Stress

As we move toward fall, we start to evolve our different stressors as well as how our bodies handle them. Some have kids back in school, others have changes in work schedule, and we all have the increased stress of knowing that summer is quickly coming to the end. Handling your stress is really the most important thing you can do for your health- reducing the negative impact on your body, being healthy enough to handle stress as it comes flying at you, and having the proper tools to combat issues as they arise are all key pieces in determining how well you feel.

Stress comes in different forms- physical, chemical, and mental/emotional. All are present every day in everyone’s lives, and often times some are worse than others. Physical stressors are when you are affecting your body directly- something that we all know chiropractic care can benefit. Chemical stressors are what we put in our body, willingly or unwillingly. This is mostly what we eat and drink, but also includes what we breathe. While it is hard to avoid what we breathe, we can always control what we consume, and making healthy choices in that regard can go a long way towards how your body deals with stress. If you do breathe in some pathogens and get sick this upcoming cold/flu season, we have plenty of options on hand to combat infections and get your immune system back up and running. It never hurts to be proactive with boosting your immune system- we all benefit from basic vitamins, minerals, herbs, and probiotics in more ways than one.

As for mental stress, we all have to 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 they are stressed. In addition, we always want to be eating health, drinking plenty of water, and the most important thing for stress management- sleep! Sleeping can be difficult when you live a stressful life but getting rest and recovery time is essential to helping your body deal with all the stressors and get you feeling as best as possible. Getting better sleep can be a simple change in habits or something simple like getting a new pillow. When it is more complex, we may have to introduce some extra brain support, hormone balancing, and of course, stress reduction.

So, as your schedule changes heading into this fall, let’s all pick up some better habits when it comes to stress management. Get your calendars and schedules in order, reduce the physical and chemical stress by taking care of your body, and change your mental capacity for stress by having a better attitude, taking some time for yourself, and getting all the sleep you need.

Yours in Health,

Dr. J.