At mid-life, many women find themselves in "high stress" mode, coping with escalating work responsibilities, caring for children and aging parents, and dealing with hormonal shifts linked to mood swings, hot flashes, sleeplessness, and low sexual response.
According to The Rockefeller University researcher Bruce McEwen, when the body stays on this kind of "red alert," it experiences worrisome changes in blood pressure and heart rate, metabolism, and brain function. We are then more vulnerable to stress-related illness such as heart disease, diabetes, immune disorders, and depression (see The The Devastating Effects of Chronic Stress).
The good news is that you can protect yourself by learning to limit and control your body's stress response. Recent research points to the positive benefits of aerobic exercise, yoga breathing, mindfulness meditation, and virtually any kind of prayer.
Exercise, says McEwen, is the quickest and most reliable way to de-stress and appears to have the broadest range of benefits. A large body of research shows that it helps regulate mood, metabolism, blood pressure, and heart rate. And a recent study by Arthur Kramer and colleagues at the University of Illinois, published in the February 2003 Journal of Gerontology, indicates that moderate aerobic exercise can also protect the brain from age-related damage and mental decline. [1]
Says Kramer, several portions of the brain that respond negatively to stress can be positively influenced by aerobic activity. "Studies indicate that a modest-paced 45-minute walk three times a week can protect memory, attention, and decision making." How? By enhancing the brain circuits that support these cognitive abilities. "Our research documented this in adults over 60," says Kramer. "Individuals who start exercising earlier are likely to receive even greater protection."
The American Academy of Family Physicians offers tips on getting started, avoiding injuries, and finding your target heart rate.
In his book Reversing Heart Disease Dr. Dean Ornish claims that nearly all stress reduction techniques derive from yoga. You can find a basic introduction to yoga poses and breathing at CancerLink.
Yoga has become part of many complementary and alternative medical programs across the country. This kind of gentle approach is especially useful for patients recovering from surgery or illness, according to Jnani Chapman, RN, a stress management specialist for the Breast Cancer Complementary Support Program at the University of California, San Francisco and the California Pacific Medical Center's Institute of Health & Healing.
Patients with physical limitations can benefit from yoga breathing alone. Deep, even respiration can help, as outlined in the bestseller The Relaxation Response. It can lower blood pressure and heart rate, according to the book's author Dr. Herbert Benson, of the Mind/Body Institute at Harvard University.
Mindfulness Meditation is a reworking, developed by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, of ancient meditation practices. He is the author of Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind To face Stress, Pain and Illness. [2]
This technique is now being offered at breast cancer clinics throughout the country. Investigators have found that mindfulness meditation can lessen pain and nausea for cancer patients and help them cope with the demands of treatment, as noted in the September-October 2000 issue of Psychosomatic Medicine. [3]
Mindfulness Meditation also appears to give women recovering from breast cancer a greater sense of emotional stability. After eight weeks of practicing this approach, patients reported impressive reductions in confusion, anxiety, depression, anger, and fatigue, according to the University of Pennsylvania Health System. This approach is now the cornerstone of The Penn Program for Stress Management.
More recently, studies indicate that mindfulness meditation might help to reduce symptoms following organ transplants (Alternative Therapy Health Medicine, May-Jun 2004), [4] promote sleep in lymphoma patients (Cancer, May 2004), [5] and decrease stress in patients with breast and prostate cancer (Psychoneuroendocrinology, May 2004). [6]
Mindfulness meditation begins with a "body scan," an inventory of your current physical condition. Sit or lie down comfortably, and then focus your awareness on different areas of the body. Start with the head, shoulders, arms, and neck. Spend about two minutes simply observing how each portion of your body feels, and then work your way down to the legs, knees, and toes. The idea is to become more aware of your body and take note of any emotions that may arise during this process.
A second exercise involves a sitting meditation. First, find a comfortable position. Then simply watch your ordinary thoughts come and go as if you were an objective witness. The goal of this practice is to realize that you are not your thoughts but, instead, have the power to detach from them, says Michael Baime, MD, founder of the Penn Stress Management Program. In the process, negative ideas lose their emotional charge.
Finally, there's plain old-fashioned prayer. Italian researchers have found that chanting mantras or the rosary can calm the body, too. In the British Medical Journal (December 2001), Luciano Bernardi, MD, of the University of Pavia, reports that these techniques can reduce heart rate and slow respiration from the usual 14 breaths per minute to six. [7]
All relaxation practices have a similar effect on respiration and the heart, so the important thing is to find the one that works the best for you and add it to your wellness arsenal.
Notes
1 Colcombe et al., 2003.
2 Kabat-Zinn 1990.
3 Speca et al., 2000.
4 Gross et al., 2004.
5 Cohen et al., 2004.
6 Carlson et al., 2004.
7 Bernardi et al., 2001.
This article is for educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a clinician to review any current symptoms and address your medical concerns.
