What if you knew that poisonous chemicals were slowly accumulating in your body? Only tiny amounts at a time, but steadily and gradually accumulating to a level that eventually exposed you to illness. Would you want to stop that accumulation and reverse what had already occurred?

Of course you would.

Most likely this is in fact happening to you. Only the source isn’t some external form of pollution — it’s your body’s own stress response constantly being triggered.

Stress is a fact of our every day life. One definition is anything that requires a response and adaptation on our part. In today’s world, we respond all the time — we have to. Things change quickly and information comes at us from all directions.

Over time, chronic stress shifts our internal chemical balance. For example, people under chronic stress have higher levels of cortisol (a stress hormone) and lower levels of DHEA (the “youth hormone”). These changes severely impair your well-being and vitality.

Fortunately, there are some things you can do to defuse the situation and restore balance.

The Basics

First of all, a healthy lifestyle goes a long way toward creating stress hardiness. Eating a healthy diet, exercising well and getting rest all help minimize the effects of daily stress.

Diaphragmatic Breathing

One helpful thing you can do in the moment of stress is breathe. Really breathe. Since we have to breathe to live, you’d think we’d all be pretty good at it. The fact is, most of us breathe poorly.

We draw air into our lungs by expanding the volume of our chests. We do this by moving our rib cage and moving our diaphragm. The diaphragm moves much more air, yet most people mainly use their rib motion to breathe.

Under stress it gets even worse — breathing becomes tense and shallow.

To break the stress cycle, you can take a deep breath from the diaphragm. In a sense, it gives your body an “all clear” message. But to do it properly, you need to learn to use your diaphragm.

The diaphragm is a thin (about ¼-inch) layer of muscle separating the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity. At rest, it’s like an upside-down bowl. When it contracts, it flattens, pushing down toward the abdomen.

If you use your diaphragm, your stomach should expand as you breathe in. Babies naturally breathe this way. The rest of us have to practice a bit.

You can check if you are breathing properly from the diaphragm by lying down and resting your hand on your stomach. Take a deep breath. Your hand should move up. If it doesn’t, play with your breathing until you find how to move your hand up. When you do, you’ve just used your diaphragm.

A good practice is to consciously take 10 slow deep breaths, using both your diaphragm and rib cage, several times a day. If you feel yourself becoming tense, use deep breathing to break the cycle.

If it appeals to you, you can also imagine yourself breathing in relaxation and breathing out tension.

Meditation

The science is in — meditation neutralizes stress. Dr. Herbert Benson did the first serious research on the physiology of people meditating. He described his findings in his book The Relaxation Response and several books since. The relaxation response is the physiologic opposite of the stress response.

Further research has only confirmed the value of meditation. For example, dynamic brain scans demonstrate differences in brain function between people who meditate regularly and those who don’t.

Even though most people have heard of the benefits of meditation by now, they don’t do it. One reason often given for not meditating is that they don’t want to buy into a belief system. You don’t have to. While meditation can be done as part of a spiritual practice, it can be done simply for the physiology it induces.

Another reason given is lack of time. Some programs do call for 20-45 minutes twice a day, and that is a lot of time. However, much shorter periods, even 5 minutes, yield benefits. If you can’t find 5 minutes to sit quietly and slow your racing mind just a bit, that’s all the more proof you need to make time to do it. You better aim for 20 minutes.

Lots of resources are available to learn meditation. One site I like because it is very low key and not at all intimidating is http://www.learningmeditation.com/. (disable link) It gives good general instructions and has several free meditations available.

Positive Emotion

One the most efficient ways to defuse stress while it’s happening is to use positive emotion. In the January 18, 2008 issue of Total Health Breakthroughs, I described a technique to help you think better under stress. What I didn’t mention in that article is that this simple technique prevents the physical effects of stress from accumulating.

An advantage of this technique over meditation is that you can do it in the moment you’re feeling stressed — stuck in traffic, having an interesting “discussion” with a co-worker, etc. You don’t have to wait to be alone to quiet your mind.

Supplements

I don’t recommend supplements specifically for stress relief. I think it’s more effective to focus on the basics — a healthy lifestyle and the techniques mentioned above.

However, one supplement you might consider is phosphatidylserine. It contains a group of chemicals called phospholipids that are important components of cell membranes. Studies show measurable benefit and improved response to stress in people supplementing with phosphatidylserine.^1-2 It seems to work by blunting the usual increase in stress hormones. The dose used in one study showing effectiveness was 400 mg a day.

The daily little (and big) stresses of modern life can seem like “death by a thousand paper-cuts.” The approach outlined here will help you avoid their toxic effects.

References

1. Benton D. Nutr Neurosci 2001;4(3):169-78.
2. Stress 2004 Jun;7(2):119-26.

[Ed. Note: Joseph F. McCaffrey, MD, FACS is a board-certified surgeon with extensive experience in alternative medicine, including certification as a HeartMath Trainer. His areas of expertise include mind-body interaction and cognitive restructuring. Dr. McCaffrey strives to help people attain their optimum level of vitality through attention to all aspects of wellness. For more information, click here.]

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