A Cure for Election Stress
The pandemic and presidential election have created a perfect storm of stress this week. But the good news is the thermometer is climbing, making it the perfect weekend to head outside for some fresh air and exercise to escape the news cycle for a while.
Brandon Alderman from the Department of Kinesiology and Health in the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University-New Brunswick explains the toll stress can take on our bodies and the benefit of taking a break this weekend.
How do our bodies react to stressful periods and how can this affect our health?
Stress is a complex psychological and biological process that results in a cascade of bodily responses and ultimately can result in low energy, headaches, indigestion and difficulty in falling and staying asleep. Although stress may help us in the short term by helping us to deal with emergencies, it can be pernicious and maladaptive when experienced as chronic or unrelenting. Constant stress can suppress our immune system, increasing susceptibility to colds and infections. Many people are familiar with cortisol, the classic stress hormone, but it's important to know that the way that we react to stressors impacts nearly every system in our body, which is why it is important to reduce stress in our lives.
With temperatures headed in the 70s this weekend, are there benefits to heading outdoors? Can fresh air and sunshine help our stress levels?
A number of recent studies have shown that spending time outdoors, particularly in parks and other outdoor areas with green space, may reduce our experience of stress. Time spent outdoors and in sunshine has been related to improvements in mood, which can help to offset some of the negative consequences or experience of stress in our lives.
What are the benefits of exercise during periods like this?
Exercise can serve as a form of stress management, helping to lower our physiological responses to stress and can also help us to recover more quickly to daily hassles and chronic, unrelenting stress. Unfortunately, exercise is a behavior that is often sacrificed during stressful times, exactly when we need it the most. Exercise lowers blood pressure and resting heart rate, relieves tension and improves mood. Even short 10-to-15-minute walks improve how we feel and can help to offset some of the harmful consequences of stress.
What are some activities you can recommend? Are some more valuable than others? Is taking a hike better than sitting in a park or can both have benefits?
The most important type of exercise or activity that you should engage in to reduce stress is the activity that you will actually do! It is important to engage in exercise and other physical activities that are enjoyable and that may help distract us from things that are causing tension in our lives. Personally, my favorite type of outdoor exercise is a brisk walk for 30-40 minutes. However, just being outside doing activities that you enjoy such as nature watching, gardening and yard work are also great.
It might be hard for some people to put down their cell phones and shut off news this weekend. What can people do to help get motivated to get up and go outside?
Some of the world's greatest philosophers and thinkers noted the benefits of physical activity while being disconnected or free from the cares and worries of the day. Although we don't have sufficient data to make recommendations, I am guessing that these great thinkers are correct and that our own mental and physical health would improve with some time away every day from our devices. I schedule exercise into my daily routine and am unapologetic about it. I would encourage everyone to take the time to exercise and enjoy the outdoors as a bit of much needed self-care.
