In our society, stress is something that we deal with daily, even hourly. We often forget the importance of taking the time to disconnect from our stressors and practice stress reduction techniques. Stress can present as many distressing physical symptoms and even lead to many disease processes. Here at IRM, we prefer to treat disease upstream, meaning that we would like to prevent the disease from happening rather than treating it downstream once it has already come about. Besides speeding up the clock on aging, some of the diseases caused by stress are heart disease, diabetes, depression, anxiety, gastrointestinal issues, and even obesity.
Lets get ahead of all of these disease processes and work on some stress reduction techniques! Our number one favorite way to reduce stress is exercise because it is not only excellent for the body, but also for the mind. It doesn’t have to be strenuous or long, just get moving. Our favorite ways to move for stress reduction are long walks or bike rides, yoga, or even your favorite group fitness class!
Another great way to decrease your stress is with a healthy morning routine. Waking up even 15 minutes earlier to breathe and set your mind for the day can change the way that you deal with your stressors all day. Meditation is an amazing way to center yourself for the day, but we realize that this is not as simple as it sounds and many of us struggle to sit still for even 10 minutes. Our favorite simple technique is waking up and immediately sitting for 10 minutes to run through a gratitude list. Just sit in silence and think of 5 things that you are grateful for, and bring that energy into your day. When we approach life from a place of gratitude, we have the opportunity to be naturally happier and less stressed.
