When something feels overwhelming, we are under stress. Generally, something that feels like a problem, threat, or an obstacle is considered a stress. In other words, stress is a challenge to our well-being. On the other hand, stress can actually be good when it motivates us to act instead of procrastinate. What we need to be careful of are the physical responses to stress: blood pressure and pulse rise, breathing accelerates, digestive and immune systems go down, muscles tense, and sleep escapes us. Be aware of the specific stresses in your life, and learn to manage them.
Tips to Reduce Stress:
- Eliminate caffeine from your diet. It’s the quickest way to reduce cortisol production and elevate the production of DHEA, the leading anabolic youth hormone. Just 200 mg of caffeine (one 12 oz cup of coffee) increases blood cortisol levels by 30 percent in one hour! Cortisol can remain elevated for up to 18 hours in the blood. This is the easiest step to decrease your catabolic metabolism and increase your anabolic metabolism.
- Take Laminine to sleep deeper and longer. Our studies show that Laminine not only lowers cortisol levels but also helps decrease the effects of stress on the body by boosting the immune system. The average 50-year-old has nighttime cortisol levels more than 30 times higher than the average 30-year-old. Laminine may help to regulate sleep/wake cycles, which impact stress levels and cortisol in the body.
- Exercise regularly to build muscle mass and increase brain output of serotonin and dopamine, brain chemicals that reduce anxiety and depression. Take a supplement containing DHEA to shorten the adaptation period for out-of-shape muscles and the cardiovascular system to adjust, as the adaptation period often discourages people from continuing to exercise before they get in shape. DHEA also accelerates the building of muscle mass and increases the feeling of being strong and energetic.
- Keep your blood sugar stable. Avoid sugar and refined carbohydrates in your diet to keep from spiking your insulin production. Eat frequent small meals balanced in protein, complex carbohydrates and good fats such as olive oil and flaxseed oil. Diets rich in complex carbohydrates keep cortisol levels lower than low carbohydrate diets. Stay hydrated: dehydration puts the body in stress and raises cortisol levels. Keep pure water by your bed and drink it when you first wake up and before you go to sleep.
- Meditate or listen to relaxation tapes that promote the production of alpha (focused alertness) and theta (relaxed) brain waves. Avoid jolting alarm clocks that take you from delta waves (deep sleep) to beta waves (agitated and anxious) and stimulants like caffeine that promote beta waves while suppressing alpha and theta waves.
