Ever wish there was a button you could push to make stress disappear? There is \u2013 inside your head. Our experts tell you how with these easy, natural remedies for stress\u2026<\/p>\n
Our hearts hate stress.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because it raises heart rates, cholesterol levels and blood pressure. It can make us fat, particularly around the belly, and that increases the risk for metabolic conditions, like diabetes and heart disease.<\/p>\n
Stress also means we\u2019re more likely to take up heart-harming habits like smoking cigarettes, drinking too much, skipping workouts or gorging on junk food.<\/p>\n
But who isn\u2019t stressed these days? From rush-hour madness and mounting bills to blood-boiling bosses, stressors are everywhere.<\/p>\n
But annoying people and events don\u2019t create stress and heart disease. We do.<\/p>\n
\u201cStress isn\u2019t what happens, but how we respond to what happens,\u201d says psychotherapist Steven Alper, former director of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program at the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine in San Diego.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because when our brain senses threat, a primitive part of the nervous system triggers a physiological \u201cfight-or-flight\u201d response, Alper explains.<\/p>\n
The evolutionary mechanism was handy for our cavewoman ancestors during a saber-toothed tiger attack. The problem is, thousands of years later, the nervous system still turns on the stress response when you\u2019re arguing with your spouse, stuck in traffic or the boss says \u201cboo.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s where harm is done: The stress response triggers changes such as high blood pressure, palpitations and elevated blood sugars \u2013 \u201call of which put strain on our heart and body and increase cardiovascular risk in the immediate and long term,\u201d says internal medicine physician Steve Tan, M.D., director of the Complementary and Alternative Medicine Program at the California Health and Longevity Institute.<\/p>\n
Still, you don\u2019t have to stay trapped in a world of tension. To change your response, try these fun natural remedies for stress.<\/p>\n
1. Meditation
Meditating can lower blood pressure as effectively as medication and better than stress-management training or health-education classes, according to a 2007 study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).<\/p>\n
It also improved the severity of congestive heart failure in 23 African-American men and women with heart disease, the University of Pennsylvania found.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because \u201cmeditation calms the stress response and boosts our relaxation response,\u201d Tan explains.<\/p>\n
Try it: New meditators may find it tough to stop their minds from wandering, so focusing on a tangible object may help. Here\u2019s how:<\/p>\n
1. Choose a quiet, interruption-free spot.<\/p>\n
2. Sit comfortably in a chair or cushion on the floor with good posture, hands on your thighs or clasped in your lap.<\/p>\n
3. Light a candle and focus on it, watching the flame move, grow, flicker and change colors.<\/p>\n
4. When your mind wanders, bring your attention back to the flame.<\/p>\n
5. Start with meditation sessions of 5-10 minutes and gradually build to longer periods. Aim for 20 minutes, the Mayo Clinic suggests.<\/p>\n
2. Art Therapy
Art therapy may sound like child\u2019s play, but it\u2019s a powerful ally against stress and heart disease. Creative pursuits \u2013 like journal writing, music, dance, painting, sculpting, sketching, collage, even quilt-making \u2013 can decrease anxiety, stress and mood disturbances, according to a 2010 review of studies published in the American Journal of Public Health.<\/p>\n
In fact, hospitals often incorporate creativity techniques into their healing programs: Cleveland Clinic offers it to its Heart & Vascular Institute patients. Veterans\u2019 hospitals use art therapy to relieve depression and anxiety, especially for post-traumatic stress disorder.<\/p>\n
\u201cArt therapy is a wonderful way to empty your mind and reconnect to the present \u2013 similar to meditation,\u201d says board-certified art therapist Joan Stanford, who leads art \u201cplayshops\u201d at the Mendocino Center for Wellbeing in California. \u201cWith stress, you feel boxed in, overwhelmed, tightly wound. By \u2018playing\u2019 with materials, words or ideas, you unwind, release pressure and enjoy the process.\u201d <\/p>\n
Try it: Don\u2019t worry, you don\u2019t have to be \u201cartsy.\u201d Here are Stanford\u2019s tips for stirring creative juices:<\/p>\n
1. Set the stage for a meditative environment with candles and soothing sounds. Classical music, for example, lowers heart and breathing rates, according to a 2001 Australian study.<\/p>\n
2. Breathe slowly, close your eyes and savor the moment.<\/p>\n
3. Write for 15 minutes, choosing a specific topic, such as something that worries you, or whatever comes to mind. Need inspiration? Fill a sack with random items, Stanford suggests. Then reach in, pull out an object and write about it for 5 minutes. \u201cLet the object speak to you,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
4. Not a word person? Then just doodle on a sheet of unlined paper. \u201cUsing one pen, let your hand move around the page in all directions,\u201d Stanford says. \u201cAllow overlapping and looping.\u201d<\/p>\n
5. If you\u2019re right-handed, try doodling with your left hand or vice-versa. Or close your eyes.<\/p>\n
6. With different-colored markers, pens, chalk, pastels, pencils or watercolors, outline any shapes suggested by your scribbles. \u201cFor example, a circle may resemble a head, balloon or sun,\u201d Stanford says. \u201cAdd eyes, strings, rays or whatever the shape seems to ask for.\u201d Rotate the page in different directions to see more options.<\/p>\n
7. When the page feels \u201cfinished,\u201d give it a title. Or keep an \u201cart journal\u201d with your drawings.<\/p>\n
3. Deep breathing
Breath is a powerful indicator of stress levels.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we\u2019re stressed, breath shortens and quickens,\u201d says psychotherapist Leslie Davenport, who specializes in stress management at the Institute for Health & Healing at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco.<\/p>\n
Deep breaths also calm you \u2013 lowering blood pressure, reducing anxiety, slowing heart and respiration rates and easing tension, the Mayo Clinic reports.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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