Just about everyone hits their stress limit at some point in their lives. It’s a good idea to learn to better manage long term stress in our lives because it does damage the body and mind over time. Chronic stress has been shown to cause the overproduction of the hormone cortisol, which can eventually cause damage to brain cells in areas of the brain that contain memories.
By learning how to deal more successfully with stress, you can reduce feelings of depression and helplessness, and improve your ability to deal with daily life stress. With enough practice, you can learn how to create a relaxation response to stressors, which leads to lowering your metabolic rate and a calmer mind state. Learning effective stress techniques are very important for keeping the brain healthy throughout life.
Some of the most effective ways to reduce cortisol levels in the brain include:
Meditation
Learning how to meditate helps to stop your brain from racing from thought to thought. It allows you to have longer spaces between your thoughts, and you are better able to connect with your soul and spirit. Research has shown that meditation can boost performance, lower heart rate, lessen anxiety and increase your longevity.
To meditate, you need to have a comfortable sitting position, a peaceful and quiet room, a word, prayer or sound to focus on, and a highly focused attitude.
Deep Breathing
This is a great way to get more balance into your life. As you breathe deeper and deeper, your body relaxes and your rate of respiration is reduced. One effective method is called Yogic long deep breathing. This is where you first expand the diaphragm, and then each area of the lungs from top to bottom fills with nourishing oxygen.
Massage
A large body of research exists on the positive effects of massage therapy. It was done on a group of newborn babies at the University of Miami. Stress hormones, including cortisol, were high in the babies, and this generally means there is going to be a poor medical outcome. But when touch therapy was used in the care of the infants, the negative hormone levels were reduced and the good ones went up. The children also healed faster.
Prayer
Research shows that about 95% of Americans pray to their God. Prayer has been shown to reduce stress chemicals in the body, and to increase healthy behaviors such as not smoking and eating right. Living spiritually and praying regularly are associated with better medical outcomes, and lower levels of depression.
Alzheimer’s Aids for Caregivers
People who care for people with Alzheimer’s disease also have very high levels of stress, which can be reduced by following the techniques above. Also, we offer helpful products to make your caregiving easier. Our Family Guide to Alzheimer’s Disease Video Series tells you what to expect on many fronts in the coming years with your loved one’s care and needs:
Also consider the Complete Eldercare Planner, which gives you a wonderful guide to manage the needs of your loved one:
Between the stress management techniques above and these Wright Stuff products, you should be able to keep your own stress levels under control so you stay in good health.
