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Visiting a farm for a few hours relieves stress and fatigue in the majority of people
Essex University scientists said getting out into the countryside, having contact with farm animals and even a ride on a tractor helped people get rid of feelings of anger, confusion and depression. A study found a visit to a farm made 97% of people less tired, and over 90% were less tense. More than half felt revitalised, with men and those over 30 benefiting especially from the few hours outside. "In particular, stressed out thirty-somethings who are looking to recharge their batteries might be advised to ditch the gym workout or snooze on the sofa and get out on to a farm instead," said Jules Pretty.
by telegraph ::: 2008-05-30

20 ways to be healthier without even trying
(3) Drink water: Do you need 8 glasses a day? No. All you need to know is this: drink water with meals and whenever you're thirsty. --- (4) Wash hands: Up to 80% of all colds, flu and other usual illnesses are spread through touching. --- (7) Breathe deeply: It cuts stress at once. Try 6 slow, deep breaths per minute to lower blood pressure and calm you down. --- (12) Sleep enough: The average person needs 7-9 hours sleep a night. Not getting enough sleep trashes mood, memory and problem-solving ability. --- (17) Get back to nature: Research shows that being outdoors lowers stress levels and raises a sense of wellbeing.
by int ::: 2008-02-26

Ten strategies to manage stress - tried-and-true stress reduction strategies
To reestablish balance and feel calm and centered, it’s crucial to manage stress. --- Eat for the long run: Choose nourishing and sustaining foods instead of quick pick-me-ups, which cause rapid bursts of energy, followed by lowered mood and energy. --- Reduce the sleep deficit. You may be surprised to know that some of us do need 8 hours or else we feel jetlagged, which results to even more stress. --- Select your music with care. Music shapes our breathing, heart rate and blood pressure. --- Connect with a friend. Sharing feelings with a supportive friend decreases tension.
by nydailynews ::: 2008-02-23

Best Ways To Beat Holiday Stress
Though many struggle to manage stress throughout the year, the holidays can magnify underlying issues. A study found that while 78% of respondents reported feeling often happy around the holidays, two-thirds felt stressed and fatigued. The warning signs of stress can include fatigue, sleep disorders, indulgent eating, loss of enthusiasm and feelings of detachment and angst. While it may be easy to identify the warning signs, isolating the source of stress can be trickier. That's because "stress often doesn't have to do with the event, but with how people interpret that situation," says Aggie Casey.
by forbes ::: 2007-11-24

Experts say "heart rate feedback" device can reduce stress
A device called the emWave can help reduce stress levels by giving users feedback about heart rate. The $200 device hooks up to the user's earlobe where it starts measuring stress levels with different colored lights. Donna Koontz said the device has helped her get away from the fast pace of technology: "This device has helped me reduce my stress absolutely." She uses the device to control her thoughts, heart rate and breathing. "What it's measuring is the variability of your heart rate as its directly correlated to the stress response," said Dr. Alrene Noodleman.
by nbc11 ::: 2007-11-16

Plan ahead to avoid stress during the holidays
The holidays don't have to be stressful. Here are tips to help deal with holiday anxiety. --- Plan ahead: Decide when, where and with whom the family is going to celebrate the holidays. --- Take time: To avoid burnout, budget time wisely. Schedule shopping excursions around responsibilities and avoid waiting until the last minute. If needed, take a day off to shop. --- Don't be afraid to say no: If your social calendar is already crowded, don't feel guilty saying 'no'.
by moorparkacorn ::: 2007-11-13

Playing Social-intelligence Game reduces stress hormone 17%
Video game MindHabits Trainer - designed by McGill University researchers - to help train people to change their perception of social threats and boost their self-confidence has been shown to reduce the production of the stress-related hormone cortisol. "We already knew that it was possible to design games to allow people to practise new forms of social perception, but we were surprised by the impact this had when we took the games out of the lab and into the context of people's stressful lives."
by sciencedaily ::: 2007-10-24

