Okay, so you know that being stressed out isn’t good for your health. But did you know that if you think that your stress is undermining your health you could actually have twice the risk of heart attack as people who don’t think about the physical harm their stress could be causing them? Sounds crazy doesn’t it, but a team of French researchers have found that thinking about the health effects of stress really does have an impact on your heart attack risk.
This research was based on data from a British study of London-based civil servants that has been collecting information since 1985. Participants in the study were asked if they felt that stress was negatively impacting their health and information about their lifestyle (ie, smoking, blood pressure, martial status, diet and exercise). After 18 years of collecting data, researchers found that participants who believed stress was damaging their health had nearly double the risk of heart attacks as those who did not believe stress was harming them. Even adjusting for other risk factors, the heart attack risk was still almost 50 percent higher than those who didn’t feel stress made a difference in their health.
What should we take out of this strange-sounding revelation? Don’t stress about stress. While we can’t always control the things that make us stressed out, we can work on controlling our reaction to them. Learning to recognize and manage stress can make us more healthy than if if we sit around worrying about how stressed we feel. That only makes it worse for our health! Yoga and meditation are common and effective stress management techniques. If a busy schedule is part of what gives you stress and you really don’t think you can clear out a spot for some yoga, you can certainly work breathing exercises into your lifestyle!
Read the entire article here: Don’t Stress Over Stress
