New research links chronic stress dysregulation to a meaningfully higher risk of death, and the practices that calm it down are simple and well tested.
I have used a calming herb called American Skullcap for many years now. I make myself a glass of tea with a tablespoon of it before bed. It works on your benzodiazepine receptors, but much more softly, and it is non-addictive, unlike benzodiazepines.
Also, magnesium glycinate has made a big difference for both of us as well.
So if you have nervous system problems like I do (fibromyalgia, seizures, migraines), I highly recommend them.
Practicing yoga has also helped me immensely, and there are many breathing exercises that are part of it.
Just trying to share some of the things you left out that have worked, at least for me.
Dealing with neurological problems and stress and PTSD has pretty much defined the last decade of my life…
Thank you for this information! Are you able to say if the 30 minutes of slow breathing has to be in one sitting to be effective? Might three 10 minutes bouts achieve it? Thanks
I’ve focused on meditation and physical activities the past 10+ years to deal with chronic stress and anxiety from life and career. Both help sleep.
•Daily walks at my lunch time at work has done wonders not only for breaking up my day but helping with mood.
•Daily exercise options includes a menu of long evening fast walks, cruiser bike rides, hiking, swimming, and always evening yoga breath and stretching. It’s just a part of daily living to include a physical activity.
•I enjoy sound meditation and there’s endless free stuff online or through a music service. My mind is busy and I need help from a voice or music in settling it.
•Something I’ve learned about sleep, for me, is sticking to a regimented schedule and same time every day no matter if on vacation or weekends. I still don’t have this down perfectly but I can tell the difference in my days when I keep a set bedtime/wake-up schedule.
It’s apparent to me that people use all kinds of habits for stress: Rx, food, shopping and materialism and consumption, alcohol, drugs, etc. All tied to excess spending of $$.
Longevity is often discussed through nutrition and exercise, but the ability to regulate stress responses is an equally important part of the foundation. The most effective practices are usually the ones that are simple enough to become part of daily life.
The allostatic load framing is the part that lands for me, because it names something the medical record has no field for.
I’m an ER nurse, and “stress” is not a variable that ever gets logged into a chart. We chart the chest pain, the blood pressure, the palpitations, the GI flare, the headache that showed up at 2am.
A fair share of those people are sitting in front of me with a stress-related condition and a workup that comes back clean, and they go home with a diagnosis that names the symptom instead of the driver.
What I keep thinking over: is the fix better measurement, something like HRV that produces a number a clinician can actually trend, or is measurement the dead end and the real move is that we just start asking? Curious what others think, especially anyone who has tried to make this land inside a real clinical encounter.
I have used a calming herb called American Skullcap for many years now. I make myself a glass of tea with a tablespoon of it before bed. It works on your benzodiazepine receptors, but much more softly, and it is non-addictive, unlike benzodiazepines.
Also, magnesium glycinate has made a big difference for both of us as well.
So if you have nervous system problems like I do (fibromyalgia, seizures, migraines), I highly recommend them.
Practicing yoga has also helped me immensely, and there are many breathing exercises that are part of it.
Just trying to share some of the things you left out that have worked, at least for me.
Dealing with neurological problems and stress and PTSD has pretty much defined the last decade of my life…
Thank you for this information! Are you able to say if the 30 minutes of slow breathing has to be in one sitting to be effective? Might three 10 minutes bouts achieve it? Thanks
I’ve focused on meditation and physical activities the past 10+ years to deal with chronic stress and anxiety from life and career. Both help sleep.
•Daily walks at my lunch time at work has done wonders not only for breaking up my day but helping with mood.
•Daily exercise options includes a menu of long evening fast walks, cruiser bike rides, hiking, swimming, and always evening yoga breath and stretching. It’s just a part of daily living to include a physical activity.
•I enjoy sound meditation and there’s endless free stuff online or through a music service. My mind is busy and I need help from a voice or music in settling it.
•Something I’ve learned about sleep, for me, is sticking to a regimented schedule and same time every day no matter if on vacation or weekends. I still don’t have this down perfectly but I can tell the difference in my days when I keep a set bedtime/wake-up schedule.
It’s apparent to me that people use all kinds of habits for stress: Rx, food, shopping and materialism and consumption, alcohol, drugs, etc. All tied to excess spending of $$.
Longevity is often discussed through nutrition and exercise, but the ability to regulate stress responses is an equally important part of the foundation. The most effective practices are usually the ones that are simple enough to become part of daily life.
The allostatic load framing is the part that lands for me, because it names something the medical record has no field for.
I’m an ER nurse, and “stress” is not a variable that ever gets logged into a chart. We chart the chest pain, the blood pressure, the palpitations, the GI flare, the headache that showed up at 2am.
A fair share of those people are sitting in front of me with a stress-related condition and a workup that comes back clean, and they go home with a diagnosis that names the symptom instead of the driver.
What I keep thinking over: is the fix better measurement, something like HRV that produces a number a clinician can actually trend, or is measurement the dead end and the real move is that we just start asking? Curious what others think, especially anyone who has tried to make this land inside a real clinical encounter.