How to manage your stress - Strategies for controlling stress
If your schedule sets your teeth to grinding, make a list of projects you need to get done and front-load it with tasks you can do quickly. As you check off accomplishments, you'll begin to feel in control. Try scheduling daily tasks so that you can attack the most difficult ones when your energy level is highest. And delegate: Not just to coworkers but to children, spouse, and friends. Try to exercise regularly: The exercise doesn't have to be straining. Walking releases endorphins that can soothe a mind. And even half an hour a day can ease insomnia - both a symptom of stress and a stressor.
by cnn ::: 2007-08-08

Spanish Hotel's Stress Release: Stressed out people to smash rooms
A few lucky people in need of a stress break were offered the ultimate therapy. The NH Alcala hotel in Madrid planning renovations offered 30 "highly stressed out people," selected by a team of psychologists, the chance to take up sledge hammers and rampage through the its rooms. And rampage they did. Wearing protective dust masks, white overalls, helmets and gloves, the amateur demolition crew swung hammers into tv sets and bedroom walls and tossed desks like hard-partying rock stars. "Who hasn't dreamed, in the middle of a stress attack, of breaking everything around them?" NH said in a statement.
by cbsnews ::: 2007-07-06

Stress Management
Summer is coming and we’re supposed to feel relaxed. Instead, we’re worried about sending our children to camp, harried because routines are upset, and rushed to find that perfect vacation spot. In short: we feel stressed out. In our fast-paced world, many of us live in a constant state of stress and lose the ability to downshift. We remain constantly alerted and experience physical (insomnia, headache, or backache) and emotional (impatience, difficulty with decisions, forgetfulness, or difficulty with concentrating) signs of stress. The best way to manage a stressor is to eliminate the root cause...
by pennnet ::: 2007-06-24

Positive thinking: Practice this stress management skill
Some studies show that personality traits, optimism and pessimism, can affect how well you live - and even how long you live. Positive thinking is a key part of an effective stress management strategy. Self-talk is the endless stream of thoughts that run through your head. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. One theory is that having a positive outlook enables you to cope better with stressful situations, which reduces the harmful health effects of stress on your body. Start by following one simple rule: Don't say anything to yourself that you wouldn't say to anyone else.
by mayoclinic ::: 2007-06-03

Alternative ways to help you chill out and de-stress
Stressed out, tired and fed up? Could you do with a massage, a foot rub and a good old chill out session? Well, why not experience some alternative therapies to combat the wear and tear of everyday life. --- "The Indian Head Massage I do has its roots in India, 4,000 years ago. Mothers used to massage their babies, and when the babies grew up they would massage other members of their family using the same techniques. It is a great stress reliever, gentle and highly effective. And less intrusive than other massages, which ask for people to take their clothes off, which not everyone likes," said Alison Loughton.
by peterboroughtoday ::: 2007-05-28

20 Minutes Of Water Jet Massage Can Make A Difference
Like many, Sherry Swanson would love to have a massage every day if she had the time and could afford it. So instead, she tried the dry hydrotherapy bed at Spa. "Hydrotherapy is similar to a massage except you don't have to get undressed. You can do it alone. You don't have somebody touching you," said said Dr. Melissa Grosboll. There are 9 water jets underneath the hydrotherapy bed. The pressure and speed is adjustable. "It helps to increase circulation because you're getting that movement into the blood flow. It helps increase oxygen absorption, so you have more energy."
by thedenverchannel ::: 2007-05-03

Pet stress - special patch shows stress on dog, cat
Wondering if your dog or cat is stressed? Just stick a special patch on the bottom of its paw and you'll be able to tell. The patch, by Japanese company Medical Life Care Giken, purports to measure the stress level of pets by detecting sweat secretion, believed to be a sign of stress. The patch changes color depending on how sweaty the pet is. The company says it worked with researchers to study the sweat patterns of dogs and cats, which secrete sweat from their paws. The patches are expected to go on sale in Japan later this year.
by cnn ::: 2007-05-01

