Stress and Exercise Term Paper

Managing Stress Exercise

Managing Stress through Physical Exercise

What is the importance of flushing stress hormones out of the body according to Seaward? What are the specific effects of physical exercise on managing and preventing stress?

During a period of exercise, the body is responding to stress hormones the way it was intended to. Stress hormones on the body generally prompt something of a fight or flight trigger. Using exercise to burn out the energy caused by the stimulus to the stress can be an effective method of dealing with stress. Exercise has been shown to reduce the level of cortisol in the body and even effect mood. Exercise attacks stress in two ways, according to Matthew Stults-Kolehmainen, Ph.D., a kinesiologist at the Yale Stress Center (Menlinck, 2013):

He says "that raising one's heart rate can actually reverse damage to the brain caused by stressful events: "Stress atrophies the brain -- especially the hippocampus, which is responsible for a lot, but memory in particular.When you're stressed, you forget things." Exercise, by contrast, promotes production of neurohormones like norepinephrine that are associated with improved cognitive function, elevated mood and learning. And that can improve thinking dulled by stressful events -- some research even shows how exercise can make you smarter.

Therefore, exercise can be an effective way to mitigate the effects of stress on a human body.

Exercise can also be a proactive way to prevent stress rather than just a way to release stress as it occurs. Not only does it produce better physical conditions for the body through cardio and strength training, but it also has many effects on the neuron system that can work in preventative ways. Three aspects of exercise and how they relate to stress relief can be (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2012):

It releases endorphins which can create a natural "high" such as a….....