Stress is the curse of living in modern times.
Everyone suffers from
stress.
And the stress we suffer takes a heavy toll on our bodies,
emotions and minds.
Feeling stressed out, worn out by fatigue or just simply having a
miserable day, the best thing to do is relax.
Watching television may be a form of relaxation for some, but is not a
recommended method by experts.
When we watch TV we are bombarded with
commercials, ads, sounds and images.
So how do we achieve relaxation?
If
there are thousands of ways we can get stressed, one of them is not
meeting deadlines, there are also many ways we can relax.
In recent studies, experts have determined that heart disease is linked to
anger and irritability is linked to mental stress.
Too much stress brings
about ischemia that can lead to or cause a heart attack.
Relaxation takes
on added importance in light of this matter.
Managing your anger and
attitude is significant to heart health, and relaxation can help you
manage stress.
One way of relaxation is transcendental meditation.
Recent studies have
also shown that this method might reduce artery blockage, which is a major
cause for heart attack and stroke.
People practice transcendental
meditation by repeating uttering soothing sounds while meditating, this is
to achieve total relaxation.
The researchers found that practitioners of
transcendental meditation significantly reduced the thickness of their
arterial wall compared with those who didn't practice transcendental
meditation.
Another study on another method of relaxation, acupuncture, seems to
reduce high blood pressure by initiating several body functions for the
brain to release chemical compounds known as endorphins.
Endorphin helps
to relax muscles, ease panic, decrease pain, and reduce anxiety.
Yoga is also another method for relaxation and may also have similar
effects like acupuncture.
In another study, participants were subjected to
several minutes of mental stress.
Then they were subjected to various
relaxation techniques, such as listening to nature sounds or classical
music.
Only those who did Yoga significantly reduced the time it took for
their blood pressures to go back to normal.
Yoga is a form of progressive
relaxation.
Breathing is one of the easiest methods to relax.
Breathing influences
almost all aspects of us, it affects our mind, our moods and our body.
Simply focus on your breathing, after some time you can feel its effects
right away.
There are several breathing techniques that can help you reduce stress.
Another easy way to achieve relaxation is exercise.
If you feel irritated
a simple half-hour of exercise will often settle things down.
Although
exercise is a great way to lose weight, it does not show you how to manage
stress appropriately.
Exercise should also be used in conjunction with
other exercise method.
One great way of relaxation is getting a massage.
To gain full relaxation,
you need to totally surrender to the handling and touch of a professional
therapist.
There are several types of massages that also give different levels of
relaxation.
Another method of relaxation is Biofeedback.
The usual
biofeedback-training program includes a 10-hour sessions that is often
spaced one week apart.
Hypnosis is one controversial relaxation technique.
It is a good
alternative for people who think that they have no idea what it feels like
to be relaxed. It is also a good alternative for people with stress
related health problems.
Drugs are extreme alternatives to relaxation.
They are sometimes not safe
and are not effective like the other relaxation methods.
This method is
only used by trained medical professionals on their patients.
These relaxation techniques are just some of the ways you can achieve
relaxation.
Another reason why we need to relax, aside from lowering blood
pressure in people and decreasing the chances of a stroke or a heart
attack, is because stress produces hormones that suppress the immune
system, relaxation gives the immune system time to recover and in doing so
function more efficiently.
Relaxation lowers the activities within the brains' limbic system; this is
the emotional center of our brain.
Furthermore, the brain has a periodic need for a more pronounced activity
on the right-hemisphere.
Relaxation is one way of achieving this.
Relaxation can really be of good use once a relaxation technique is
regularly built into your lifestyle.
Choose a technique that you believe
you can do regularly.
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