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Erase Your Stress!
No one likes being frazzled, but how unhealthy is it? Check out these valid excuses to put your feet up.
You're less likely to get sick.. Your body reacts to stress the same way it does to an infection: by dispatching immune cells. But because they're deployed when there's no real infection to fight, you're less prepared should a bug cross your path, says David Ellard, Ph.D., research fellow at Coventry University in England.
You'll keep your heart strong.. Feeling stressed daily may increase cholesterol levels, a study in the journal Health Psychology suggests. Stress hormones seem to lead to the release of stored fats and fatty acids into the bloodstream, causing overproduction of total cholesterol and artery-clogging LDLs, study authors say.
You'll feel less pain.. Your workload may take a physical toll on you. Folks with stressful jobs were almost twice as likely to have neck and shoulder pain as those with less demanding jobs, a study in the Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health shows.
You'll sleep more soundly.. People who were told they had to give a speech upon waking in the morning had a more restless night's sleep than those who were not, a study in Psychosomatic Medicine reports. Consistently sleeping fewer than six hours a night can lead to weight gain and depression. So go ahead—consider this your license to chill.
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Author Info: Donna Fennessy
Published: MAY 2006, SELF Magazine, The Condé Nast Publications |
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