- Increase maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max)
- Improvement in cardiovascular/ cardio respiratory function (heart and lungs)
- Increase maximal cardiac output (amount of blood pumped every minuet)
- Increase maximal stroke volume (amount of blood pumped with each beat)
- Increase blood volume and ability to carry oxygen
- Reduced workload on the heart (myocardial oxygen consumption) for any given sub maximal exercise intensity
- Increase blood supply to muscles and ability to use oxygen
- Lower heart rate and blood pressure at any level of sub maximal exercise
- Increase threshold for lactic acid accumulation
- Lower resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure in people with high blood pressure
- Increased HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol)
- Decrease blood triglycerides
- Reduced body fat and improves weight control
- Improved glucose tolerance
Self-Massage Techniques
Scalp Smoother: Place your thumbs behind your ears while spreading your fingers on top of your head. Move your scalp back and forth slightly by making circles with your fingertips for 15-20 seconds
Easy on the Eyes: Close your eyes and place your ring fingers directly under your eyebrows, near the bridge of your nose. Slowly increase the pressure for 5-10 seconds then gently release. Repeat 2-3 times.
Sinus Pressure Relief: Place your fingertips at the bridge of your nose. Slowly slide your fingers down your nose and across the top of your cheekbones to the outside of your eyes.
Shoulder Tension Relief: Reach one arm across the front of your body to your opposite shoulder. Using a circular motion press firmly on the muscle above your shoulder blade. Repeat on the other side.
Exercise relieves stress in several ways:
- It allows the body to release tension and pent-up frustrations
- It raises the output of endorphins feel good brain chemicals that ward off depression
- It decreases the output of stress hormones
- It helps you get better sleep
- It relaxes muscles and lowers your resting pulse rate
- It makes you feel better about yourself
How can your sensory organs help you relieve stress
You can use sensory stimuli to help you r educe stress. Methods Include:
- Listening to smoothing music
- Taking a long hot bath or shower
- Looking at a beautiful scene picture
- Using aromatherapy or various scents to evoke physical responses
By enlisting your body as an ally you may be better able to reduce and relieve your levels of stress.
Conditions Caused By Stress
High Blood pressure – High blood pressure increases the hearts workload causing the heart to thicken and become stiffer. It also increases your risk of stroke, heart attack, and kidney failure. When high blood pressure exists with obesity, smoking, high blood cholesterol levels or diabetes the risk of hear attack or stoke increases several times.
What other factors contribute to heart disease risk
- Individual response to stress may be a contributing factor. Some scientists have noted a relationship between coronary heart disease risk and stress in a person’s life their health behaviours and socio-economic status. These factors may affect established risk factors. For example people under stress may overeat, start smoking or smoke more than they otherwise would.
- Drinking to much alcohol can raise blood pressure cause heart failure and lead to stroke. It can contribute to high triglycerides cancer and other diseases and produce irregular heartbeats. It contributes to obesity, alcoholism, suicide and accidents.
- The risk of heart disease in people who drink moderate amounts of alcohol (an average of one drink in women or two for men per day) is lower than in non-drinkers. One drink is defined as 1-½ fluid ounces (fl oz) of 80-proof spirits (such as bourbon, scotch, vodka, gin ect.) 1 fl oz of 100-proof spirits, 4 fl oz of wine or 12 fl oz beer. It’s not recommended that non-drinkers start using alcohol or that drinkers increase that amount they drink.
Anxiety
When our anxiety is a result of a contributing problem such as money difficulties. We call it worrying if it is a sudden response to an immediate threat like looking over a cliff our being confronted with an angry dog we call this fear.
Normally both fear and anxiety can be helpful helping us to avoid dangerous situations making us alert and giving us the motivation to deal with problems. However if the feelings become too strong or go for too long they can stop us from doing the things we want to and can make our lives miserable.
Anxiety
In the mind
- Feeling worried all the time
- Feeling tired
- Unable to concentrate
- Feeling irritable
- Sleeping badly
In the Body
- Irregular heartbeats (Palpitations)
- Sweating
- Muscle tension and pains
- Breathing heavily
- Dizziness
- Faintness
- Indigestion
- Diarrhoea
Signs of stress
Stress affects mind and the body in many ways the signs and symptoms of stress vary from person but all have potential to harm your health emotional well-being and relationships with others.
Affects of Stress on your mind
- Problems with memory
- Difficulty making decisions
- Inability to concentrate shortened attention span
- Confusion
- Repetitive or continual thoughts
- Misunderstanding of what others tell you
- Proof judgment
- Thoughts of escaping, running away
- Inability to show down thought process
- Loss of objectivity
Affects of Stress on your body
- Headaches
- Digestive disorders
- Muscle tension and pain
- Sleep disturbances
- Fatigue
- Chest pain, irregular heartbeat
- High blood pressure
- Weight gain or loss
- Hair loss
- Asthma o shortness of breath
- Skin problems
- Periodontal disease, jaw pain
- Reproductive problems such as missed periods
- Immune system suppression
Relaxation tapes
Relaxation tapes are a way of helping you to reduce your stress levels and help you get a better sleep and achieve deeper levels of self-awareness and personal insight plus much more which is listed below.
- Significantly reduces stress and anxiety
- Improves your sleep and increases energy and vitality
- Achieves profound state of deep mediation and relaxation
- Improves mental and emotional well-being
- Dramatically increases your self-awareness
- Takes your creativity and motivation to new levels
Massage/ Reiki
Reiki restores the body’s natural balance and enhances other forms of treatment both orthodox and complimentary. It helps in the person’s recovery by boosting the immune system.
Reiki is used to help
- Stress
- Shock
- Respiratory problems
- Varicose veins
- Energy/ stamina
- Diabetes
- Blood pressure
- Confidence
- Sleep
- Smoking
- Fatigue
Aromatherapy massage
Aromatherapy massage is a therapeutic treatment, which enhances your well-being, and helps reduce stress
Aromatherapy massage is good for:
- Stress
- Skin and hair conditions
- Respiratory problems (such as Asthma)
- Phobias and mental blocks
- Nervous and emotional conditions
- Energy/ stamina
- Allergies
- Eating disorders
- Blood and circulatory problems
- Confidence
- Sleep
- Fatigue
Mary’s life would be better she would be more energetic wanting to do more things. Mary would be able to go for job interviews if she finds the right job she wants to do. If Mary kept to the same job as she does now she might still get stressed but with help from her doctor and good exercise her blood pressure will lower which means her health is on the mend. Mary just needs to stay positive and her stress will go away. Mary has promised she will go and get sorted and she will try and not let anything get toher as it used to.
