Since stress has the potential to negatively impact our health on so many levels, I thought it would be an important topic to discuss. Luckily, naturopathic medicine offers many options when it comes to managing stress.
Naturopathic Strategies for Stress Management
What is stress?
Stress can be both positive and negative in nature, but either case, the way we respond to stressors both physically and emotionally can have a major impact on health. Finding ways to manage your stress is an important piece of any wellness plan.
Physical stressors include dehydration, intense exercise, poor nutrition, lack of sleep - they can be considered stressors because of the way a body responds. All of those listed cause increase release of cortisol. Cortisol in the short term allows our bodies to adapt - some physical responses are increased heart and breathing rates, a heightened sense of awareness, dilated pupils. These responses prepare us for fight or flight (which come in very handy if you had to run from a lion or even with modern day triggers like giving a presentation). The problem with humans is that we often 'stress' over things that are not a direct threat. As explained by in 'Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers', animals respond to stress when necessary but when the immediate stress is gone, they go back to calmly eating grass.
Long-term stress can lead to many unwanted health concerns and has been associated with increased rates of heart disease and cancer, depression, anxiety, chronic pain, irritable bowel syndrome, and migraine headaches.
It is impossible and unwanted to completely eliminate stress, but finding strategies that help reduce the impact and eliminate unnecessary stress can be extremely beneficial.
Breathe and Meditate
Although an essential process for life, many of us do not know how to breathe and can learn to use our breath to positively influence our health and reduce stress. Breathing can be done in a formal setting such as a yoga class or while sitting in traffic or at your desk.
Many of the benefits of yoga are due to the focus on the breath. Yoga has been shown to modulate stress response systems resulting in lower heart rate and blood pressure.
A small but intriguing study characterized the effect of yoga on the stress response. In 2008, researchers at the University of Utah noted that people who have a poorly regulated response to stress are also more sensitive to pain. Using functional MRIs to monitor brain function, the researchers subjected participants to thumbnail pressure and found the lowest pain-related activity in yoga practitioners.
Meditation is becoming increasingly popular as a way to moderate the impact of stress. Many people find that spending as little as 10 minutes a day in silence with their breathe has a positive impact on their ability to handle stress during the day.
Naturopathic Rx: spend 10 minutes a day breathing. For more suggestions, see a handout called “Maintaining Life Balance” available at www.thepeartreeclinic.com.
2) Stay hydrated
Poor hydration is an immediate stressor that the body has many strategies to avoid (reduced urination, slowed breathing). Chronic low grade dehydration has been shown to cause fatigue, increased anxiety, and reduced cognitive function.
Water, like breathing, is essential for life - but expecting your body to run optimally on bare minimum is a lot to ask. You can make a huge difference in how you experience stress and recover from it by increasing your water intake.
Naturopathic Rx: Aim for 1/2 of your body weight in ounces (180 pound person should drink 90 ounces of water, or about 11 cups). See my article on water for more detailed information on your body's signs for more water.
Some people are choosing flavoured water for the taste. The concern is that many of these waters are sweetened with sugar or artificial sweeteners. A better option is to flavour your own water. Soaking fruit overnight in a large pitcher and adding lemon juice and/or honey can add a ton of flavour and colour to make drinking water a bit more interesting. Cube or puree the fruit and herbs and soak 8-12 hrs refrigerated. Strain if desired before drinking. Try these combos: watermelon and mint, cucumber and basil, strawberry and lime.
3) Sleep
Getting enough sleep goes a long way at reducing the impact of stress and improving our response to it. Step one is to give yourself enough time - aim for 8 hours of sleep during a 24 hours period.
Naturopathic Rx: If you find yourself having a hard time falling or staying asleep, consult your naturopathic doctor for sleep support such as acupuncture, melatonin, or sedating herbs such as valerian.
4) Herbal Medicine
Herbs are amazing, especially when it comes to support our stress glands, aka adrenals. Many herbs can be chosen based on their ability to increase or decrease cortisol levels, depending on a person’s needs. Known as “adaptogens” herbs such as eleutherococcus, licorice root, and rhodiola can do wonders at improving the body’s response to stress in the both the short and long term.
5) Exercise
Much research has shown the positive benefits of exercise. Regular exercise causes a release in endorphins, increases energy, improves sleep, lowers cortisol levels, and is an effective tool to manage depression and anxiety.
Naturopathic Rx: 30 minutes 5x/week of movement
6) Work towards a positive outlook and self-compassion
"Without self-love, you cannot see your true self in the mirror and accept yourself as worth loving; you only see what's wrong.". B. Siegel, MD
Naturopathic Rx: Suggested Resources
Brene Brown
Book: “The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are”
TED Talks: http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html
Dr. Gabor Maté, MD
Book: “When The Body Says No”
Bernie Siegel
Book: “The Art of Healing”
Robert Sapolsky
Book: “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers”
National Geographic Special: Stress, Portrait of a Killer
Much of our response to stress is perception - working on a positive outlook and using healthy coping strategies to manage stress can make a huge difference in how your mind and body react to stress.
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