Tips and tools to have more control of your mind and body to aid the stress response
The stresses and strains of modern day life can often result in us feeling overwhelmed. The normal cues that we use to balance ourselves out: our feelings, stress, anxiety and our sleep cycle are muddied by the blue light from our devices and our lack of movement in the day. This means that we are less attuned with our body and more prone to effects of stress.
Dr Mithu Storoni, author of Stress Proof, has suggested that our brain likes to predict, this reduces uncertainty. When it can't predict, it feels unsafe and if this feeling goes on too long we can suffer from chronic stress, with our bodies producing high levels of cortisol.
Tips to help us buffer the stress response include:
Going to bed tired - one of the effects of high intensity exercise is the release of cortisol into the bloodstream. So, if this is your thing you should plan for high intensity training as early as possible in the day. Regular low and moderate intensity exercise helps reduce cortisol and buffer us against stress. So when we feel overwhelmed or stressed a short 15 minute walk would help bring us back to our baseline
Using blue light blocking glasses in the evening. Blue and bright light confuse our brains into thinking that sunset hasn’t occurred, this creates unease and uncertainty and the brain doesn’t produce the same rates of melatonin which is a natural anxiety reducing hormone. So consider how to effectively wind down and limit your exposure to bright light and blue light in the evening.
Gaining some control over our bodies and environment - although it might not always be possible to control our environment, we can learn to gain more control over our mind and body. By doing this we our brain is perceiving that we are in more control and there is less uncertainty and stress.
Body Control - yoga can teach us to be more flexible but it can also teach us to listen to our bodies and control ourselves and our breathing. It can slow us down and help ground us. One yoga routine that I find really accessible and grounding is the one below:
Mind Control - I have also attached a ‘control room’ download which can be listened to to help you dial up feelings of confidence, drive, energy and dial down feelings that are no longer serving you.
If you feel overwhelmed with stress please book in a conversation with myself or Sian. Alternatively you can read more on this topic:
Dr Mithu Storoni ‘Stress-Proof: the ultimate guide to stress free living
Or listen to her podcast linked below:
https://drchatterjee.com/becoming-stress-proof-with-dr-mithu-storoni/