Stress has been featured prominently in the news as a major health epidemic for some years now and this situation continues to worsen as an increasing number of workers report they are increasingly suffering stress in the workplace. In fact work now constitutes the leading environment for the development of stress among adult Americans. But stress levels have also been rising for children and teenagers in recent years and a lot of people now link this to a loss of family and religious values, a lack of social support and simple corporate greed.
Stress these days is far more dangerous than it was just ten years ago and seems to be more prevalent and more invasive than before with much greater stress coming from psychological instead of physical threats.
Stress causes a rise in heart rate and greater blood flow leading to higher blood pressure. Levels of blood sugar also increase to give the body the extra fuel which it needs to fight stress and the body is designed to push blood away from the stomach when we are stressed in order to provide extra strength for the legs and arms as part of what is often called our "flight or fight" response.
Stress can also contribute to chronic depression and anxiety together with gastrointestinal and skin problems and interferes with the working of many of our major organs. It can also create an impairment of the immune system so that it cannot fight viral disorders from the not particularly serious cold to very serious diseases like cancer and AIDS.
Stress at work directly influences such things as productivity and employee absenteeism and the business climate gets progressively worse with competition these days at an all-time high. The pressure that is placed on employees to produce and the continual concern about job security can result in various conditions including back pain, neck pain, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, ulcers and heart attacks.
Many different things can cause stress including just sitting at a computer monitor for eight hours every day or more, meeting deadlines or having someone continually watching you. Here the results are often seen as depression and a host of physical complaints which result in lost working hours.
Taking the necessary steps to manage the stress you have in your life may be the best gift that you can give yourself and a few fairly simple alterations to your lifestyle can make a big difference to the way in which you handle stress. For example, taking a mere 20 minutes out of your day to walk will lower your level of stress as will talking to friends, meditation and eating a healthier diet. Take the time needed to master several relaxation techniques because deep breathing and relaxation exercises can greatly reduce your level of stress.
Stress these days is far more dangerous than it was just ten years ago and seems to be more prevalent and more invasive than before with much greater stress coming from psychological instead of physical threats.
Stress causes a rise in heart rate and greater blood flow leading to higher blood pressure. Levels of blood sugar also increase to give the body the extra fuel which it needs to fight stress and the body is designed to push blood away from the stomach when we are stressed in order to provide extra strength for the legs and arms as part of what is often called our "flight or fight" response.
Stress can also contribute to chronic depression and anxiety together with gastrointestinal and skin problems and interferes with the working of many of our major organs. It can also create an impairment of the immune system so that it cannot fight viral disorders from the not particularly serious cold to very serious diseases like cancer and AIDS.
Stress at work directly influences such things as productivity and employee absenteeism and the business climate gets progressively worse with competition these days at an all-time high. The pressure that is placed on employees to produce and the continual concern about job security can result in various conditions including back pain, neck pain, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, ulcers and heart attacks.
Many different things can cause stress including just sitting at a computer monitor for eight hours every day or more, meeting deadlines or having someone continually watching you. Here the results are often seen as depression and a host of physical complaints which result in lost working hours.
Taking the necessary steps to manage the stress you have in your life may be the best gift that you can give yourself and a few fairly simple alterations to your lifestyle can make a big difference to the way in which you handle stress. For example, taking a mere 20 minutes out of your day to walk will lower your level of stress as will talking to friends, meditation and eating a healthier diet. Take the time needed to master several relaxation techniques because deep breathing and relaxation exercises can greatly reduce your level of stress.
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Despite the fact that stress is a major health problem for many millions of Americans today there are many stress relievers available and the secret is simply to find what works for you.
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