Note to readers: no clever lede needed, let's get right to the good stuff.
The L.A. Times thoughtfully offers six good ways to relieve holiday stress, or non-holiday stress.
1. Exercise: Regular exercise leads to lower baseline heart rates, lower blood
pressure and lower stress hormone levels when at rest, all of which makes it easier to handle stress.
2. Sleep: Shoot for six to eight hours of sleep a night. Fewer than 5 1/2
hours is bad for your health.
3. Be Sociable: Research has shown that being part of a social network helps us cope with many kinds of stress.
4. Chill: Let it go. Meditation is good, and simply doing deep breathing exercises twice a day can relieve stress.
5. Fall in Love: Love has a relaxing effect on the parasympathetic arm of the nervous system. That's a good thing.
6. Get Some Perspective: Reframe your priorities, think about what really matters.
For the whole story, and a stress-inducing sidebar on what stress does to your body, read more in the Los Angeles Times.
