Stress Is America's Number 1 Health Problem Today

                                                                                         

Stress has been widely reported in the news as a health epidemic for more than twenty five years now and the situation continues to worsen as a growing number of workers say they are increasingly suffering stress at work. In fact work now provides the main environment for the development of stress in American adults. However stress levels have also been rising for children and teenagers in the past few years and many believe that this is linked to a loss of family and religious values, a lack of social support and also corporate greed.

Stress these days is much more of a danger than it was just ten years ago and seems to be more widespread and more insidious than before with a greater degree of stress arising out of psychological rather than physical threats.

Stress leads to a raised heart rate and increased blood flow leading to higher blood pressure. Levels of blood sugar also increase to provide the body with the additional fuel it requires to combat stress and the body is programmed to push blood away from the stomach when we are under stress in order to provide extra strength for our arms and legs as part of what is normally referred to as our "fight or flight" response.

Stress can also contribute to anxiety and chronic depression as well as to skin and gastrointestinal problems and interferes with the working of several of our main organs. It also causes impairment of the immune system so that it in unable to fight viral disorders from the common and not especially serious cold to very serious conditions like AIDS and cancer.

Stress related to a work environment directly influences such things as employee absenteeism and productivity and the business climate gradually worsens with competition today at an all-time high. The pressure that is placed upon workers to produce and the continual worry about job security can cause a number of conditions including neck pain, back pain, hypertension, stroke, ulcers, diabetes and heart attacks.

All sorts of things can create stress including simply sitting in front of a computer for seven hours every day or more, meeting deadlines or having somebody constantly checking up on you. Here the results are frequently seen as depression and a host of physical ailments which result in lost working hours.

Taking the steps to manage the stress you have in your life might be the nicest gift that you can give yourself and just a few fairly simple changes to your lifestyle can make a huge difference to the way in which you handle stress. For instance, taking just 20 minutes out of your day to walk will lower your stress level as will talking to other people, meditation and prayer and following a healthy diet. Take the time to learn some methods of relaxation because deep breathing and relaxation exercises can greatly reduce your stress levels.

About the author:
Despite the fact that stress is a significant health problem for many millions of Americans today there are numerous stress relievers available and the secret is to find what works best for you.


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