Stress affects all of us in one way or another, and it can actually affect both our physical health and our mental health if we do not deal with it properly. Research has shown that some habits can help decrease our stress and manage it in a healthy manner, including FocusCalm’s brain training app. Stress can be easily triggered by normal day-to-day situations like a fight with a loved one or an intense work day, to unpredictable situations like financial issues or an unexpected illness. It’s important to understand how we can cope with our own stress because it often affects each individual differently.
How Stress Can Affect Your Physical Health
Depending on the level of stress you are experiencing, it can have an immediate effect on your physical health. Stress can cause an increased heart rate, labored breathing, and a tensing of your muscles. These immediate symptoms of stress can go away as quickly when stress is lowered. However, prolonged stress can have a long-term effect on your immune system, which can also have subsequent mental health implications.
How Stress Can Affect Your Mental Health
When stress becomes prolonged or chronic, it begins to negatively affect our mental health. It can decrease our attention span, our short and long-term memory, and affect how we deal with emotional situations. This increase in stress can then lead to other mental health conditions like anxiety or depression, or intensify them if an individual is already struggling with these conditions.
Although we might think of our immune system as part of our physical body, it is closely linked to our mental health and can be dramatically affected by our stress levels. During a stress response, our body naturally activates the immune system to fight off any danger. If the immune system is heightened for a prolonged period of time, it can wear down our brain function, ultimately leading to poor mental health.
Ways to Manage Your Everyday Stress Levels
There are a few easy habits you can practice to reduce your stress and manage it on a daily basis. These include the following:
- Living a Healthy Lifestyle: Eat a balanced diet, get plenty of exercise, get 8 hours of sleep every night, drink enough water, and take breaks from intense situations when necessary.
- Talk to Others: Talk through your stress with family or friends or seek professional help from a counselor or therapist.
- Avoid Excessive Screen Time: Screen time has been linked to stress and other mental health disorders like anxiety and depression. Limit your screen time, particularly before going to bed.
- Meditation, Yoga, Mindfulness: There have been many studies that have shown slowing down and calming your thoughts can reduce your stress levels, including activities like meditating, practicing yoga, and practicing mindfulness.
- Games to Train Your Brain: Today, there have been advances in science to train your brain to remain calm, even when you’ve experienced a stress trigger. Try FocusCalm’s wearable tool and brain training app to truly notice the difference!
Try FocusCalm’s Brain Training App to Reduce Your Stress
Retrain your brain to remain calm even when you experience stress triggers. Get FocusCalm to reduce your stress, stay calm, and feel better in your everyday life! Use our quick games to train your brain out of being stressed!
