Ask many people who have made exercise a part of their daily life what they consider to be their number one reason for sticking with it and you might be surprised at their responses. Once weight goals are achieved, additional benefits of physical fitness become more noticeable. As they become more accustomed to daily workouts, the stress reducing benefits of physical fitness become more of a priority. Skip more than one day of your regularly scheduled workouts and you too may notice that your stress level begins to climb. This isn’t a coincidence; science has shown that stress levels are affected by physical exercise.

Much of the stress busting benefits of physical fitness are attributed to little things in the brain called endorphins. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Physical activity helps to bump up the production of your brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters.” These brain chemicals are in charge of many characteristics attributed to stress free living including relaxation and an overall sense of well being.

In addition, regular exercise has been shown to increase self confidence. When you aren’t pleased with yourself, you are far less likely to be pleased with the world in general. Self confidence goes a long way in the fight against stress. According to an article found in the Journal of Health Psychology, regular exercise is shown to improve body image. And as we know, how you feel about your body has a great impact on how you feel about yourself in general.

Perhaps the most telling sign that exercise reduces stress is how you feel after taking several days off. Once you are accustomed to the regular benefits of physical fitness you may begin to see a few days off as a punishment rather than a break.

It’s important to keep all of the benefits of physical fitness in mind when developing a workout routine. If you are only focused on losing 10 pounds, what do you think will happen when those 10 pounds are lost? Extra weight is only a symptom of a much larger problem, a lack of physical health. By noticing all of the benefits of physical fitness you can ensure that you have plenty of reasons to stick with your workout program.

In today’s economy saving money is crucial, being able to support yourself just in case you’re one of the many who lose their jobs this year. It’s a scary and stressful thought that can take a huge toll on your body and mind. But that’s life…. is there any thing we can really do about it?

Of course there is, your life is in your hands. You can control how you feel mentally and physically. Have you ever thought about when you spend the most money? What is your mood like? If you’re anything like me you shop when your down. Coming home with a bunch of bags in your hands some how makes you feel better, at least for the moment. But it’s not good for you in the long run. How much money did you blow on things you don’t really need, just to boost your mood, spending money that you could have put in savings?

Instead of heading to the mall for that sprit uplift, put on some sweat pant and start moving around. Start a new workout routine! Working out will help you in so many ways. It will get you physically fit, boost your energy and of course change your mood! You will feel much better about yourself, eliminating the need to shop for comfort. Putting your hard eared money back in to your savings, instead of in the hands of your favorite department store, allowing yourself to have a more secure future, no matter what the economy is like.

Many people know that stress affects their health. Some people also realize stress affects their weight as well. Whether you reach for a bag of chips because you crave them or because they fit your busy and hectic lifestyle, stress affects your health in many ways and can put a damper on your weight loss efforts without you even realizing it.

You’re busy at work with deadlines and a crabby boss. You come home to a messy house and the needs of kids or a spouse. Bills are mounting and you just want to relax but can’t find the time. You seem to always have too much on your plate and you may feel at your wits end. Stress comes from all different directions and there is little we seem to be able to do about it. Stress affects your mental health just as much if not more than your physical health. Once you are able to get a handle with how it makes you feel mentally and emotionally, you can begin to reduce the physical effects of stress.

Stress can lead you to eat more; it can stifle your metabolism and make you dread a workout. Stress is the enemy in the battle against fat. Many people are shocked when they leave a stressful job that they immediately begin to lose weight. The effect of stress on the body is very pronounced, even when we have a tendency to overlook it.

Learning how to effectively deal with stress is important to your sense of well being, your physical health and the health of your relationships. From meditation to deep breathing exercises, there are many effective ways to handle the stress.

One of the best ways to reduce stress in your life is through working out. By elevating your heart rate and using your muscles you can physically release a lot of the tension your body is holding. In addition, focusing on the fitness doesn’t allow you to simultaneously worry about all of the things that are stressing you out.

Some stress is good for us, exercising puts our bodies under stress and we know it is positive stress. Other stressors, however, are not so good for us. Big stressors like catastrophes and smaller ones like lack of sleep can all have negative side effects. Being conscious of how does stress affect health can help you deal with negative stressors in your life and avoid the elevated risks that stress can cause. Think about the things that stress you out on a daily basis. It may be relationships with people at work or perhaps even people in your home. Maybe you are worried about your finances or your job security in these uncertain times. Everything from your diet to your children can affect your stress levels. Elevated stress, though, can have disastrous long term effects on your overall health. So, how does stress affect health? In many ways.

Stress can lead to a variety of health issues. Stress can make it easier for us to get sick as our bodies are preoccupied. Stress can also lead to insomnia and we know that lack of sleep can have long term negative health consequences. Stress can also play a role in headaches, ulcers, acne, hives, weight gain, high blood pressure, depression, anxiety, elevated asthma risk, irritable bowel syndrome, fertility problems, neck and back pain, and lack of sexual desire. The list of how does stress affect health could go on and on, but you get the idea.

