Issue #318: Wait...Stress is Good?
Good morning. It’s Tuesday, March 19th.
Stat of the Day
The percentage of Americans that are “stressed” during the day - compare this to the 35% average across 143 countries. Why are we so much higher? (source)
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Wait…Stress is Good?
The alarm goes off - wow I’m groggy. It’s still pitch dark outside and I still haven’t adjusted to the time change. I didn’t do a good warmup and feel a slight tweak in my calf - so much for that run before the kids are awake.
My 6-yr old hasn’t adjusted to the earlier wake up either and it’s like pulling teeth to get her out the door for school.
Oh great - my 3-yr old woke up on the wrong side of the bed too and is screaming about watching Bluey. I forgot my wife had an early meeting and can’t take him to school either - am I ever going to get to work?
Finally sitting down at my computer and I just got an alert that a potential client cancelled our call for today (it’s only been 3 months trying to make this happen). I need some fuel - except we didn’t make it to the store yesterday and there’s nothing for a smoothie.
It’s not even 9am yet!!
We’ve all had mornings like this - nothing seems to be going our way. These relatively small inconveniences add up and the cumulative effect is an increase in cortisol and change in our nervous system.
We’re on edge.
We can’t think clearly. We let our amygdala take over our brain. We take offense to benign comments and lash out.
There’s a reason they call it “fight or flight” - that’s how we act when our body chemistry puts us on the defensive. We’re no better than my 3-yr old who can’t understand why the world won’t let him watch TV.
Stress vs Stressors
But the thing is - none of those events were innately stressful. Stress comes from our thoughts - which create our feelings - which results in how we act.
Two people can have that exact same morning and respond completely differently.
Let’s not pretend life isn’t stressful - the world isn’t all rainbows and butterflies - sometimes it sucks.
There are stressors out there BUT…if we harness stress it can actually help us.
Nature created fight or flight for a reason - it’s our survival mechanism. It not only protects us, but also boosts our performance when we’re under threat or taking on a big challenge.
Research shows that short-term stress actually boosts our immune system - including the production of immune cells like neutrophils, macrophages, and cytokines. It also improves our cognitive function and our physical abilities.
It’s why you see people with no sense of direction figure out how to make it home when they’re lost or people lift a car when someone is trapped underneath.
Stress gives us superhuman abilities - IF we embrace it.
This makes sense because when threats used to be life or death we needed to be able to do whatever it took to find food or evade a predator.
But it’s just as true in our current life - whether that’s the stress before a big presentation at work, running your first marathon, or just juggling life as a working parent.
So why is stress given a bad rap and why does it make us feel like s#!*?
Because most of us don’t know how to distinguish between short-term and long-term stress. Short-term stress saves us. Long-term (chronic) stress kills us.
Try
Make Stress Your Friend
Here are three (3) ways to take advantage of stress and keep it from taking over your life:
1. Change your mindset about stress - think about it as a way to turn you into a superhero. A study of college students showed that those with a positive perception about stress had lower heart rate and blood pressure compared to those that had a negative perception. The coolest part - it’s been proven that we can reframe our mindset to go from a negative to positive perception about stress.
Now instead of my morning making my day awful - it’s my challenge. C’mon, bring it on because it’s just making me stronger!
2. Turn it off - like just about anything (even exercise), stress is good in doses, not perpetuity. It’s like the studies that tell us to work in time chunks and then take a break and then go back to work. We can’t sustain working 9-5 - we need to work in chunks (like 25-50 min) with breaks in between (see Cal Newport).
So after you’ve gotten through a stressful situation (presentation - or tough morning), take an active break. Change your thoughts, which will change your feelings and bring back your cognitive brain (cerebral cortex) to help you get back to a normal state.
The best way to do this is through a deep pause - can be as easy as 5 quick cyclic sighs, a 5-10 min meditation, or even just a quick walk or exercise (i.e., 25 good mornings).
3. Be ready for your plans to go sideways. Most stress comes because life is unpredictable. We thought we’d have more time; we thought something would work out that didn’t. The more we mentally prepare for change, the more we can better respond to it and keep ourselves from chronic stress.
Thrive25 Partner Spotlight
Caraway believes non-toxic cooking surfaces and thoughtful design lead to cleaner cooking. Max bought a cookware set in December, right after our Holiday Gift Guide dropped. He’s been through so many pots and pans - stainless steel, non-stick, you name it - they’ve had it, but he finally found a brand that lives up to their promise.
Measure
Allergy Test
It’s allergy season - the pollen from the oak trees in FL this year is absolutely insane!
Why
Allergies are when our immune system is trying to kick out an invader that isn’t especially dangerous to us, but causes a massive reaction.
Specifically our body creates a chemical called histamine - which is what triggers all those annoying symptoms like sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes - or in extreme cases inflammation (like bee stings).
Allergies aren’t fun - but it’s best to find out what your body doesn’t like - so get an allergy test. The results can help you avoid or treat what affects you the most.
How
The most common allergy tests are skin tests - each expose you to an allergen and check for a reaction.
And the most popular is the skin prick test - this is a series of pricks (you won’t bleed) just beneath the surface of the skin. A number of allergens, up to 50, are exposed to your skin and your care team checks your reaction.
There’s also two other common skin tests - a skin injection test (more apt for insect venom or penicillin) or a patch test (often done for latex, metals, etc.).
Depending on your symptoms, you may need a blood test for in vitro immunoglobulin E antibody. This test measures the level of specific IgE antibodies - higher levels of IgE may indicate an allergy.
What Next
Based on results, treatment might include lifestyle or behavior changes (always best), immunotherapy, changes to your environment, or possibly medications.
Here’s some tips for all of us to fight off springtime allergies.
In the News
Longevity Controversy: Respected medical experts are distancing themselves from renowned longevity doctor, David Sinclair, claiming his research - specifically around resveratrol - can’t be replicated and in fact it might be harmful to humans. Maybe it’s the $720M exit to GSK that keeps Dr. Sinclair believing his research. (source)
No Smartphones for Kids: We’ve talked about how much kids are on their screens - but this is the best article I’ve read on why pre-teens really shouldn’t have smartphones. Must read for any parent. (The Atlantic)
App to Detect Ear Infections: Since we aren’t going to quit smartphones anytime soon, then at least use them for good things - like preventing antibiotics for ear infections. (Good News Network)
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