fitness and stress Archives - Fran's Fitness Over 50

“Fitness” is not just exercise

What comes to mind when you think “fitness?” I’ll bet one thing you don’t think of is self-care. But self-care is more than a tag line and it’s crucial for our fitness. I don’t mean dental floss or moisturizer, although they’re certainly important for our health and well-being.

The self-care I’m referring to is taking care of our mental health. Taking time to care for ourselves when the world is crazy around us is essential for keeping our equilibrium.

Self-care can be as simple as closing your eyes

If you're feeling anxious and stressed, meditation could help. Meditation can be an integral part of your self-care.

Self-care can be as simple as just taking a few minutes away from others, screens, phones and other intrusions. Or just closing your eyes and breathing for a few seconds between phone calls or meetings can help to clear your mind.

A brief meditation session can also calm you. If you don’t usually practice meditation, then a guided meditation is helpful. You can download my complementary “Garden Walk” meditation now. Opening your eyes after meditating is like waking up from a restful snooze.

Reset your thoughts to focus

This brief interlude can reset your thoughts, making it easier for you to focus on the next task. Or it can help you to distance yourself a little from troublesome news and the ever-present clatter of today’s world.

And if you’ve had a really long awful, troublesome day filled with terrible news and cranky people, take a little longer to center yourself. Tell the family, “I need a while. I’ll be back in a half hour.” They should be able to respect your needs to give you the time you need, just as you would give them time.

“Self-care” is more than a fad. It’s an essential part of fitness.

This all qualifies as “self-care.” It’s more than a fad. Self-care is more than a tag line or slogan. It’s essential for staying sane in these crazy times.

Too often we’re met with people in bad moods these days. It’s important that we not follow their lead and let them turn our mood downward, easy as it is to do. I wrote of this before, and it’s still appropriate.) When we follow the harder path, of optimism and growth, by caring for ourselves a little more, we grow our optimism and our resilience.

Meditation is a great stress reliever, but short-term stress may be good for us.

Is stress good for us? There’s a difference between long-term and short-term stress, and our reactions are different.

Long-term stress = not good

We all know that long-term stress is bad for your health. Stress can increase blood pressure and heart rate. Stress can prevent you from sleeping well. Stress can impact your eating and exercise habits. Stress can even have a negative impact on your skin. So, we can safely conclude that it’s best to avoid long-term stress.

But, short-term stress is another story.

Short-term stress can get your blood pumping, charge you up for the challenge ahead.

Studies have shown that stress in short duration can actually help the brain improve. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, discovered that after rats were place in a short-term stressful situation (they were immobilized in their cage for a few hours), new brain cell growth doubled. The rodents also did better on a memory test later on. “We think the same thing happens in people—manageable stress increases alertness and performance,” study author Daniela Kaufer, PhD, a professor of integrative biology, told Berkeley Wellness. “Moderate and short-lived stress—like an upcoming exam or preparing to deliver a speech in public—improves cognitive performance.” So be assured that the next time you have to speak before a group of people, your brain will grow!

It makes sense that short-term stress helps your memory too. If you’re being chased, you’ll be forced to remember your path rather than just meandering down random streets or alleys.

And a positive short-term stressor will increase our energy. Situations that challenge us, or are exciting and stimulating, place stress on our mind and body—but the experience doesn’t necessarily cause discomfort. Rather, this kind of stress can motivate us, sharpen our senses, and help us solve problems. Good stress actually creates new neural pathways and stimulates healthful endorphins.

The short-term stress you experience when you exercise is great for your body. (But it’s important not to overdo, especially if you’re not used to intense exercise. The short-term stress you’ll experience on a brisk walk may be all that you need to calm your mind enough to be able to focus.)

In fact, this short-term “good” stress can actually boost your immune system. Another study with rats showed that rats who were stressed briefly had a surge of immune cell response. There’s no reason to believe that we are different.

So, get stressed a little! Lace up your walking shoes or take the dog for a walk.