What is stress?
Stress originates from the Latin word "stringere" which means to compress or to draw tight. A good description of how some people experience stress, tight and compressed or pressured. Stress is something which: costs economies a great deal of money. causes organisations problems with productivity. makes individuals and their friends suffer in a variety of ways. The International Stress Management Association (ISMA) consider stress to be where: people have an adverse reaction to excessive pressures, where these exceed the person's ability to cope. Prolonged exposure to this may result in unhealthy physical, emotional and mental symptoms.
by 4hoteliers ::: 2007-03-12

Talented people more prone to failure under stress
Talented people often choke under pressure because the distraction caused by stress consumes their working memory, psychologist Sian Beilock has found. Highly accomplished people tend to heavily rely on their abundant supply of working memory and are therefore disadvantaged when challenged to solve difficult problems. People with less adequate supplies of working memory learn other ways of problem solving to compensate for their deficiencies, and although these alternative strategies are not highly accurate, they are not impacted additionally by working under pressure.
by sciencedaily ::: 2007-02-20

Detecting Signs of Stress
In order to keep from becoming stressed, one of the first things to do is to be aware of the signs of stress. This is difficult, since people who are stressed are often too stressed to notice that they are stressed. If you are aware of the signs of stress, you can tuck this info into your subconscious so that your brain might just remind you that your biggest problem is stress itself. Of all the signs of stress the most obvious is persistent worrying: a state where your brain is constantly reminding itself of issues that need resolving. This is not only a sign of stress, it could be referred to as stress itself.
by bestsyndication ::: 2007-02-13

Learning to control everyday stress before it kills you
The late Dr. Hans Selye, who won acclaim for his research on stress, was the first to explain that stress is a constant influence in our day-to-day lives. He also made a distinction between positive stress, "eustress," the type of stress you experience when you win the lottery or finish a 5K run; and negative stress, "distress," the stress brought on by a woes. Eustress can give us a competitive edge in performance-related activities. But prolonged distress has been shown to compromise the immune system, damage memory cells in the brain according to Dr. Bruce S. McEwen, author of "The End of Stress as We Know It."
by marinij ::: 2007-01-30

Aiding relaxation: Casual gaming helps users reduce stress
Playing games is not seen as a way of aiding relaxation, but research has claimed that casual gaming can reduce stress. Survey of players found that specific types of games contribute to efforts to relax. Games that are more likely to increase adrenaline levels due to their competitive nature and intense imagery are not much good for chilling out. But casual games such as family friendly word, puzzle, trivia and simple action games can help reduce stress. "Casual word and puzzle games can help people develop new cellular brain connections thereby helping to keep the brain active and vital."
by infomaticsonline ::: 2006-11-14

Clues to living in a stress-filled society
We live in a high-pressure, high-stress society. In Japan, the symptoms of extreme levels of stress are seen in the "death from overwork" syndrome and a high suicide rate. Martin Seligman expresses his concern about "big I and small we" - a distended self-centeredness and an attenuated sense of connection with others. This must be confronted if we are to prevent our lives from growing even more stressful. In the past, society provided encouragement for people, especially in highly stressful situations. Regrettably, many of the networks that supported us have been undermined. Faced with stress, too many people have nowhere to turn to.
by japantimes ::: 2006-11-13

How much of stress is self-inflicted --Managing life require a plan
There is no doubt: stress has become embedded in the fabric of daily existence. With faster everything where-ever you are, less time to do more in less time, less nutrition, stress has become multi-faceted. But while there are negative effects of stress, stress has positives too. Stress propels the body into motion and, when managed, can constitute a great source of impetus. Maybe the art of managing stress lies in adaptation and insight, not resistance. The question is: how does one learn to go with the flow?
by ioljobs ::: 2006-10-12

Coping with stress: Relieving Stress with tips, tricks and advices :: Hand-picked tips and news

Stress Relief News is an edited review of hand-picked stress relief and stress management news and articles, providing stress reduction tips, tricks and advices.