Progressive muscle relaxation is a technique that can help you to relax and unwind by tensing and releasing the muscles in turn. It can be used for relaxing throughout the day, or for helping your body to relax when you’re trying to sleep. Here’s a quick guide on how to use progressive muscle relaxation effectively.

Before You Begin: Before you get started, you’ll want to be in a comfortable position. This could mean sitting or lying down, as long as you feel relaxed and comfortable. Make sure you’re in a quiet place and make yourself comfortable. You want to be able to concentrate on the feelings and differences between tight and loose muscles.

1) Breathe Slowly: Start by breathing slowly, feeling yourself relaxing more deeply with each breath.

2) Start At Your Feet: Start by pointing your toes and tensing them, gradually let this tightness go before moving up and doing the same with your calves and muscles behind the shins. You want to tense your muscles as you inhale slowly, and release them as you exhale – this will boost the relaxing effect.

3) Work Your Way Up: Now work your way up throughout the body, tensing your thighs, then relaxing, now onto your stomach, your arms, your hands, back, shoulders, neck and face.

4) Work On Your Face: When you reach your face, bite your teeth together then relax your jaw. Tense all the muscles in your face and then slowly release them.

Now that you’ve worked your way all through the body you should feel a wave of relaxation over you. This is a great way to relax if you find it difficult otherwise. Practice it as often as you need to – you’ll find that it becomes easier every time.

Why Does Progressive Muscle Relaxation Work?

When you use this technique, you’ll be teaching yourself the difference between the feelings of being tense and relaxed. Many of us hold tension in our muscles without even realizing, and practicing this skill can help you to realize when you may not be relaxed. The feelings of physical relaxation of the muscles, in direct contrast to the prior tension, have a knock on effect that leaves you feeling mentally relaxed at the same time.

So, if you suffer from stress, anxiety or difficulty sleeping, try progressive muscle relaxation as a way to relax both the body and the mind. It takes a little practice but can be extremely effective.

Acupressure, an ancient healing art, uses pressure to press key points on the surface of the skin to stimulate the body’s natural self-curative abilities. When these points are pressed, they help relax muscular tension and promote the circulation of blood and the body’s life force to aid healing. Acupuncture and acupressure use the same points, but acupuncture employs needles, while acupressure uses the gentle but firm pressure of the hands or feet, or use the blunt spikes of acupressure balls or mats. Acupressure Fitness products, such as our Body Mat, are designed to maximize the healthful benefits of acupressure in convenient and well made products. We encourage you to consider our products as part of your overall health and fitness program. … More >>
Acupressure Mat Spike Body Mat for stress, neck pain, back pain or foot pain relief

Caffeine and sugar are big no-nos when it comes to sleep. These are chemical
stimulants that will act on your nervous system and leave you staring wide-eyed
at the ceiling for hours on end. Nicotine is another stimulant, so smoking a
cigarette before bed should also be avoided. You may have heard that alcohol is
a depressant, and you may therefore think that alcohol before sleep is harmless
at worst or quite helpful at best, but you would be wrong. Although alcohol may
indeed make you drift off to sleep faster, you are bound to suffer from a night
of sleep characterized by twisting, turning, sweating, toilet breaks, and
overall poor sleep. Eating a heavy meal within a couple of hours before bed
will make it hard to enjoy quality rest. On the other hand, going to bed on an
empty stomach may cause you to experience hunger pains throughout the night.
Your childhood glass of warm milk with light snack is a timeless sleeping
remedy.

If you like the occasional afternoon nap, be aware that, depending on your
body, this may make it difficult for you to fall asleep at your proper time.
Consider substituting a brisk walk for a nap.

Take control of your sensory stimuli. For hearing, if there is too much ambient
noise in your area, consider purchasing a set of soundproof headphones. For
sight, if too much light is making it hard to sleep or waking you too early in
the morning, consider purchasing an eye mask, the type people wear on
airplanes. For feeling, ensure your room maintains a comfortable temperature,
neither too hot nor too cold. And leave the door or window open so that you
are getting adequate ventilation.

Discover ways to slow your body and mind down in preparation for sleep. Ensure
that you have taken care of all the nagging problems of the day that you can.
Perhaps listen to some classical or New Age music. Read a book that does not
require too much mental strain. Have a warm bath with essential oils. Do some
yoga or Pilates. Meditate. Imagine peaceful scenes. Do what works for you.

Do not spend your time looking at the clock, counting the hours, and causing
yourself additional anxiety and stress. Each time you look at the clock may add
half an hour to the time it takes you to fall asleep.

