Stress Management

The way we deal with stress has a lot to do with our mental, emotional and physical health.

Tips for Dealing with Stress and Tension

The following are suggestions to get you started on managing the stress in your life:

• Recognize your symptoms of stress
• Look at your lifestyle and see what can be changed in your work situation, your family situation, or your schedule
• Use relaxation techniques like yoga, meditation, music, and deep breathing
• Exercise – Physical activity is one of the most effective stress remedies; it helps you release calming chemicals in your brain and promotes better sleep.
• Walking – Going for a walk can clear your mind, reduce tension and increase energy
• Sleeping – Avoid exercise, caffeine and napping in the evening when you should be winding down. Attempt all forms of natural sleeping solutions before taking prescription medication
• Maintain a healthy diet & eat smart – A diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains can give you more energy, plus the fuel to keep stress under control.
• Hydrotherapy – For centuries, people have used warm water as a way to calm moods and relax muscles. You can have your own “spa” at home by adding relaxing ingredients to the bath water and soft music.
• Massage – Massaging can be extremely therapeutic for those who feel anxious. Gentle touching either by a trained massage therapist or your relationship partner can be relaxing.

Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction, relaxation, and promoting healing. It is considered an alternative healing modality. It is administered by “laying on hands” and is based on the life force energy or chi flowing through each of us. If one’s life force energy or chi is low, then we are more likely to experience disease or feel stress. The body radiates warmth and energy. This energy is the life force energy.

Finally John Tierney, New York Times March 5, 2007 poses the question” Are baby boomers really in bad physical shape?” A study compared boomers aged 50 to 59 with people who are 60 to 65, and 66 to 71. The two younger groups were less likely than the oldest group to have said their health was “excellent or very good” at 51 to 56 years of age. The youngest group reported having more pain, chronic health conditions, drinking problems than people who were the same age 12 years ago.

Baby boomers are an important segment for retailers, not only because of the sheer size of the population segment, but also because people in this age group are typically big spenders. Drugstores, specialty stores and high tech products will be popular for this group. It will be important that this group recognize key healthy lifestyles to keep their stress level at a minimum and avoid chronic stress as much as possible, rather than getting caught up in prescription drugs to improve health and relieve stress.