When you think about stress, do you picture someone working long hours at a less than fulfilling job, experiencing financial hardships, or overburdened by too many errands and seemingly pointless tasks? Do you imagine relationships with friends and family suffering, as well as having no time for some genuine peace and quiet time alone? Are you among the millions of Americans, including myself, who have been that stressed out person?<\/p>\n
The other side of the coin is that today we lead increasingly sedentary lifestyles in this country. Not only do many of us sit all day at a desk job, we come home and browse the Internet, watch television, read Kindle ebooks, play games on our smartphones, talk, text, tweet, and basically spend more time sitting than any other culture at any other time in human history. So if we are able to find all that time to sit and interact with technology (presumably for reasons like fun, communication, and relaxation), how can we still be suffering from stress and it’s effects?<\/p>\n
One source of the problem lies with basic inactivity. Though we feel stimulated, engaged and involved when following friends on Facebook, playing in an online gaming tournament, or watching Dancing With the Stars, we are not actually doing anything at those times, nothing physical anyway. Our minds and emotions may be occupied, but our bodies are missing out on the fun. Instead, they sit idly by while the nutrition and calories from dinner go unused.<\/p>\n
By eating a large, heavy meal at dinner, we are really trying to make up for unhealthy and insufficient meals earlier in the day. Then we end up tired out even more, making a trip to the gym or going for a walk seem even less appealing (but which would be the best things to really help relieve daily stress).<\/p>\n
The other side of the problem is food and poor eating habits. A day of not eating breakfast, followed by too much sugar and caffeine, then little to no lunch, followed by more sugar and caffeine, topped off with a large, heavy dinner at the end of the day sets up a cycle that leaves us mentally and physically fatigued.<\/p>\n
We also feed our emotional stresses with comfort foods, sweets and junk food that might satisfy us temporarily, but wind up contributing to the weight-gain and lack of energy that make us both stressed out and sedentary. It’s a vicious cycle that can feel difficult, if not impossible, for people to escape.<\/p>\n
The current recession is definitely leaving people overworked and overwhelmed. Ironically, it’s the perceived cost of exercising and eating healthy that is driving more people to cut exercise and healthy eating out of their daily routines. In a study conducted by Cambridge University, participants reported feeling they could not afford the added expenses of gym memberships and super-foods, and said they found it hard to take care of themselves due to increasingly busy schedules.<\/p>\n
Other research studies have demonstrated the physical link between stress and sedentary lifestyles. One such study, published in the journal Obesity Research<\/i>, measured the activity levels of 25 boys and girls between the ages of 8 and 12 over a period of two days: once after they engaged in a non-stressful activity, and the other after giving a videotaped speech. The children were then divided into groups based on how much their heart rate changed in response to being stressed and how stressed they felt themselves to be.<\/p>\n
After the tests, the children were offered the choice of being paid to exercise for progressively longer periods of time, or either watching TV or playing video games. Researchers found that children whose heart rates reacted to stress exercised less on the stressful day than they did on the non-stressful day.<\/p>\n
More research is needed into the role mental, emotional and even spiritual factors play in a stressful and yet sedentary life. In my work with clients, what I have found is that these things contribute equally alongside lack of physical activity and poor food choices and eating habits. Taking a break from technology, and actually engaging with other people in person and getting physically out into the world can benefit and satisfy us on every level.<\/p>\n
So next time you have the choice to sit and watch “American Idol” or take a walk after dinner, make the healthier choice, either by yourself or with friends and family. Try it just once a week, and see what can happen when you break your routine and move in a positive, healthy direction. Trust me, “Idol” can still be there on the DVR when you get home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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