News

Reducing stress can save your life

  • Published
  • By Holly Logan-Arrington
  • Robins Public Affairs
Looming deadlines, coworker conflicts and unexpected tasks - all of these can be summed up in one word - stress.

Under stress, the body releases adrenaline into the blood stream, causing one's heart rate and blood pressure to increase temporarily. A body that's constantly under stress doesn't get the chance to rest because it's always in high gear, and as a result, the artery walls become damaged.

Stuart Bapties, Health and Wellness Center flight commander, said everyone needs to get stress under control to be healthy.

Here are some tips to control stress:

Think ahead
Effective time management is one key to lessening stress. Start projects early to guard against scrambling before deadline. Measure the time tasks or projects require so you can best manage your supervisors' expectations.

Avoid the stress of being late to meetings by setting your watch five to 10 minutes ahead.

Focus on one project at a time
Accomplish one thing at a time. Answer emails for a time. Next, focus on finishing the report that's due. That helps minimize stress and will help you focus on the objective at hand.

Take a break
Everyone needs to build rest periods into the day. Try taking 30 to 60 minutes to step away from your desk and decompress. You'll come back refreshed.

Adjust expectations
While it's important to challenge yourself at work, taking on more than you can handle can create stress. Find ways to decrease the demands made upon yourself, even if that means being less self-critical or having a frank conversation with your superior about adjusting your workload. Believe it or not your supervisor is probably just as concerned with your stress level in relation to your workload as you are.

For more information or tips on stress management, call the HAWC at 327-8480.