Invest in a good mattress and pillow. There are too many considerations in this
regard to discuss here, so your best bet is to seek advice from a knowledgeable
friend or relative or discuss your options with a salesperson you can trust.

As a last resort, many insomniacs resort to sleeping pills. Nothing is stopping
you from this approach if you feel you need it, but before you start taking
sleeping pills, see whether a natural herbal remedy such as Valerian offers
relief.

Finally, keep in mind that the old guideline about eight hours of sleep every
night is only that, a guideline. You yourself can tell the difference between
five hours of deep sleep and eight hours of light sleep. Listen to your body
and you will not go wrong.

Spa services as well as natural stress relief therapies usually engage the different senses to calm frazzled nerves, relax tense muscles and lower heart rate in order to relieve a person from stress. Most stress relief treatments make use of the sense of touch to release stress from the body such as massage and facials.

The effects of these methods are greatly enhanced when they are performed in conjunction with aromatherapy stress relief. Engaging the sense of smell is known to have a significant impact in a person’s physical and emotional condition, which is why most spas include aromatherapy stress relief in their treatments.

Aromatherapy stress relief is a holistic approach to treating stress, wherein essential oils extracted from flowers, plants, herbs and trees are used to promote a sense of well-being in a person. These natural essential oils are proven to soothe the central nervous system. When aromatherapy stress relief is used along with therapeutic massage or acupuncture, the essential oils are applied or massaged on the skin, which also helps the hand glide smoothly over the skin. The therapist may also place the essential oils under the person’s nose to provide maximum benefits.

Aromatherapy stress relief is popular in spas everywhere but it is also separate practice of many holistic professionals. Some of the common essential oils used in aromatherapy stress relief include lavender, sandalwood, chamomile, rose, jasmine, eucalyptus, peppermint and sage.

For a quick aromatherapy stress relief, put a drop of lavender essential oil on a tissue and bring this with you. Sniff the tissue whenever you feel stressed. Alternatively, scent your work area with lavender essential oil mixed with almond oil by cleaning your desk, for example, with a cloth dabbed in the blended oils.

You can try aromatherapy stress relief on your own but you would need to learn about it first to get the most benefits. Read about this wonderful stress relief therapy. Because of its popularity, you can easily find books and websites about aromatherapy stress relief or about holistic therapies that will include a section about aromatherapy. Take your time to learn about it and start relieving stress in a natural way.

In general, cortisol is present in the body at elevated levels in the morning and lowest in the evening. Small increases of cortisol have some positive effects like quick bursts of energy, improved immunity, heightened memory function, and lower sensitivity to pain. In addition, moderate doses of cortisol helps maintain homeostasis in the body. Homeostasis is the property of living organisms that regulates its internal environment to maintain a stable and constant state in terms of body temperature, acidity, and nutrient and waste balance. Health experts stress that this process is critical for survival and good health. With minimal or no thought at all, people maintain and restore homeostasis all the time. For example, people drink if they are thirsty, wear a sweater when it is cold, or take a rest after an intense physical activity. All these actions contribute to ones state of homeostasis. Dilemmas occur when the body’s cells fail to communicate properly, and cause breakdown in homeostasis. This disturbance can lead to poor health and later into serious health conditions.

Sustained and prolonged levels of cortisol, however, may lead to many harmful effects like high cholesterol, suppression of the immune system, and acceleration of the aging process. Prolonged stress may lead to imbalance of cortisol in the body which causes disturbance in the components of the digestive, cardiovascular, respiratory, and other major systems of the body. Medical specialists conclude that such imbalance may lead to several illness like cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to these harmful effects, high levels of cortisol may lead to weight gain.  When people become stressed, the adrenal glands produce more cortisol that release sugar in the blood which then leads to additional weight gain. Studies add that people who secrete higher levels of cortisol as a reaction to stress tend to eat more food that is high in carbohydrates. To keep cortisol levels under control, the body’s relaxation response is activated during stressful situations. The following methods have been proven by many health experts to be very beneficial helping the mind and the body relax and, in the process, control the body’s production of cortisol:

·    Journaling or keeping a diary
·    Self-hypnosis
·    Exercise
·    Yoga
·    Listening to music
·    Meditation
·    Sex

Cortisol production varies from person to person.  People are biologically designed to react differently to different forms and intensities of stress. There are many kinds of medication out in the market that are designed to reduce high levels of cortisol in the body. However, it is important to understand that certain illnesses are caused by too much stress. Keeping our lives as stress-free as possible and by practicing stress management techniques, living life would not be so hard as it seems.

Stress is a part of life, right? It cannot be completely avoided. And to be honest, some stress can be good for you and downright fun. The stress you feel skiing down the side of a mountain for example. However, too much stress and the wrong kind of stress, can harm your health. And if you’re prone to anxiety attacks, stress can certainly make it worse.

