{"id":171892,"date":"2019-01-03T13:15:58","date_gmt":"2019-01-03T13:15:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=171892"},"modified":"2019-01-03T13:15:58","modified_gmt":"2019-01-03T13:15:58","slug":"stress-management-calm-yourself-in-30-seconds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/01\/03\/stress-management-calm-yourself-in-30-seconds\/","title":{"rendered":"Stress Management \u2013 Calm Yourself in 30 Seconds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Battling stress is certainly a hard job these days. There\u2019s so much stress that knowing how to handle it becomes almost a survival skill. This series will help you understand what stress is and how to live well while surrounded by it. First, let\u2019s learn how to quickly get from stressed to calm, or at least a more manageable state.<\/strong>
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What is stress?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Most people think of their job, final exams, public speaking, bank account balance, or their to-do list when the word stress is mentioned. These are some of the most popular stressors but there are many others that you probably don\u2019t even know about. It\u2019s important to understand that stress is just a response of your body to something that is pushing it out of balance. So, what happens inside of your body when you\u2019re stressed?<\/p>\n<\/lite-youtube>\n

Fight or flight<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Throughout our evolution, the physiological stress response helped us survive, run away or fight out of a bad situation. And the reaction still works pretty much the same way today. It begins with your adrenal hormones and cortisol rising. As a result, your heart starts beating faster to deliver more blood to the brain and muscles, you start breathing fast and shallow, and your blood sugar rises for more easily accessible energy – all of that to get you ready for a \u201cfight or flight\u201d. The problem is that this potentially life-saving reaction comes at a price. Your body has to down-regulate digestion, libido, and immune function.<\/p>\n

Rest and digest<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Knowing how the stress response works, it\u2019s easy to see that chronic stress can be very harmful. If you go a month, a year, or your whole life with suppressed digestion and immune function, it\u2019s going to have consequences. That\u2019s why it\u2019s essential to balance your \u201cfight or flight\u201d with a good amount of time spent in \u201crest and digest\u201d mode. To do that, you need to get rid of as many stressors as you can and become more resilient to those you can\u2019t. Let\u2019s start simple.<\/p>\n

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WATCH: Gianni Moscon's moment of madness that got him kicked off the Tour de France pic.twitter.com\/t6DMTLCSpW<\/a><\/p>\n

— Eurosport (@eurosport) July 22, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n