Mood – The Art of Less Stress

The sun is shining, you’re outside with your mates, there’s a cool breeze and life is all great…
well, almost all great.

2009 has been a year of playing full out for many people and the daily stressors we encounter, as well as the odd curve-ball thrown at us, can put our happy hormones and energy a little out of whack.

Fatigue, low mood and irritability are all signs of burn-out and can really put a ‘downer’ on your summer plans to enjoy the outdoors and quality time with family and friends.

Working intensely, keeping up with your fitness regime and slotting in social time around organising a rather disorderly family are part and parcel of our daily lives. This isn’t going to change but how we deal with these stressors can. Setting yourself up for success by managing your stress will take some organisation and some wise choices when it comes to your supplementation regime.

How to feel less frazzled

Plan, plan, plan. Use your evenings to plan for the following day. Have your weekly shopping done on a Sunday and prepare lunches at the same time as you prepare dinner. Have a routine in the mornings. Make your bed before you step foot out of your bedroom and undertake one task at a time until they are complete. The more you follow a daily routine, the more your body will feel familiar and relaxed with what you are getting up to, and the calmer you will be.

Embrace stress

The familiar fast beating heart and shallow breathing that accompanies some situations can be viewed in different ways. You can take the situation as stressful and beyond your control and therefore precipitate the stress. Or you can acknowledge the stress response that is happening in your body, take deep breaths and feel in total control despite knowing that a deadline is looming. Put the stress into perspective. Will it matter in a years’ time, or five years’ time? If not, then decide to re-evaluate your reaction to it.

Nourish your body

Brain chemicals that send you into stress mode also tell your body that you need to replenish your food stores that have been burnt up “fighting the aggressor”. So you will tend to crave all sorts of sugary fast foods that will only wreak havoc on your energy levels and mood. The best defence is once again to plan ahead, making yourself well-balanced protein-focused snacks and meals in advance.

Under stress you need more nutrients than normal. In particular, you’ll be running in deficit of magnesium and B group vitamins as found in Radiance® Magnesium Complex and Radiance® Vitamin B100. If you’re running low on these nutrients you’ll be feeling more jittery, anxious, low in energy and fatigued than when at your peak. You may have muscle cramps or twitches and you’ll feel like you have to drag yourself out of bed in the morning straight to the coffee machine (not recommended). The simple solution is to supplement. Give your body the nutrients it needs to perform optimally.

Go the way of the herbs

Do what generations before us, from all cultures, have always done and turn to the power of herbs to get you through a busy patch. We are bombarded with so much more regular stimulus than ever before and herbs help by changing our response to stress from bewildered to blissful. A group of herbs called ‘adaptogens’ help your body ‘adapt’ to the physiological changes that happen under stress, easing the tension. I can feel the sigh of relief as you read.

Two important adaptogens are Rhodiola rosea as found in Radiance® AdaptoStress, and Ashwagandha as found in Nature’s Way® Ashwagandha. Make them part of your planned daily routine and feel the stress drop away.