Starting
your day on a positive note is one of the most important things that
you could do to make your life stress free. Most of us get out of bed,
grab a cup of tea or coffee, quickly go through the headlines of
morning paper and rush to the office in peak hour traffic.
Such a routine doesn’t do your body any good. Indeed, it contributes to
an elevated level of cortisol which is the chief culprit causing
stress. Cortisol is a hormone secreted by the adrenals, a pair of
glands that sit snugly atop each kidney. Although stress is not the
only reason that cortisol is secreted into the bloodstream, it has been
termed “the stress hormone” because it is also secreted in higher
levels during the body’s natural defence mechanism. However, in our
fast-paced high intensity urban lives, stress is no longer a short term
issue and the cortisol response remains activated throughout the day.
This chronic secretion of cortisol causes most of the diseases we have
come to associate with stress: From diabetes to high blood pressure to
strokes. It has been proven that cortisol levels are highest between
7am and 8am. Therefore, the secret to a healthy day lies in our ability
to successfully control the early morning peak of this hormone.
It all begins
with creating the perfect morning. Consider waking up to the music you
love, rather than to the alarm clock. If you use an alarm, it is
actually better to use an old-fashioned clock rather than a cell phone
with a snooze function that you might be tempted to use. Avoid jumping
out of bed. Rather, give yourself five minutes to sit up, stretch and
may be even say a prayer. Try to awake around sunrise, open the window
and let the sunlight in. It enables your circadian rhythms, which are
governed by your body’s “master clock” in the brain, to stay in sync
with the 24 hour day. To keep your circadian rhythms in time, head to
the light as soon as you wake up. Your mind will respond to the light
and bring you out of sleep.
Combining your
morning dose of sunlight with 15 minutes of yoga is another great idea.
Few activities are equivalent to yoga which is a potent mix of
diaphragmatic breathing, meditation and stretching.
The biggest
error that most people make every morning is to skip breakfast in a bid
to make up for lost time. It is called breakfast for a reason. The body
has not received food for almost eight hours and the blood sugar level
is at its lowest levels. Breakfast is essential because it triggers an
increase in leptin. Leptin is a protein and when leptin goes up, not
only do you feel less hungry, your energy expenditure also improves.
To keep your
energy levels up until lunch, you need a breakfast that leads to a
gradual rise in blood sugar levels rather than a rapid peak induced by
sugary foods. Make your morning meal a bowl of instant porridge or
cornflakes prepared with skimmed milk. Add a source of protein in the
form of an egg. Finally, though making all these changes to your
morning may seem a tough task at first, considering all the deadlines
that we need to meet every day, a conscious effort to start the day
right will help making your life happier. Read more on how to eliminate stress naturally.
Other Pages on Stress: Stress Relief Introduction
Note:
While every care is taken to provide medically accurate and up to date
information in this web site, it is to be noted that this advice is not
intended to replace the advice of your physician. Before undertaking
the advice contained in this web site, you should consult a medical
professional.
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