Minimizing the Effects of Stress

Sometimes stressful situations persist despite our best efforts to resolve them. Knowing that chronic stress can jeopardize your health, what can you do to minimize the adverse impact of stress on your physical well-being? Here are four practical suggestions.

Suggestion 1: Avoid or Minimize the Use of Stimulants

In dealing with stressful situations, people often turn to stimulants to help keep them going, such as coffee or caffeinated energy drinks. If you know someone who smokes, you’ve probably observed that most smokers react to stress by increasing their smoking (Ng & Jeffery, 2003; Todd, 2004). The problem is that common stimulants like caffeine and nicotine actually work against you in coping with stress. They increase the physiological effects of stress by raising heart rate and blood pressure. In effect, users of stimulant drugs are already primed to respond with greater reactivity, exaggerating the physiological consequences of stress (Klein & others, 2010).

The best advice? Avoid stimulant drugs altogether. If that’s not possible, make a conscious effort to monitor your use of stimulants, especially when you’re under stress. You’ll find it easier to deal with stressors when your nervous system is not already in high gear because of caffeine, nicotine, or other stimulants. Minimizing your use of stimulants will also make it easier for you to implement the next suggestion.

Suggestion 2: Exercise Regularly

Numerous studies all point to the same conclusion: Regular exercise, particularly aerobic exercise like walking, swimming, or running, is one of the best ways to reduce the impact of stress (Edenfield & Blumenthal, 2011). The key word here is regular. Try walking briskly for 20 minutes four or five times a week. It will improve your physical health and help you cope with stress. In fact, just about any kind of physical exercise helps buffer the negative effects of stress. (Rapidly right-clicking your computer mouse doesn’t count.) Compared to sofa slugs, physically fit people are less physiologically reactive to stressors and produce lower levels of stress hormones (Hamer & others, 2006). Psychologically, regular exercise reduces anxiety and depressed feelings, and increases self-confidence and self-esteem.

Suggestion 3: Get Enough Sleep

With the ongoing push to get more and more done, people often stretch their days by short-changing themselves on sleep. But sleep deprivation just adds to your feelings of stress. “Without sufficient sleep it is more difficult to concentrate, make careful decisions, and follow instructions,” explains researcher Mark Rosekind (2003). “You are more likely to make mistakes or errors, and are more prone to being impatient and lethargic. And, your attention, memory and reaction time are all adversely affected.”

The stress–sleep connection also has the potential to become a vicious cycle. School, work, or family-related pressures contribute to reduced or disturbed sleep, leaving you less than adequately rested and making efforts to deal with the situation all the more taxing and distressing (Akerstedt & others, 2009). And inadequate sleep, even for just a few nights, takes a physical toll on the body, leaving us more prone to health problems (Cohen & others, 2009).

Fortunately, research indicates that the opposite is also true: Getting adequate sleep promotes resistance and helps buffer the effects of stress (Lange & others, 2010). For some suggestions to help promote a good night’s sleep, see the Psych for Your Life section at the end of Chapter 4.

Suggestion 4: Practice a Relaxation or Meditation Technique

You can significantly reduce stress-related symptoms by regularly using any one of a variety of relaxation techniques (Benson, 2011). Meditation is one effective stress reduction strategy. As discussed in Chapter 4 (see pp. 163–165), there are many different meditation techniques, but they all involve focusing mental attention, heightening awareness, and quieting internal chatter. Most meditation techniques are practiced while sitting quietly, but others involve movement, such as yoga and walking meditation. Many studies have demonstrated the physical and psychological benefits of meditation, including lessening the effects of stress (Chiesa & Serretti, 2009; Ludwig & Kabat-Zinn, 2008).

One form of meditation that has been receiving a great deal of attention in psychology is called mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness techniques were developed as a Buddhist practice more than 2,000 years ago, but modern psychologists and other health practitioners have adapted these practices for use in a secular context (Didonna, 2008). Mindfulness practice has been shown to be helpful in both preventing and relieving stress (Jha & others, 2010; Weinstein & others, 2009).

Definitions of mindfulness are as varied as the practices associated with it. It’s important to note, also, that strictly speaking, mindfulness refers to an approach to everyday life as well as a formal meditation technique (Shapiro & Carlson, 2009). However, for our purposes, mindfulness meditation can be defined as a technique in which practitioners focus awareness on present experience with acceptance (Siegel & others, 2008).

Advocates of mindfulness practice believe that most psychological distress is caused by our reactions to events and circumstances—our emotions, thoughts, and judgments. As psychologist Mark Williams points out, “We are always explaining the world to ourselves, and we react emotionally to these explanations rather than to the facts. … Thoughts are not facts” (Williams & others, 2007). Mindfulness practice is a way to correct that habitual perspective, clearing and calming the mind in the process. David Ludwig and Jon Kabat-Zinn (2008) explain:

Mindfulness can be considered a universal human capacity proposed to foster clear thinking and open-heartedness. As such, this form of meditation requires no particular religious or cultural belief system. The goal of mindfulness is to maintain awareness moment by moment, disengaging oneself from strong attachment to beliefs, thoughts, or emotions, thereby developing a greater sense of emotional balance and well-being.

In other words, mindfulness meditation involves paying attention to your ongoing mental experience in a nonjudgmental, nonreactive manner (Ludwig & Kabat-Zinn, 2008; Shapiro & Carlson, 2009). The mindfulness of breathing technique is a simple mindfulness practice that is often recommended for beginners.

Mindfulness of Breathing

How long should you meditate? Many meditation teachers advise that you begin with a short, easily attainable goal, such as meditating for five minutes without taking a break. As you become more comfortable in your practice, gradually work your way up to longer periods of time, ideally 20 to 30 minutes per session.

Sources: Shapiro & Carlson, 2009; Wallace, 2009; Williams & others, 2007.