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Exercise is the Great Stressbuster

by Jack Cox

Of all the stressbuster activities, most experts agree that taking regular exercise is the best way to combat stress. Unfortunately many people just don’t get off their butts and do any, not enough anyway. This is a shame because as well as being a great stress buster, regular exercise also reduces body fat, improves cardiovascular function, lowers blood pressure and generally makes you feel better by releasing endorphins.

Most animals have some kind of fight or flight response to danger. Certain hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol flood into the bloodstream triggering an increased heart rate, speeding up respiration, slowing digestion, and reducing blood flow to some areas while diverting it to the major muscle groups. All this gives the body a temporary burst of energy and strength to enable it to either fight off the danger or to run away. The operative word there is ‘temporary’.


Watch a gazelle on the Serrengeti plains. It will put all its reserves into fleeing from the lions but, if it gets away, ten minutes later it's grazing quietly again, all thoughts of the pride forgotten. But we humans are blessed, or in this regard cursed, with a powerful frontal lobe. We never forget, we mull things over for hours, sometimes even weeks or years. Someone cuts us up on the motorway on the way into work and we let it spoil our whole day. We have an argument with a work colleague and we let it spoil our week, maybe even ruin our relationship with that person forever.


But it's not just because of our memories, it's also because of the way we react. Back in our prehistoric days our fight or flight response did what it said on the tin, it caused us to react with great physical exertion. This exertion lowered the levels of the stress hormones in our blood. That's how the gazelle can be so calm after narrowly escaping death. Its stress hormones have been dissipated by the chase.


Today we no longer have to run or fight to escape danger. Usually we can talk our way out of trouble. The nearest most people get to violence, most of the time, is giving the other driver the finger but this doesn't help us release or burn up our stress hormones. Often when we get ticked off by the boss we have no way to release the stress caused, we just have to suck it up while those hormones continue to fester with us. We may take it out with a good old rant with our friends or our spouse after work but by then the physical damage is done.


In our modern world we no longer have life threatening predator encounters occasionally, instead we have low level stressful situations almost continuously. Our organs are swimming in a soup of stress hormones for nearly our entire lives. Popping pill only makes things worse. But there is a way to burn up those stress hormones naturally and that is exercise. It was the exercise of the chase that calmed the gazelle down and the same principle can work for us.


Simple training will reduce or eliminate stress significantly, as well as improving our health and self-esteem. Whenever you feel stressed out, go for a run or get on your bike. Cycling to and from work is a wonderful way to leave office stress where it belongs, in the office.


Another great form of stress busting exercise is isometric training with weights. Pop into the gym for an hour on your way home and your spouse will see the same relaxed, happy person she or he saw at breakfast. As well as free weights you can use resistance bands or the wide range of different isometric machines now avalive in every gym.


To perform an isometric exercise, you can simply do a bicep curl and then hold the position in the middle range for a maximum of 10 seconds.This type of movement isolates the muscle and can, according to scientific research, produce strength gains of up to three times in 30 days.


Get fit, grow muscle, and reduce stress. What's not to like? But even a little gentle exercise, such as a walk around the office, can give you some immediate stress relief. If you have the privacy, take off your jacket and do ten star jumps, or run on the spot for a few minutes. Never eat lunch at your desk. Always walk outside and eat it there. If its raining, see if you can walk to another room. Just that little bit of movement will help lower your stress hormones. Here are some other popular forms of exercise that work really well at reducing stress :


Yoga brings both physical and mental disciplines together to help you relax while increasing physical strength and flexibility. It combines poses with controlled breathing and mindfulness. Yoga can help reduce stress, lower blood pressure and lower your heart rate.


Tai Chi is an ancient Chinese martial art. Although it was originally developed for combat, these days it's more usual to practice a slow, meditative form. It’s great for getting the chi flowing freely in your body. Chi is the supple life force, known in India as prana. Tai Chi links flowing physical movements with breathing. Regular practice can increase muscular strength, flexibility and immunity as well as fostering a sense of peace and serenity. It’s important to learn from an experienced instructor because it’s essential to get the movements just right.


Pilates is a fitness system designed to strengthen muscles, improve posture and flexibility, and heighten mental awareness. Pilates is known to help relieve both stress and anxiety. It releases tension in the muscles while using breathing techniques to provide more oxygen to the brain, which itself leads to a feeling of calmness and wellbeing.


Gardening combines a physical workout with time in nature, both important for stress relief. Also it has been claimed that just half an hour of gardening a day can burn up to 200 calories, so that's a bonus. Plus you get vegetables.


Dancing is a fun way to relieve stress as well as helping to control your weight, build muscle and strengthen your heart (which is a muscle anyway). It also gets you physically close to another person which is always good for stress and general wellbeing.


All outdoor activities, even without physical exertion, will bring down your stress levels. Bird watching, fishing, blackberrying, all help to calm your brain and melt away stress. And of course you will have to do some walking to get there. If you do want to get physical so much the better. Take a bike ride or go for a run or long hike. You will feel great! As my dad used to say, get up on a windy hill and blow the cobwebs out of your lungs.

What is your opinion on this issue? Do you exercise regularly? Does it help with your stress levels? Please do join in the conversation.