AndresClari ...Life is 2.0

Today I read this article that explains why we fall ill after stress periods in general, and how we can help our immune system to don’t let the guard down when we go on vacations or take a break.

Basically, when we are in stressful situations our body segregates a special hormone that stimulates your immune system so you don’t contract a cold while you study for your final exams or you are finishing those important reports. However this reaction is only produced during this moments, and after them our body thinks that the danger is over and our defenses can take a break.

“This effect has been associated with conditions such as upper respiratory infections, the flu, migraine headaches, dermatitis, arthritis pain, and depression,” says Schoen, a psychologist and assistant clinical professor of medicine at UCLA.

While this let down effect can affect any of us at any time, those who have very regular intense-stress times followed by let down periods can experience this effect more often when they ease up on weekends or go on vacation, or when they retire.

Defusing the let down effect

Some techniques that can help to ease up the let down effect are these:

• Practice relaxation techniques, or meditation such as deep breathing that can give your mind and body some liberation from the day anxiety.
• Activating the immune system a little so you can prevent it from slowing down, by exercising in short burst -even five minutes in length- which can trigger a positive response. You can try simple things such as using the stairs on your building, or going for a walk after a stressful day at work.
• Try some mental problem solving, like crossword puzzles, under time constrains. ”Several studies show that doing math computations at a rapid pace actually increases immune-system activity,” says Schoen.

After reading this article, I will take more seriously how the stress in my day-life will affect my health, and more importantly we get reminded how many positive effects normal exercise has in our life.

If you are interested in the original article, you can find it at MedicineNet.com