Axios Finish Line
(Presented by Amazon!)
By Mike Allen and Erica Pandey and Jim VandeHei
·Jun 20, 2023
Welcome back!
Thanks to Amy Stern for the copy edit.
Smart Brevity™ count: 452 words … 2 mins.
1 big thing: How to beat stress without exercise!
Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
If you can’t fit in a stress-relieving workout today, you might literally need a hug.
Why it matters: Americans are stressed out.
- While exercise is a proven way to support mental health, it’s not the only way to de-stress, Axios’ Carly Mallenbaum writes.
- Zoom out: Stress evolved to help our ancestors deal with problems like hungry lions.
- When they saw lions, their bodies sprang into action: muscles tensed, sensitivity to pain decreased, and heart rates and breathing increased.
- “With that physiological shift, humans could leap, jump, climb, and evade predators better,”
says Emily Nagoski, co-author of “Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle.” - Why it matters: Americans are stressed out. While exercise is a proven way to support mental health, it’s not the only way to de-stress, Axios’ Carly Mallenbaum writes.
- After outrunning lions, our ancestors felt relief.
What’s happening: Today, that fight-or-flight response can be triggered even in the absence of a predator.
- And stress lingers. For example, we might think we’ve relieved the stress of an urgent message from a friend or colleague by replying to it, but it’s often not enough.
- “The disconnect between the nature of the 21st-century threats and our millennia-old nervous systems means
that, in order to allow our bodies to complete the stress response cycle, we need to deal with both the thing that initiated our stress and the stress in our bodies — but now it requires separate processes,” Nagoski says. - “Physical activity is … the most efficient way to complete leftover stress cycles.”
Reality check: It’s not always possible to work out — and sometimes even the idea of exercising can be stressful.
The good news is that there are other science-backed ways to manage stress.
- Hug. A 20-second embrace with a loved one can communicate to your nervous system that it’s safe and protected,
Nagoski says. - Pet your dog or cat. It can offer a brain boost.
- Call a friend. Just a few minutes on the phone can reduce stress, says Jennifer Taitz, clinical psychologist and author of the forthcoming “Stress Resets: How to Soothe Your Body and Mind in Minutes.”
- Take a break outside. They call it nature therapy for a reason.
- Slow your breathing. Taking one minute to breathe in for a count of five, and then out for five, can help
your body feel calmer, Taitz says.
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