Managing
Chemical Stress
The chemicals (food, drink, pills, etc)
we put in our bodies can cause a surprising
amount of stress.
Similarly, if we are eating an unbalanced
diet, we may be stressing our bodies by
depriving them of essential nutrients. And
eating too much for a long period causes
obesity: This puts your heart and lungs
under stress, overloads your organs and
reduces your stamina.
You should be aware of the effects of the
following:
- Caffeine:
Caffeine is a stimulant. One of the reasons
we drink it is to raise our levels of
arousal, particularly at the start of
the day. If you drink many cups of coffee
a day, then you may become twitchy, hyperactive
and irritable. You may find that you can
eliminate a lot of stress by switching
to a good decaffeinated coffee (or an
alternative).
- Alcohol:
In small amounts, alcohol may help you
relax. In larger amounts, it may increase
stress as it disrupts sleep, reduces your
effectiveness, and possibly harms working
relationships. Large amounts of alcohol
over a long period of time will damage
your body. Be aware of this, and keep
your alcohol consumption under control.
- Nicotine:
While in the very short term, nicotine
can cause its users to relax, its toxic
effects raise your heart rate and stress
your body. If you smoke, try taking your
pulse before and after a cigarette, and
notice the difference: You will probably
see your pulse rate increase. After the
initial period of giving up smoking, most
ex-smokers report feeling much more relaxed
than they did beforehand.
- Sugar:
Sugar-rich foods can raise energy in the
short term. The problem with this is that
your body copes with high levels of sugar
by secreting insulin, which reduces the
amount of sugar in your blood stream.
Insulin can persist and continue acting
after it has controlled blood sugar levels.
This can cause an energy dip.
If you eat a good, well-balanced diet,
you should be able to minimize this sort
of chemical stress. With a little forethought,
you can make sure that your body receives
all the nutrients it needs to function effectively.
The next
article helps you manage stress with
regular exercise...
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this site in PDF format for use at your
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- Read the next article in this series,
and find out how regular
exercise helps you manage stress
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