Exercise and Stress - Hitting the Sweet Spot

Back in our caveman days we dealt with stress in a completely different way .. if that woolly mammoth was heading in our direction we had two choices either fight it or run for the hills!!

The stress we deal with today, for many of us, is much more physiological .. we might wish we could 'fight or flight' it but it isn't possible in our office jobs.

Some stress is a good thing. We are hot wired to deal with it via our fight or flight response. That is why exercise is important .. especially if we work in sedentary jobs.

Exercise can both alleviate and add stress to the body ...just think if you are trying to build muscle you are causing stress by tearing the muscles.

But with regular exercise over time you can reduce the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline which will lead to a reduction in inflammation in the body.

Exercise also releases GABA which has a calming effect ... ever gone into the gym all worked up to come out feeling all chilled? That's the GABA!!

So, there is a bit of a paradox here ... exercise reduces stress and exercise increases stress 🤔 This is where hitting the sweet spot comes in.

The sweet spot is the point where we get the most benefit from the exercise we are doing. Any more and you are adding more stress to your body. This point varies from person to person. It is that amount that makes you feel good, energised and you can see progress...but this is an addictive feeling and it is easy to then start adding more exercise in only to start creating stress!!

It is easier to be aware of the signs that you are exercising to much.

- Do you find it difficult to sleep if you have had a vigorous workout?
- Have you been sleeping more than usual but still feeling exhausted?
- Do you feel moody or irritable after increasing the amount or type of exercise you do?
- Do you always have coughs and colds?

If you have any of these signs it is time to think about adding more rest into you routine or finding a more restorative form of exercise that can complement what you are doing.

Listen to your body .. it will give you clues.

Lesley x