When early man experienced stress it was the type of high intensity stress more often associated with life and death situations. The physical reaction to a fight or flight ordeal would be proportional to the level of stress experienced. Without knowing it, the physicality of early man’s everyday life provided him with a natural mechanism for stress relief. In today’s language we would call it exercise!
Exercise has long been recognised as one of life’s great stress busters but how does exercise reduce stress? And, does it help modern man negate the effects of ongoing low level stress that is so damaging to our health?
First, we should understand that stress, especially in the modern world, is not always proportional to the situation we find ourselves in. It is more to do with our own unique response to a situation than the situation itself. For one person an extremely stressful situation might be a walk in the park for another. So, when we talk about stress we should think in terms of what it means to us.
When we are put in a stressful situation a number of things happen. The adrenal glands pump adrenaline into the body and both our heart rate and blood pressure increases. The stress hormone cortisol is released and both sugar and fat are sent into the bloodstream to provide fuel for the muscles and mind. We are in a heightened state of alertness and ready for a "fight or flight" response. Early man, would have reacted by fighting or fleeing but today situations arise where neither response is acceptable! Think of the times at work where you may have found yourself in this situation. Where stress has stayed with you for hours after the event because you have found no way to let it go!
The trouble with this type of stress is that it plays havoc with our hormonal systems influencing everything from mood and fear to memory and appetite. It also leaves nasty things lying around that impact our long term health. Take for example, the fat left in the bloodstream. The blood is effectively thicker and less able to flow along the small blood vessels putting a strain on the heart. Also, fat not burned in physical response to stress may end up as plaque in the arteries, causing hypertension and possibly leading to a stroke.
Exercise is the key to both clearing out the debris of a particularly stressful event and helping prevent it the next time. When you exercise, your muscles demand energy. The fat and sugar left in your blood are used up by the muscles and blood flows more freely putting less strain on the heart when in the resting state.
When stressed, elevated levels of cortisol weaken the immune system and muscle tension causes headaches, neck and back pain. Exercise provides a solution to both problems. Firstly, exercise reduces the amount of cortisol in the body improving mood and giving the immune system a fighting chance. Secondly, exercise releases endorphins and increases the body’s core temperature relaxing the muscles. Overall, a feeling of tranquility is induced, just what you need when you are stressed out! In fact, controlled trials have shown that exercise has performed just as well as antidepressants in fighting depression.
Exercise may also have a more subtle way of combating stress! Repetitive exercise like jogging shuts down the left side of the brain (logical thought) providing more energy to the right side of the brain (creative thought). Exactly what’s required when we are trying to solve the problems we are stressing over.
I hope this has gone part way to answering the question "How does exercise reduce stress?". Perhaps the boss should give you more time to go out jogging during the lunch break - he/she will thank you for it!
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Posted under Stress Relief
This post was written by admin on February 2, 2009
