Such a strange year this was! And, sadly, the strangeness won’t stop for a while.
We had more vicious fires than before. We had more big storms than before. And, with the presidential election and all the vicious debates and negative comments surrounding it, 2020 was pretty stormy on the political level, too. Plus, of course, the pandemic. It came with bewilderment, sickness, death, but also with questions and controversy. It changed the way we work, the way we travel and commute, the way we school our children, the way we interact with people… the way we live. Then it was followed by a troubled economy, and now we are presented with even gloomier forecasts because this pandemic doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. It will continue to affect our lives, jobs, and businesses in more ways than one, with lingering effects at least for a couple of years.
Can you find a single word to define 2020? „Strange” would be one, for sure, but we are thinking of „stressful”. Watch any TV network, read any magazine or newspaper, scroll any blog, look at your friends or neighbors – there are signs of stress everywhere, more than usual. Lots of people find it harder and harder to cope with this „new normal”, and even if we’ll find a way to push through this difficult period, stress is affecting us all.
How to better manage stress?
Exercise more! Coming from people working in the fitness and weight loss sector, we know that you weren’t surprised by our answer. But maybe you’ll be surprised by the fact that our answer is not based just on intuition. There are scientific studies supporting workout as a way to make it easier to bounce back from stress.
Stress can be our ally because all emergencies and dangers require immediate responses, and stress causes a fast and helpful flood of hormones and other chemicals that prepare our body to quickly act. In such a situation, the stress response is definitely appropriate.
But we lack stress resilience and our responses might become maladjusted, especially with so many things affecting our daily routines. And all those chemicals caused by stress end up doing us more harm than good.
A study looking at the way galanin interacts with life stresses
In past studies, scientists working with rats have shown that physical exercises amplify stress resilience. Previously stressed rats with (voluntary) access to a run-wheel responded better when encountering unfamiliar but safe situations, by reacting with less trepidation and fear.
In a new study, recently published in the Journal of Neuroscience, a team of researchers from Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta studied the effects of galanin on stressed mice. [ Galanin, a neuropeptide that is produced throughout the body in many animals, including humans, is known to be associated with mental health – people with low levels of galanin are believed to have a significantly higher risk of depression and anxiety. ]
The study was designed to compare the level of galanin in the brains of active mice and inactive mice, and to observe their reactions in stressful conditions. The running mice had a much higher level of galanin, especially in a portion of the brain involved in physiological stress reactions and panic. And those mice reacted much better when placed in unfamiliar situations, acting with caution, but with less anxiety, showing improved stress resilience.
The amount of exercise corresponded with the amount of galanin in the brain stem and with the improved stress resilience. Also, the increased galanin levels did not change other aspects of the animals’ behavior, hinting the protein may be summoned only during periods of elevated stress.
Exercise fights off stress
Physical activity was for a long time linked with stress resilience in humans, but there are more and more studies trying to pinpoint the causal mechanism of this effect, and maybe find better ways to facilitate it.
For now, it’s safe to say that, yes, a long walk or a good run after a stressful day works wonders for your mind and your body. And since we are going through a prolonged stressful period, you should change your weekly routine to include a few (more) hours of aerobic and anaerobic exercises.
Want to be more psychologically resilient, even when confronted with seemingly unending stressful situations?
Exercise more! There is no better time than now.
For details regarding the authors of the study or if you want to read the full text, please visit the link to jneurosci.org, here.
Use one of our sweat vests or sweat creams during your workouts if you want to increase body heat and perspiration, to lose weight faster. GSS products work with any kind of exercise – indoor or outdoor. Remember to use caution if you start training after a long time: don’t push too hard from the beginning – work your way up to speed, difficulty, or length of the training session. See our products and bundles here.
Image: Chanan Greenblatt – unsplash.com