Stress Free Summer

As the world opens back up and the weather improves, we all find ourselves out doing more and more and stressing our bodies to the max. Stress comes in different forms- physical, chemical, and mental/emotional. All are present every day in our lives, and often some are worse than others. These stressors can be unavoidable at times, but we tend to bring a lot of our own issues upon ourselves when it could be avoided or limited. Physical injuries can be hard to avoid (we don’t go around purposely hurting ourselves); but having your body functioning at its best will decrease the chances of these injuries and often leave them milder than the alternative. This is where consistent chiropractic care has the most direct benefit. Chemical and mental stressors are more avoidable, although not completely. Chemical stressors are what we put in our body, willingly or unwillingly. This is mostly what we eat and drink, which we do have control over. Since it is hard to avoid other types of stressors, this is where you can have the most impact on your health and well-being. As is our mantra- more good and less bad applies here. The healthier you eat, and the better nutrition you allow your body to use to function at its best, the better you will handle the unavoidable stressors.

As for mental stress, we all must find ways to deal with the hustle bustle lifestyle as best as possible. Although we have some great products that help reduce the stress reaction in your body, doing some simple daily exercises can create the change you need as well. Keeping things simple, we all can start with our attitude. Having an assertive, positive attitude about life and realizing we can’t control everything is a great place to start. If you are having a stressful time, simple activities such as meditation, yoga, aerobic exercise, and some deep breathing techniques can go a long way to calming your systems down when that are stressed. In addition, we always want to continue to eat healthy, drink plenty of water, and sleep more! Sleeping can be difficult when you live a stressful life but getting adequate rest and recovery is essential to helping your body deal with all the stressors and get you feeling as best as possible.

The key to managing our busy lifestyles is organizing your tasks and not overbooking yourself. Too often we see patients who have double booked appointments, are running late or must rush out the door to the next task, and it defeats the purpose of taking the time to take care of yourself. So, as your schedule changes this summer, let’s all pick up some better habits when it comes to stress management. Get your calendars in order, stop over-booking yourselves, and reduce the physical and chemical stress by taking care of your body.

Yours in health,

Dr. J.