When you attempt to address how does stress affect health, it is important you realize that stress is different for all of us. What may cause you many sleepless nights might be taken in stride by someone else. Making a list of stressors in your life can help you recognize what the controllable factors are in your life affecting your life.

Once you recognize your stressors you can address them one by one. Reducing the affect of these stressors on your life will help you prevent negative health effects. Also, learning how to effectively deal with stress through stress relieving activities like meditation and exercise can decrease your chances of suffering from stress related illness.

Caring for your body is a full time job. From watching what you eat to making time for a regular workout, keeping tabs on your health is a daily effort. For many busy adults, time is a limited resource and fitting all of your healthy habits into the day can be quite a challenge. If you have ever had to rearrange a schedule in order to get a run in or take time to prepare a meal, you know what I mean. Even for some of the most health conscious adults, however, stress reduction takes a backseat.
 
When you consider all the negative side effects of stress, relaxation practices should be a no-brainer. Stress can increase your blood pressure, harm your immune system, cause you to overeat, and possibly take years off your life. However, stress is unavoidable. You will have stress in your life and the key lies in learning how to effectively manage it through healthy outlets, including good stress reduction techniques.
 

Take a few minutes out of your busy day for stress reduction by:

 
1. Slow, conscious breathing. Take 10 long slow breathes, inhaling for 5 counts and holding the breath for 2. Slowly exhale for another 5 counts and repeat. While you exhale, picture all the negativity, stress, and tension exiting your body through the breath. Replace the stress and tension with joy and happiness on the inhale, filling your body with life-giving oxygen.
 
2. Take a quick walk. Weather permitting, leave your office for a 10 minute break and take a quick walk around the block. Increasing your heart rate and getting fresh air will immediately improve your mood and leave you feeling more alert.
 
3. Journaling. When your mind seems to be racing and you cannot focus, a moment spent jotting down your thoughts can clear the mental air and leave you feeling more relaxed. Don’t worry about what you are writing, just get some thoughts out.
 
There is nothing remarkable or new about these stress reduction tips. Sometime we all need a reminder though, on how to keep our mental baggage to a minimum. It is vital that you find a healthy way of reducing stress and relaxing. Whether it is through meditation or exercise, your approach to stress reduction techniques is not as important as the fact that you are actually managing the stress. Making time to reduce stress will not only leave you feeling better, it will also improve your health and your chances at weight loss success.

No one wants to be overweight, out of shape, or unhealthy. However, plenty of us fit into all three of these categories. The frustrating truth is that life happens and we don’t always make our own health a priority. We are busy putting our careers, our children, our spouses and even our schoolwork ahead of our health. We get sucked into a self perpetuating cycle in which we don’t exercise, sleep or eat properly, which leads to exhaustion, which leads to lack of sleep, exercise and nutrition – you see the pattern. Whether you’re a busy executive or a stay-at-home mom, it is easy to get into this rut and before you know it, you no longer recognize the person in the mirror looking back at you. It sounds a little depressing, but don’t fret – there is hope!
 
If you can chisel out just a few minutes a day to devote to exercise, you’ll quickly begin to see increases in energy levels and decreases in stress levels. To start with, make a conscious decision to get short spurts of exercise wherever you can fit it in. For example, take the stairs instead of the elevator or park in the far parking spaces at stores or at work instead of parking a close as you can. Try to do some crunches before bed each night and do some squats when you wake in the morning. Start with just 10 repetitions and work your way up to 50 or 100. Just do something – something is always better than nothing at all. If you commit to this in the beginning, you’ll find that as time passes, you’ll feel motivated to do just a little bit more, and then a little more after that. Before you know it, you’ll be working out for 20 or 30 minutes a day. You’ll quickly find that you have much more energy to accomplish your daily tasks. You’ll also find that you’ll sleep better at night if you’ve exercised at some point during the day. And, as a benefit of improved sleep…you guessed it, you’ll experience increased energy!

To accompany your commitment to daily exercise, try to make healthier food choices. You don’t have to plunge head first into an extreme diet plan. Simply make small changes to your existing diet. Try to think about what you’re eating before you eat it. It’s very easy for busy people to eat blindly, grabbing whatever is convenient just to ease the pains of hunger. To avoid grabbing candy and chips, buy prepackaged healthy snacks. Protein bars are great for this. So is low-fat yogurt, vegetable platters, fruit salads or cottage cheese. Improving your food choices even just a little bit will make a big difference in your overall energy levels.

It doesn’t take a lot of time or discipline to lose weight, get in shape and improve your overall health. If you can convince yourself that your health is important enough to devote just a few minutes a day to, you’ll look and feel younger and more energetic in no time at all.