FAQ for Stress
1. What is Stress?
Stress is an emotional and physical strain caused by the response to pressure from the outside world. Common stress reactions include tension, irritability, inability to concentrate, and a variety of physical symptoms like headache and a fast heartbeat.
2. What causes stress?
Many things in life cause stress. Following are some main causes.
- Work and workplace related
- Financial problems
- Personal relationships
- Children
- Daily hassles
3. How does stress affect the body?
Human body is evolved to respond instantly by preparing for ‘fight or flight’ due to the production of hormones. During such a situation,
- Heart beat speeds up
- Blood flows to the brain and muscles increases up to 400 percent
- Digestion stops (so it doesn’t use up energy that’s needed elsewhere)
- Muscle tension increases
- Fast breathing, to bring more oxygen to the muscles
4. Does exercise reduce stress?
Yes, exercise does reduce stress. Following are some of the stress reduction exercises.
- Yoga improves flexibility and helps to get into meditative state.
- Karate helps to gain self-discipline.
- Swimming helps to get in shape.
5. What are the other ways to manage stress?
There are many activities to manage stress like humor, hobbies, meditation, biofeedback and massage therapy.
6. Does stress cause acne?
There is a link between adult acne and stress, and research has proven this. This happens because the increase of stress hormones in the body causes an imbalance, resulting in weight gain, increased blood pressure and worsened acne.
7. How can sleep help in relieving stress?
Quality sleep is very important for physical and emotional health. Unfortunately, for many people, sleep deprivation contributes to stress. There are many reasons for this. Whatever the reason be, stress management practices helps to attain better sleep, either by helping to quiet the mind, or by relaxing the body and encouraging quality sleep.
Written by: Healthplus24 team
Date: Sep 5th,09