there are many stressors in our lives that cause tension. Some of these are external such as physical aspects like noise, light and space (Eliminating Stress is a Basic Component of Holistic Health). Most stressors are internal; we react to daily hassles such as commuting to work and traffic accidents, misplaced keys, bossiness or aggression from others and life events such as moving, gaining or losing employment, financial and health disadvantages, marriage, birth or death. Suffering on-going stress keeps the body in a constant state of alert with heightened senses and stress hormones like cortisol (Exercise for Stress Relief - Fitness & Wellness News). It is now common knowledge that exercise helps relieve stress. It releases built up tension, offers a venue for releasing emotions, releases endorphins, the "happy hormone", promotes health and well-being so that it lessens the experience of stress and provides a social outlet for people thus bringing more enjoyment to the experience. Some researchers would go so far to call exercise "therapy" for emotional disorders such as anxiety and depression.
Stress is a normal physical response to events that make you feel threatened or upset your balance in some way. Regardless of whether it is imagined or real, when you sense danger the body's defenses kick into high gear in a rapid automatic process known as the "fight or flight response" (Understanding Stress - Signs, Symptoms, Causes and Effects - www.helpguide.org/mental/stress_signs.htm). The body responds to stress in the following way; when you perceive a threat, your nervous system response by releasing a flood of stress hormones (adrenaline and cortisol). These hormones rouse the body for emergency action: Your heart pounds faster, muscles tighten, blood pressure rises, breath quickens, and your senses become sharper. These physical changes increase your strength and stamina, speed your reaction time and enhance your focus - preparing you to either fight or flee from the danger at hand (Understanding Stress - Signs, Symptoms, Causes and Effects - www.helpguide.org/mental/stress_signs.htm). Stress can have a detrimental effect on a person's physical and mental health; the heightened levels of stress hormones like cortisol can leave the body susceptible to everyday viruses such as colds and flu, as well as more serious chronic conditions, such as heart disease, obesity and high blood pressure (Exercise for Stress Relief - Fitness & Wellness News).
While researching prescribed stress releases, I've discovered there is a common thing prescribed by experts: Get some exercise! Whether it be the dissociation that comes through focusing this heightened energy on something else, or the release of tension through physical exertion, or the release of endorphins in the body , the general sense of heath and well being or the newly discovered social outlet that most exercise environments offer, all these factors seem to lessen the experience of stress and promote positive energy. Researches Jasper Smits, a psychologist at Southern Methodist University, and Michael Otto of Boston University are even working on guidelines for primary care providers of anxiety and depression victims recommending that a regular exercise regiment is included in the treatment of these conditions (Exercise for Stress Relief - Fitness & Well Being News - hhtp://fitnessandwellnessnews.com/health/exercise-for-stress-relief/). These two researches found that exercise had the same success rate at improving mood disorders as antidepressant drugs which is a $10 billion dollar a year industry in the US and has many common side effects such as sleep disturbances, nausea, tremors and changes in body weight (Is Exercise the Best Drug for Depression? - Laura Blue - Time Sat Jun 19th 2010) . In 1999, Dallas University conducted a similar experiment where they compared the response of depressed adults who participated in an aerobic exercise plan to those treated with sertraline, the drug that, marketed as Zoloft, was earning Pfizer mare than $3 billion annually before its patient expired in 2006 (Is Exercise the Best Drug for Depression? - Laura Blue - Time Sat Jun 19th 2010) . Again it was found that patients who participated in aerobic exercise programs experienced the same positive mood changes.
Boxing for fitness organizations such as Thump have found success purely out of marketing themselves to a stressed society. As well as offering a high intensity, full body workout, boxing classes offer a safe environment to get out the aggression you're feeling (4 Stress Relieving Benefits of Boxing - Fitness Articles - 27th Aug 2010). Pent up anger is one of the most explosive and damaging things we can hold in our bodies; it can cause physical and mental symptoms, and can cause negativity with our personal and professional relationships. A boxing class can be the very 'ring' to work out your pent up anger. When you see marketing material for such boxing programs as thump and even non-contact martial arts fitness programs such as Body Combat, it speaks of empowerment, confidence and strength - the qualities found wanting in every stressful environment. The skills learned in a boxing class help create the mind-set that you have the necessary tools to cope with the situation at hand! You feel strong and feel you can hold your ground. Bring on the fight!
Dancing creates such a release to relieve and express the emotions that experts have even devised such a thing as "dance therapy." Dance requires you to use all your senses and you can learn how to relax and regain the inner-balance through various movements related to different dynamics, rhythms and tempos (Dance as Stress Relief: Synchronize with the Music - www.stressreductionbasics.com/daneasstressrelief.html). The creative aspect of dance helps release the emotions that stress can block and allows self-expression. So feelings are brought to the surface and tension is released through physical expression and exertion. Dance therapy is often enjoyable for most people and can help individuals identify and express innermost emotions bringing those feelings to the surface. In doing so this can bring about a "sense of renewal and feelings of unity and completeness" (Eliminating Stress is a Basic Component of Holistic Health - Dance to Reduce Your Stress - www.better-your-health.com). The creativity, energy and motivation can help build confidence and this can turn into a fun, rewarding and stress-free experience.
The social aspect of a Fitness Club can also inspire connection to others and relieve stress. In a Study conducted by Nick Crossley at the University of Manchester (In the Gym: Motives, Meanings and Moral Careers) he found that the social aspect of training was more of a motivator to get people to attend fitness clubs on a regular basis than the individual initial fitness goals. People were attending clubs to touch base with their 'gym buddies" and may have just attended to follow an "ongoing romantic or work saga of one of their gym buddies." So exercise leads to connection and opens another social outlet away from the stressors of our lives that we can visit and escape to.
Physical exercise offers an environment where heightened energy levels can be harnessed, focused and put to positive use. We can discover fitness training methods that can release our aggressions and empower us with a sense of confidence and we can discover physical activities that enable us to express emotions as a means of venting our inner most issues. We can retreat to a place of sanctuary that offers an escape and a social environment where we feel connected to in a positive way. We have all discovered an outlet for release and relief! And the side effects of that? We get fitter and healthier!
.
No comments:
Post a Comment