Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Summary
On episode 194 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan shares his 11 best stress reduction tips, starting with a clear definition of stress itself: a physical reaction your body triggers when it senses something isn't right, releasing cortisol and adrenaline to prepare you for fight or flight.
He draws a line between good stress, like lifting weights or a surprise birthday party, and bad stress, the kind that never lets up because the “bear” in modern life is a demanding boss, a full inbox, or a stack of deadlines. Numbing that stress with alcohol, tobacco, or drugs doesn't solve it, he says, it just adds another stressor on top.
The rest of the episode is a practical rundown of 11 healthy ways to bring the body back into balance, from moving and getting outside to sleep, meditation, gratitude, and knowing who to call when things pile up.
Links
- https://40plusfitness.com
Key Takeaways
- Not all stress is bad. Stress is simply your body's reaction to something it senses isn't right. Good stress, like exercise, is something your body is designed to handle and recover from. Bad stress is the constant, low-grade kind that never lets your body reset.
- Avoid the stress you can control. Overcommitting to deadlines and obligations you can't realistically meet creates unnecessary stress. Prioritize what actually matters, say no to the rest, and stop putting yourself in situations you have the power to avoid.
- Move your body to burn off cortisol. When stress hits, physically moving, even a minute of running stairs or jumping jacks, burns off the cortisol and adrenaline flooding your system so your brain can come back online and think clearly again.
- Get into nature. Time outdoors, even just looking up at the sky through a window for a few minutes, lowers your overall stress threshold and has a cumulative calming effect over time.
- Prioritize sleep. Good sleep keeps cortisol on its natural rhythm, rising in the morning and tapering through the day, instead of spiking unpredictably. Poor sleep primes your body to stress more, not less.
- Meditate and practice gratitude. Meditation shifts focus inward, away from outside demands, for even 10 to 20 minutes a day. Building a daily habit of gratitude gives you an inventory of good to draw on when something goes wrong.
- Avoid stimulants during high-stress periods. Alcohol, tobacco, and coffee affect your cortisol levels. They may make you feel better temporarily without actually making you better, so cut back on them especially when stress is running high.
- Talk to someone you trust. Bottling up chronic stress makes it worse. Find a friend or family member, not social media, and be willing to be vulnerable. You don't need them to solve it, just to hear you out.
“It's always going to be better to under promise and over deliver than to over promise and under deliver.”
Coach Allan Misner
