5 Steps to De-Stress

Simple stress-relieving tips you
can use starting now!
Stress affects our overall wellbeing in
both positive and negatives ways.
Sometimes stress is what energizes us
and stimulates our creative thinking.
Sometimes stress becomes
overwhelming and frustrating, tiring our
minds and bodies and deteriorating our
health.
The reality is that stress levels are
growing higher and study after study
shows that there is a connection
between unmanaged stress and illness
and disease.
It makes good sense take steps to
better manage stress levels. Following
are some preliminary steps you can put
into action today:
Nutrition: Eating a well-balanced diet
and drinking a healthy amount of water
is key to looking and feeling your best.
Low carb, low fat, the information on
what constitutes a proper diet is vast
and conflicting. When it comes to
nutrition one thing is true—variety is
the spice of life. That’s not a green
light to eat whatever you want
whenever you want but merely to eat a
variety of food including whole grains,
fruits, vegetables and low fat protein
while keeping the consumption of
refined sugars and processed foods to
a minimum.
One easy way to instantly improve
your health is to drink more water.
How much water is the right amount?
A good rule of thumb is to take your
weight, in pounds, divided by 2 (i.e.: A
person weighing 150 pounds needs to
drink 75 ounces of water per day.).
High levels of physical activity,
medications and drinks high in caffeine
may increase your need for water even
more.
Sleep: Getting enough rest at night is
essential for your body to recharge and
heal from each day. Every body
requires a different amount of sleep.
On average, the range is between 6-10
hours per night.
Exercise: The body needs a good
amount of cardiovascular exercise each
week to maintain health...but not as
much as most people think. All you
need is 3-4 thirty-minute intervals of
exercise per week to stay healthy.
Also, stretching should be performed
daily to release the tension that builds
up in our muscles.
Breathing: Have you ever paid attention
to your breathing habits? Be sure that
you are taking nice deep breathes while
expanding your chest. Short, rapid,
shallow breathing deprives the body
and brain of important oxygen.
Proper Nervous System Function: The
health of your nervous system is often
overlooked when assessing wellness
levels. When was the last time you
had your nervous system checked?
The nervous system is the most
important system of the body—so
important in fact, that the spinal cord
and brain are the only parts of the body
totally encased in bone for protection.
With the nervous system being so
critical to body function it only stands
to reason that to operate at peak
performance the messages from your
brain must be sent through the nerves
without interference. That is why
doctors of chiropractic check for
vertebral subluxations. Subluxations,
when left uncorrected, will not only
slow and skew communication from
the brain to the body but may lead to
numbing, pain, or illness.
Regular chiropractic care is essential to
ensuring proper nerve system function.
Chiropractic adjustments remove
nervous system interference; this
enables the body to better manage
stress and maintain health.