3 Early Signs of Stress and What You Can Do Right Now.

If you feel like you have been working too much and always feel exhausted at the end of the day, then you are very likely stressed. The degree of stress depends on the situations you have to deal with on a regular basis. Everybody can experience stress in any circumstances. Having too much to do causes stress as much as having nothing to do for too long. As human beings, we need balance in life to bring us optimum health and happiness we deserve. In this modern day, it seems really hard to slow down and reflect on what matters most in life. A lot of us are working too hard and worry about too many things. If we put everything above our health, we will be depleted, and eventually won't be able to fulfill all the things that we aimed to do in the first place.

Stress is essential in human evolution because it helps us learn, solve problems, and evolve. A good amount of stress is good to help you with motivation and productivity. Your body produces stress hormones to help you deal with serious situations and overcome challenges, but when stress hormones is released too much, it hinders your immune system and become toxic to your body. The body needs a way to release stress hormones out of the system. There are many ways to help your body and mind get rid of stress. By slowing down, breathing more oxygen into your bloodstream, and nourish yourself with the right nutrition, your body will be able get rid of stress hormone and bring the system bring to equilibrium. When you help your body clean out excess stress on a daily basis, you will become resilient and hence increase your productivity far more than pushing yourself too hard without a break.

Stress shows up in your body in many different ways. Here are some of the things you can notice by looking in the mirror. The following signs are not including other physiological symptoms that are more complicated like digestion problems, fatigue, and muscle pain.

When you are stressed, your skin shows the signs. Dry skins, oily skins, pimples, anything that is unhealthy will show up as the result of hormone imbalances. Stress can also exacerbate skin disorders, such as eczema and psoriasis, and can cause breakdown of collagen. That's why stressed is linked to more wrinkles. It also slows the healing process of the skin such you will notice that cuts and burns takes longer to heal. These are the signs that your body is depleted and needs attention.

What to do:

As for the matter of the skin, you can increase your antioxidants intake and keep hydrated. Look for food high in vitamin C and colourful varieties. Examples of fruits and vegetables that are high in vitamin C and antioxidants are grapefruits, oranges, kiwis, red peppers, and lemons. Aim for more fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet or take a multivitamin supplements if you feel like you haven't been able to prepare nutritious meals for yourself.

Take care of your skin according to the conditions that you have. If your skin is dry, damaged, and dehydrated, nourish your skin by applying high-antioxidant skin care oils such as rosehip oil. You can also dilute one drop of frankincense essential oil in five drops of rosehip oil. These oils are great for healing and brightening the skin that is dull and sallow. Always check for sensitivities before applying. A study shows that inhalation of rose essential oil is shown to inhibit the effects of chronic stress on skin health and limit skin barrier breakdown. So you can benefit from both applying and inhaling essential oils.

Hair loss is the problem that will effect even the most confident person. Losing a lot of hair can be the signs of hormone disruptions and imbalances. Cortisol is a stress hormone the body release to cope with long-term stress. If you notice that you have been losing hair, chances are you have been stressed for too long since the amount of cortisol built up in the body will effect the integrity of hair follicles. Large amount of cortisol can also interfere and disrupt other hormonal activities. Excessive daily hair loss may be linked to thyroid disturbances as well.

What to do:

Hair loss has so much to do with your thyroid gland so nourishing yourself with the right nutrient to help your thyroid recover is the priority. Zinc and iodine are important nutrients that strengthen your thyroid gland so seek for foods that are high in these nutrients. Seafood and pumpkin seeds are high in zinc. Adding a sea vegetable such as kelp in your diet will give you a boost of iodine as well.

Dark circles usually implies that you had a late night and didn't get enough sleep or you haven't been getting enough sleep at all for a while. Not getting enough rest will increase the stress hormones inevitably. On the contrary, stress can disrupt the sleep pattern, thus the body doesn't get proper rest. To get enough sleep, it is not measured by the number of hours the person sleep, but by the quality of the sleep itself. With normal circadian rhythms, cortisol levels are at the lowest during sleep, and peak shortly after waking. This means that if you don't give your body enough time to complete the sleep cycles, you will feel tired when awake. On the other hand, if stress persists, it will disrupt your regular sleep pattern as well.

What to do:

Ensure that you unwind and put your thoughts and worries away before you go to bed and actually dedicate time to rest without interruptions. Interruptions that cause you to wake in the middle of your sleep cycle will disrupt your brain activities and it will take longer for the body to start and complete the cycle again, which means more sleep time. A nightly cup of camomile tea was shown in one study that it helps to reduce fatigue and improve sleep quality. Camomile has a calming properties to soothe the nerves. Lavender essential oil is also great for relaxation. Take a warm bath with 1 cup of epsom salt and a few drops of lavender essential oil will sooth your nerve and relax you. Listen to calming music and get yourself ready for bed. You can also dap a little lavender oil on your pillow to help you relax during the night. Make unwinding and relaxing at the end of the day a habit your must commit, it will decrease your daily stress hormones and increase your well-being. This is within your power and cost nothing but a few efforts.

Our body is like our house. If we don't clean it regularly, it will eventually get really messy and dirty and it will take longer and harder to clean. Many of us has excess stress hormones accumulate in our bodies more than we are aware of. Here are daily habits that will definitely help you steer clear off the excess stress and lead you to the road of happiness and well-being.

1. Get your heart pumping with exercise.

What can be the best remedy to get rid of excess cortisol? When you exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins. Endorphins interact with the receptors in your brain that reduce your perception of pain. This is how to balance out the stress hormones in the body. Endorphins makes you feel happy, relaxed, and energized. More oxygen got into your body to help you remove excess toxins through your breath, sweat, and urine. It strengthens the body and mind. It is a great remedy for depression and fatigue too.

2. Nourish yourself properly.

Keep yourself hydrated throughout the day and eat real foods. What I mean is to chose food that are not pre-packaged or processed in any way. This will reduce your toxin intake and help your body deal with stress better. Everyday, your body is going through detoxification to get rid of substances that are harmful or useless to the body. If you put only good, nutritious food in your body. It has more chance to heal and support you more than being busy getting rid of toxins. Toxins that the body can't use include food additives, drugs, and chemicals that are contaminated in our food system. By eating real foods, you save your body a lot of time for healing, renewing, and producing new cells. You will feel great and your body will thank you for that too.

Finally, make these habits a new way of living and you will absolutely feel better, have more energy, and have a better quality of life you deserve.