Mind Tools - Effective Stress Management

Taking Exercise

Taking frequent effective exercise is probably one of the best physical stress-reduction techniques available. Exercise not only improves your health and reduces stress caused by unfitness, it also relaxes tense muscles and helps you to sleep.

Exercise has a number of other positive benefits you may not be aware of:

It improves blood flow to your brain, bringing additional sugars and oxygen which may be needed when you are thinking intensely
When you think hard, the neurones of your brain function more intensely. As they do this they build up toxic waste products that cause foggy thinking in the short term, and can damage the brain in the long term. By exercising you speed the flow of blood through your brain, moving these waste products faster. You also improve this blood flow so that even when you are not exercising, waste is eliminated more efficiently.
It can cause release of chemicals called endorphins into your blood stream. These give you a feeling of happiness and well-being.

There are a lot of wrong approaches to exercise. Many traditionally recommended forms of exercise actually damage your body over the medium or long term. It is worth finding reputable and up-to-date sources of advice on exercise, possibly from your doctor, and then having a customised exercise plan drawn up for you.

An important thing to remember is that exercise should be fun - if you do not enjoy it, then you will probably not keep doing it.

Highly Recommended Books

For an excellent book on stress management, try The Book of Stress Survival - How to Relax and Live Positively by Alix Kirsta. This is a very pleasant, well-presented, sensible approach to stress management. It covers many important areas completely ignored by most other books.

Physical Relaxation Techniques

Progressive Muscular Relaxation

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