Problems Caused By Stress

Stress, chronic and intense stress, essentially requires your body to work much harder than it normally would. It taxes you body and all of your systems. Too much stress over a period of time can cause:

* Insomnia
* Diabetes
* Heart disease
* High blood pressure
* Autoimmune diseases
* Depression
* And anxiety conditions
* Chronic illness from a weakened immune system.

Here’s what happens. Your systems, when you’re under extreme and prolonged stress, become overworked. They start to degrade. Your muscles, metabolism, immune system and even your hormones lose their ability to operate optimally and things start to fall apart.

As your systems degrade, other systems will try to step up to compensate for the weakness. This of course throws your body into even more turmoil. One of the systems that is passively affected are your hormones and your brain chemistry.
As hormonal systems and your brain chemistry change, you become more susceptible to depression and anxiety conditions.

So the short answer to the question, does stress cause anxiety is…yes it absolutely can.

What is “Too Much Stress?”

The answer is different for every individual. Circumstances like genetics, mindset, and environment can help or hinder a person’s ability to manage stress. You know you’re under too much stress when you start seeing the warning signs. They can include:

* Difficulty sleeping
* Turning to drugs or alcohol to relax
* Quick to snap or become angry
* Moodiness
* Depression
* Digestive troubles
* Headaches

If you notice any of these symptoms or simply feel like you’re under too much stress, then it’s time to take some action. You want to learn to release stress, relax and modify your lifestyle before the damage is too severe.

Reversing The Damage

Your body is an amazing thing. It’s capable of regenerating itself and essentially healing itself. This means that even if you’ve been dealing with tremendous stress, you can reverse the damage.

Meditate. Teach yourself to relax your mind and body. Practice on a daily basis. Meditation has been proven to improve longevity and quality of life.

Diet and exercise. What you eat and how you treat your body has a direct effect on what it can manage. Eating a healthy diet rich in nutrients and vitamins will go a long way toward repairing the damage caused by stress. It will also help you manage stress better in the future. Exercise really is as amazing for your body as everyone says it is. Just 30 minutes a day of moderate exercise, like walking, dancing or yoga, can change your outlook.

Sleep. Sleep is the time when your body regenerates. All of your systems need sleep to function optimally. If you struggle with sleeping, consider seeking help for this specifically. A good night’s sleep can help you get through a stressful day or event without a problem.

Stress is intimately connected with anxiety and anxiety disorders. Learn to recognize the signs of too much stress. Treat your body well and it will treat you well too.

Eat Properly – One of the first things that you can try if you are a stressed out on a regular basis is to clean up your diet a little bit. Eating the wrong types of foods that are either sugary or processed is typically at the very core of much of the stress that we are dealing with. There may be outside indicators and triggers which caused the stress but unless we are eating properly, we may not be able to deal with it successfully. Eat more natural foods and you will notice a difference in your stress levels.

Exercise Regularly – How often have we heard that we need to exercise? Not only is it good for the physical body, it is also excellent for the mental body as well. Whenever you exercise, you give yourself the opportunity to work through many of the problems that you may be dealing with inside of your mind. Not only that, you also help to balance the body so that the stress you have to deal with is more easily assimilated. Finally, endorphins are released during exercise which make you naturally feel good on the inside.

Supplement – Believe it or not, many of us are dealing with a lot of stress that is unnecessary because we are deficient in some kind of vitamin or mineral. One of the biggest culprits of this is vitamin B, something that everybody needs to replenish on a daily basis. Try taking vitamin B capsules, or eating brewers yeast several times throughout the day. It can make a difference that you will begin to feel almost instantly and can help to reduce the amount of stress that we are feeling, which is something that all of us would enjoy.

Meditation, relaxation and visualisation are the standard tips for reducing stress, and they are all effective and useful to us in many ways, however, they aren’t so easy to set into use when stress attacks with it’s disruptive travel companions frustration, confusion, and anxiety in full attendance.

Here’s something simple you can try to diffuse stress quickly and easily, anytime and anywhere.

1. rub your forehead with both hands in vertical lines from your eyebrows to your hairline for a few moments

2. about an inch above each eyebrow you will find a bump – rest your fingertips there lightly and hold

3. take a deep breathe in and lighten the pressure of your fingertips until they are touching those points very softly

4. breathe deeply again and allow yourself to sink into how you are really feeling right now – focus clearly and specifically on the one thing that is mainly causing you stress, or anxiety

5. allow yourself to think the truth of the matter, hold the points and breathe and remain that way for a couple of minutes

6. concentrate on the area you are holding and feel for pulsations under your fingertips as the blood flow, previously diverted by stress, is restored to your forebrain. Now you can begin to think clearly again as you feel stress drain away and find yourself in control and able to choose how you wish to respond to what’s at hand.

