April is traditionally known as a time of change. Spring arrives late in March, leaving the winter behind, and with it comes warmer temperatures, the chance to open windows and an opportunity to switch from your winter wardrobe into lighter clothing. Dormant plants begin to grow again, new seedlings pop out of the ground and hibernating animals wake up. But April also has another significant meaning: Its National Stress Awareness Month. And while the season of Spring brings with it new beginnings; it’s also a reminder to focus on chronic stress, the consistent sense of feeling pressured and overwhelmed over a long period of time.
Described as your body’s reaction to change or a demand, chronic stress can make you feel angry, frustrated or nervous. And it’s everywhere. According to an American Psychological Association study, “We are facing a national mental health crisis that could yield serious health and social consequences for years to come.”
The effects of chronic stress on the body are staggering because it reaches all systems of the body including the musculoskeletal, respiratory, cardiovascular, endocrine, gastrointestinal, nervous, and reproductive systems. Chronic stress can cause muscle tension, migraines, low energy, upset stomach, chest pain, frequent colds and infections, and mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. And that’s just skimming the surface of the dangers of chronic stress.
“We humans are very good at facing a challenge, solving a situation, or reaching out to someone to get support,” says Rajita Sinha, PhD, director of Yale Medicine’s Interdisciplinary Stress Center. “We’re wired to respond to stress and remove it, sometimes even automatically. But life has become more complex, and many situations don’t have easy answers.”
Some Stress Is Good For You
Fortunately, some stress is actually good for you. “You always think about stress as a really bad thing, but it’s not,” said Daniela Kaufer, associate professor of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley. “Some amounts of stress are good to push you just to the level of optimal alertness, behavioral and cognitive performance.”
And Restore has a direct connection to access of those “good” amounts of stress, through Cryotherapy and Infrared Sauna. Known as “hormetic stress,” it’s the ideal level of exposure of stressors, and it includes both cold and heat exposure.
By super cooling the body over three minutes, Cryotherapy introduces a good stress to the body. This good stress (called “eustress”) may help your body better adapt to bad stress (or “distress”), and help to optimize sleep, relieve minor pain and swelling, boost mood and energy, and promote healing along the way. The cold shock that you experience during a session may also cause your body to release endorphins and other chemicals that can help re-energize and promote better sleep over time.
Infrared Sauna, on the other hand, focuses on the stress created when the body heats up. By sitting in an Infrared Sauna for even 30 minutes, you can boost healing, optimize sleep, relieve minor pain and inflammation, and enhance mood. And research has shown that whole-body heat stress triggers some of the physiologic responses observed with exercise.
So next time you’re stressed out, remember that not all stress is bad. And remember that Restore Hyper Wellness can help access the good part of it.
