In this modern era persistent stress and fatigue is a significant problem that plagues people without regard to their socioeconomic status. This chronic anxiety can eventually lead down the path to depression, and reduced overall satisfaction of life. As a direct result of a depressed state all of society suffers by reduced attendance at work, and even higher healthcare expenses. The solution to this societal issue is indeed a subject of much debate.
However, one solution that has proven to be true time and time again is using fitness as an agent of stress reduction. This method is paradoxical, because, in fact, any form of exercise is known to cause temporary stress on the body. It increases your pulse rate, and forces your body to flush epinephrine which is a fight-or-flight neurotransmitter that I am sure we have all heard of by now. So why should this actually reduce the degree of stress a man or woman experiences?
The reason for this is because individuals with chronic activation of their stress systems have a stress system that is essentially always stuck open. While as the vast majority of healthy people have periods of stress in waves with prolonged periods of relaxed or reduced levels of stress in between, stressed out individuals maintain an elevated level of stress hormones like cortisol throughout the entire day, and into the evening. This is an issue that the use of a sauna, or exercising, or the combination of both thereof can be of assistance.
Both exercise and sauna use induces your body to dump large amounts of of catecholamines such as adrenaline into your bloodstream. This assists to restore balance to the cycle that the physiological stress system is supposed to have. What’s intriguing about saunas in particular, however, is that they often can cause your body to release even more endorphins than exercising alone would be able to.
Endorphins are the addictive substance the body naturally produces that decreases the sensation of pain, reduces depression, and increases overall mental and physical well-being. If you are experiencing the feeling of being chronically stressed beta-endorphin is most likely what you need, and a sauna and weightlifting can help you achieve adequate blood levels. Unfortunately, to get that beta-endorphin, the individual must first push through and endure a little extra physiological stress for a short time. This is clearly a catch-22 position to be in, individuals who are chronically stress often have difficulty dealing with more stress, but it is in fact the solution to ailment of their disposition.
Thanks for reading over this article. If you’re interested in learning more make sure to check out: saunas and steam showers, and vitamin d in cancer.