What many of us don’t realise about stress is that although it is often triggered by our mental states and emotional responses it is in fact a physiological occurrence. The body responds directly to every impression we feed it be it real or imagined; it makes no difference to the body. If you tell it you are stressed it will respond immediately by sending the majority of the blood from your forebrain to your chest for faster breathing and the more efficient pumping of blood through your heart and to the muscles of your legs for whatever action they may need to take.

When you consider this automatic physical response it’s easy to see why we don’t always think well under stress. This simple technique tells your body to stand down and encourages the blood flow to return to the brain for clear thinking and decision-making.

Try this for:

- diffusing stress on the spot and stopping it from accumulating

- easing worries

- regaining control of your resources and having access to your full capacity for dealing with any given situation.

- preventing the digestive disorders associated with stress developing. (Use this before eating to make sure that your digestive system is ready and willing to receive the goodness from your food in a calm and efficient manner.)

- relaxing and clearing your mind before sleep

- inducing a feeling of calm from which you can then step deeper into a meditative or relaxed state

To understand how the nervous system connects psychological events and physical manifestations in the form of illnesses or diseases, the case of gastrointestinal problems resulting from chronic stress will be used as an example. Just today, it was announced over the news that the former prime minister of Japan was hospitalized due to gastroenteritis. According to his doctors, his illness resulted from extreme stress and exhaustion. Gastroenteritis is defined as the inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract which includes the stomach and the intestines. When a person experiences extreme or chronic stress, immune factors such as cytokines, neurotransmitters such as serotonin, and digestive acids such as protease are produced. Cytokines are components that cause inflammation in areas of the body with infection, serotonin affects contraction of smooth muscles, and protease controls protein digestion. These three, then, affect the gastrointestinal system causing inflammation, spastic stomach contractions and burning. The nervous system triggers the production of these substances when stressful events pose feelings or emotions similar to that of being threatened.

During stressful events, adherence of harmful bacteria to cells within the lining of the stomach are also increased. Because of these bacteria, the immune system will then be triggered further. However, according to a recent study conducted among rats, ingestion of probiotics can decrease the “stickiness” of bacteria within the stomach and prevent the immune activation. The probiotics, also called as “for life” bacteria, compete for space in the stomach with the harmful bacteria and decrease the inflammatory responses. These effects of probiotics, therefore, make it a good possible treatment for gastrointestinal problems caused by chronic stress.

In summary, this article talks about stress, mainly being a psychological occurrence, does not only impose a threat for possible psychological problems resulting from it. Moreover, stress also causes physical illnesses such as gastrointestinal problems through influencing the nervous system to activate certain reactions within the body. Certain reactions cause changes within the stomach which heighten its vulnerability to harmful bacteria. Probiotics, being bacteria that are not harmful and can be used against harmful bacteria, can then be used as treatment for gastrointestinal problems.

There are as many ways of reducing stress as there are ways of feeling stressed. Each of us has a different personality and different physical make up. Each of us responds to stress differently. Most of us have been able to find what helps us reduce our stress levels and manage our life stresses fairly quickly. For some it might be a walk along the beach, a motorbike ride or sitting reading a book. Managing stress can include everything from a full on physical activity to sitting quietly reading or listening to music.

Here is a list of 10 ways to help you reduce your stress levels:
1. Positive self talk – helps you tap into your inner strengths.
2. Relaxation – maybe reading, dancing, fishing, give yourself permission to do something you really enjoy every day.
3. Meditation – you can go to classes, learn from a book or cd or learn with a friend
4. Aromatherapy – use the time proven gift of scents to help you unwind and relax
5. Exercise – some people find that exercising burns off the excess stress hormones.
6. A balanced lifestyle – look at your work/life balance and make the necessary changes
7. Dealing with anger – anger management is a big thing in stress management. Learn how to control those feelings of anger, and your life will be much smoother.
8. Manage your drug and alcohol intake – using drugs and alcohol will not change the cause of the stress, it often just creates more stress in your life.
9. Yoga – is a combination of both meditation and exercise which puts you in tune with your body.
10. Reflexology – for hundreds of years people have been using massage of specific areas of the feet in many combinations to help with physical and emotional issues.
One of the most important things to remember is to do what works for you. You are the only one who knows exactly how you are feeling and coping with any given situation. Understand your own management strategies, use them and know when to get help if your strategies are not working. You do not have to suffer or feel alone.