Top Stress Relievers

While looking through some of your comments about favorite ways to de-stress during the holidays it seemed like two methods took the forefront.

1. Relaxing beverages (alcohol or some type of tea)
2. Cardio work at the gym (primarily running)

These are both some of my favorites as well. For those that enjoy a good cup of tea here is an interesting link that shows a faily solid correlation between drinking tea and mitigating the release of cortisol (stress hormone). http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5405686.stm

For those of you who are unfamiliar with cortisol it is essentially the stress hormone that is responsible for our ancestral "fight or flight" response. Now, most of us don't scavenge for food or fight to kill our dinner but we do experience a cortisol release from anxiety over tests, relationships, shopping for Christmas gifts etc..
So, check that article out and see if you can keep your cortisol levels low this holiday season.

Running also serves as a stress manager when it comes to cortisol production. I find that running some intense intervals followed by short rest periods works better than steady state cardio, but it is really up to the individual. The intense work really gets your heart pumping and is a sure fire way to get some aggression and stress out of your body in a time efficient manner.

Finals! Holidays! Stress!

With the stress of finals and the holidays quickly approaching we are all feeling a little stressed to say the least. I'm always very interested to hear what kind of coping mechanisms people use in order to combat the stress associated with this time of year. It is important to have some stress relievers in your arsenal to avoid going off the rails mentally or nutritionally.  My top three stress relievers look something like this.

1. Take a nap.
2. Turn all electronics off (for a little while anyway.)
3. Go to the gym.

What are some of your favorite or most effective ways of beating the holiday stress?