Importance of Sleep
Rest and Relaxation
Relaxing is a skill. Physical relaxation is best obtained after a period of intense activity, such as a sport game or jogging. This principle applies to relaxation exercises that help a person to be aware of the tone of the body muscles. It is easy to feel when is tensed for activity, but difficult to feel when it is fully relaxed. Relaxation exercises systematically tense the muscles throughout the body, starting at the toes and working upward toward the head. Then there is a conscious ‘letting go’ or relaxing one. It is this point that a person can start, after much practice, to ‘automatically’ relax.
Deep breathing with the diaphragm is also good way to help relaxation. Lie or sit down comfortable. Place the hands on the abdomen just below the ribcage. Slowly inhale through the nostrils, pulling the fingers open ward to the shoulders. Hold the breath for a few seconds, and then slowly exhale through the nostrils. At the end of the exhalation, concentrate on the rib shoulder muscles in their relaxed state. It is believed that four or five deep breaths prepare them for any stressful situation.
Easy Techniques for Coping with Stress
The amount of sleep required varies from person to person, and even in the same person from night to night. It is important to have a steady and sufficient amount of sleep if you are to avoid chronic fatigue and exhaustion. The amount of sleep needed to feel rested and refreshed indicates how many hours of sleep an individual requires. If sufficient sleep is obtained one night, the next sleep period should be longer to make up for it. It is better to go to bed earlier on the next night rather than to wake up later on the following day.
Another major factor in promoting mental health is having circle of family members and friends on whom an individual can rely for psychological support or financial aid in times of trouble, The security os such a support group can eliminate or greatly reduce anxiety. When a problem does arise, discussing it with a family member or friend is often enough to put the problem into its proper perspective. By the same token, a person can attain great satisfaction and feelings of self-worth from supporting another in time of stress, acting as an adviser, helper, or just a good listener.
The more secure a person feels, the more likely he or she is to be mentally healthy. The groundwork for emotional security is laid in childhood.
Understanding Behavioral Signs and Symptoms of Stress
Awareness of Cognitive/Perceptual Signs and Symptoms of Stress
Identifying Emotional Signs and Symptoms of Stress
Recognizing Physical Signs and Symptoms of Stress
Assessing the existence of Stress
Physical well-being: If the nutritional status of the person is poor, the body is stressed and the person is not able to respond to a stressful situation. As a result, the person can be susceptible to infections. A poor nutritional state can be related to unhealthy food choices, inadequate food intake, or an erratic eating schedule. A nutritionally unbalanced eating pattern can result in an inadequate intake of nutrients.
Physical activity: Inadequate physical activity can result in a stressful state for the body. Physical activity has many physiologic benefits. A consistent program of physical activity can contribute to a decrease in depression, if it exists. It also improves the feeling of well being.
Support systems: A minimal or total lack of support systems can be a sign of family problems or of social interaction in general. Social situations can be beyond the coping ability of stressed person.
Relaxation: When a person has no hobbies or means of relaxation, they may be unable to handle stressful situations because the individual has no outlet of stress.
What is Stress?
Psychological stress, to a minor degree is necessary for normal alertness and awareness, but excessive stress can have the opposite effect. Stress may be aggravated by a physical illness or by a mental disorder such as depression.
Stress management is the understanding of stress and its symptoms, and the performing of activities that increase relaxation. The changes in the body that produce fatigue are not fully understood. A person naturally feels tired at the end of a stressful day or after heavy physical exercise. A violently stressful situation car crash for instance, produces severe fatigue a few minutes after the event, even if the person is not injured by the accident. If a person does not and sleep properly, important faculties such as concentration and reflexes are impaired. Fatigue also changes a person’s ability to cope with stress. In some persons stress contributes to disorders like diarrhea, migraine, skin eruptions, and even asthma.
Also many authorities believe that stress may have a direct link with high blood pressure and coronary heart disease. There is also evidence that stress has an adverse effect on the immune system. If a person pushes himself or herself to the limits of fatigue, he or she is unable to deal adequately with stress and health suffers.