10 Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease
Betty Weiss discusses the symptoms and implications of Alzheimer's.
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On weekend errands: Use the ATM -- once. Limiting your cash withdrawals to once a week is a quick, easy way to monitor your spending habits, says Deborah Fowles, author of The Everything Personal Finance in Your 20s and 30s Book (Adams Media, 2003). "Multiple trips to the ATM make it harder to track your money," Fowles says. "If you put yourself on an allowance and pay cash for everything, you're more aware of what you're spending and more careful about what you buy."
And while thinking about your finances may be enough to send you over the edge, it turns out that getting them under control eases tension in the long run. (Money and work tied for first place as the leading sources of stress, according to the APA survey.)
When you have a weekend afternoon free, do Fowles' No. 1 take-control move: Write everything down, so you can see exactly where you stand financially -- what you owe, the amount of interest, your monthly income, your budget. "Not facing what you're up against creates even more stress, because it's always in the back of your mind," Fowles says. "But once you have the information down, you can begin setting concrete goals using real figures. And taking action will make you feel so much better."
At the gym: Hit the pool! You'll beat the heat and squelch stress: A new Swedish study published in the International Journal of Stress Management found that floating in water triggers the body's relaxation response, helping lower stress-hormone levels. Even better, nearly 80 percent of the subjects showed improvements such as feeling less tense and depressed.
At home in the evenings: Give your thumbs a rest. Thanks to e-mail, cell phones and BlackBerrys, it seems like your job never ends. The increasingly blurry boundaries between work and home life leave us with less downtime than ever before (and in some cases, no downtime!). "Advances in technology are a leading source of chronic stress, putting many of us in a constant state of alert," says Reed Moskowitz, M.D., founding medical director of Stress and Disorders Services at New York University Medical Center in New York City. Not to mention, it draws our attention away from our families: A recent study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family found a link between the use of cell phones and pagers at home and increased stress, which spills over into family life. To make technology work for you, screen calls with caller ID or, better yet, limit your cell phone and e-mail use to working hours only. Can't kick the "CrackBeny" habit? Set a regular time you'll check it in the evening (say, after dinner), so you're not constantly disrupting home life to keep tabs on work.
When you're facing a major life change: Recall a past success. Taking five minutes to reflect on how you pulled through other stressful situations, like your last breakup or when you switched jobs, can help you reconnect with your resilient side, Schulz says. "In the moment, it may feel as though you'll never get over your present problem, but when you look back, you realize that you felt similarly before and found a way to overcome it." If you're going through a divorce or recently lost a loved one, you also may want to seek out a support group: Research on grieving presented by the Center for the Advancement of Health in Washington, D.C., suggests that talking with peers is even more beneficial than one-on-one counseling in the initial months after a loss.
Before bed: Do an asana in your pajamas. A simple spinal twist can help you get a better night's sleep, says Edward Vilga, author of Yoga in Bed (Running Press, 2005), now out on DVD. "It alleviates tension that's built up in your lower back along the day," he says. Sitting on your bed with legs crossed, place your right hand down on the bed behind you and rest your left hand on your right knee. Sit up straight and inhale for four to eight counts, lengthening your spine as you breathe. On your exhale, begin to twist toward your right hand (don't strain your neck). Hold this position for four more full breaths, lengthening your spine on the inhales and deepening your twist on the exhales, if it feels comfortable. Repeat on opposite side.
Your Body, Under Stress
"We all need a little stress to keep us going," says Daniel Amen, M.D., psychiatrist and author of Making a Good Brain Great (Harmony, 2005). "But, as we've all heard, it's chronic exposure that can seriously harm your health."
How stress works: When you're under pressure, the hormones adrenaline and cortisol kick in, making your muscles tense and increasing your heart rate and blood pressure, so you're alert and ready to leap into action. This "fight-or-flight" reaction is often a good thing: It's what prompts you to swerve out of harm's way on the road or to push to meet a really tight deadline. After the danger has passed, your body stops producing stress hormones and within an hour, tops, returns to its normal state.
When you're under chronic stress, Hormone levels stay high. "When cortisol is elevated, it causes trouble for virtually every system in the body, affecting everything from memory and sleep to fertility and immunity," says Pamela Peeke, M.D., Shape advisory board member.
Gail O'Connor is a freelance writer who lives in New York City.
