Hacks for Stress Reduction 

Science clearly demonstrates that stress kills. Rather than attempting to reduce stress, the best health approach involves developing a positive and healthy offense. Proactive health care empowers the body to act and react when poor health conditions arise. For example, limiting alcohol and sugar overload makes sense but people also need a chance to indulge socially. Optimal health begins with improving the body’s ability to cope with stress.

Chiropractors take a unique approach to health, disease, and stress. While other professions focus on changing the environment to suit the weakened body, chiropractic focuses on strengthening the body to suit the environment. Three simple and effective ways to increase the body’s ability to deal with and mitigate effects brought on by stress include:

1. Chiropractic - Chiropractic adjustments are proven to enable the body’s ability to deal with stress. A key indicator to lowering stress while improving health and longevity is an increase in heart rate variability. A chiropractic adjustment, particularly in the upper neck, has been shown to improve heart rate variability according to a 2013 study from the Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
2. Sleep - Get at least seven to eight hours of sleep per night. Sleep is vital to offsetting the effects of stress. Getting to bed on time is key. Proper sleep combined with chiropractic adjustments will help balance the nervous system and improve the body’s adaptation to stress.
3. Water - Thirst will many times feel like hunger. Many people assume they are hungry and eat instead of drink water. Unnecessary eating increases blood sugar and the waistline and decreases the body’s ability to heal and adapt.

Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
February 2013
“Suboccipital decompression enhances heart rate variability indices of cardiac control in healthy subjects.”
Paul D Giles ¹, Kendi L Hensel, Christina F Pacchia, Michael L Smith