Monday, June 1, 2015
By: Total Nutrition Technology
Life gets hectic and it gets hard to fit everything into the day. It's in this type of environment where bad habits start to form... lack of sleep, poor eating, high levels of stress and not enough exercise. So we have some simple tricks to help you know How To Sleep Better, Stress Less and Improve Your Fitness. If you missed Part 1 in this 2 part series you can find it HERE where we talk about this sleep.
Lets move on to a big one for many of us...stress! Clearly, sleep is an extremely important component of muscle recovery. But there's more to the picture! The same effects experienced from a lack of sleep are also experienced from high levels of stress.
High levels of stress have been correlated with:
● Hormonal imbalances, causing greater concentrations of the catabolic hormone, cortisol, and decreased concentrations of the muscle building hormones.
● Persistent fatigue and exhaustion, allowing less energy to go into your workout
● Sleep disturbances, greatly prolonging the recovery process
● Loss of Motivation- causing your simple daily routines to feel more like a chore, rather than enjoyable
● Frequent changes in appetite
Believe it or not, stress is a part of life. It is a normal response and can be both positive and negative. Positive stress keeps us alert and motivated. However when this stress becomes chronic, it turns into negative stress. Negative stress increases the risk of several diseases including: depression and heart disease.
But with all of the obligations in our lives, how do we prevent too much stress from affecting our day-to-day activities?
Just like proper nutrition and a well-constructed training plan, managing stress is another important component for success. It is important to remember that more is NOT always better. It is important to sort out your priorities and be sure to refrain from overloading yourself with too many responsibilities. This will help to keep unnecessary stress out of your life.
A few helpful tactics:
● Prioritize! Our busy and hectic lifestyles have potential to bring upon stress from work, school, relationships, etc. Deal with one things at a time and don't over-analyze situations.
● Don't let stressful aspects of your life bother you during your other daily activities. Instead, focus on them when it's time and move forward.
● Calm down & don't get angry.
● Shift your stresses! Realize what tends to stress you out, and deal with those issues first. Capture as much energy early on in the day to complete these activities to get them off of your mind.
● Exercise, but don't overdo it.
● Practice relaxation techniques: Mediate, try yoga, take small walks for fresh air. Start small by trying a two minute meditation or a five minute walk.
Listen to how your body truly feels and try to relax!
● Practice time management and plan ahead. Make a list of the tasks you plan to accomplish each day and check them off as you go.
● Live in the present- Don't worry about the past or the future.
● Keep a positive attitude! Not only is this beneficial to you, but it's quite contagious to those around you as well.
So the next time you stop and wonder why you're not gaining muscle or improving your fitness, but your training plan and diet seem to be right on key, try monitoring your SLEEP and STRESS LEVELS. Chances are that with a little bit of effort and a positive mindset you will drastically improve your fitness, ultimately leading to a happier and healthier lifestyle!
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Sources:
http://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/tips-to-control-stress
http://www.medicinenet.com/stress/page3.htm
http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/what_health_consequences_of_stress_000031_3.htm