Don’t Stress Out! Work Out!

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Don’t Stress Out! Work Out!

Imagine any average day. You wake up, especially tired because you haven’t been sleeping well all week, perhaps grab your daily cup of coffee, head off to work in the middle of rush-hour, try to complete several projects that are due by the end of the week, and so on. Then again, in between each of those minor events you experience varying levels of stress and anxiety. Nonetheless, you are in company because according to the National Health Interview Survey, 75% of the American population undergoes at least some stress every couple of weeks. A study several years ago estimated that around 11 million Americans suffer from unhealthy levels of stress at work, and, unfortunately, today that number has more than tripled (http://www.stresscure.com/hrn/facts.html). Muscles tensing up, feeling short of breath and fast heartbeats are all indications of stress; which apparently many Americans experience daily. To release the strain, numerous people look to exercise as a way of “venting” or in other words, letting go of those feelings of tension. However, to best understand the reasons for exercise as a helpful outlet of stress, one must understand exactly what stress is, what causes it, how it effects the body, how to manage it, and then ways of establishing and motivating oneself to participate in frequent physical activity.

What Is Stress?

Stress is the body’s adaptive response to irregular changes that can either be short-term (acute) or long-term (chronic). It is an inevitable part of life for most everyone, however, it can be both beneficial and detrimental depending on the intensity and the nature of the stress. Life void of any stress would basically be dull and monotonous, but at...

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Holmes, D.S., & Roth, D.L. (1985). Influence of physical fitness in determining the impact of stressful life events on physical and psychologic health.

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