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5 Workouts for Stress Relief
We talk about exercise for weight loss or toning but never enough about the benefits of exercise for stress relief. And stress is a real issue in our society. According to the American Psychological Association's 2010 "Stress in America" study, more than 50% of people said they were living with moderate and high levels of stress, with money (76%), work (70%) and the economy (65%) as the main causes. What happens with elevated stress is the levels of cortisol rise, which slows your metabolism and makes your body retain fat while cortisol is eating at your muscle protein. Exercise has a direct positive effect on stress relief - many experts I've talked to see a difference. All agree that raising your heart rate and getting that endorphin kick is the biggest factor. The best types of exercise for stress relief are compiled in this handy guide.
Interval Training
A recent study by Eli Puterman, PhD, a health psychologist at the University of California at San Francisco, shows that short bouts of exercise may offer a stress buffering effect. Spencer Larson, a fitness expert, personal trainer and co-creator of 20 Second Fitness, sees a lot of potential in interval training. His DVD program (20 Second Fitness) is a practical solution for us moms too, since it's not time consuming. Larson's workouts only take 4-12 minutes a day and are based on high-intensity interval training in increments of 20 seconds of exercise, 10 seconds of rest. "For stress-relieving exercises, I would recommend any kind of short burst of multi-joint or full body exercise", says Spencer. "Burpees, jumping jacks, squats with presses and high knees (running in place) are great exercises that can quickly - within as little as a minute - really get the heart pumping and help get rid of stress. Everyone has heard the old adage ‘count to 10’ when stressed, but what you should really do is 45-60 seconds of exercise." Here are a few of Spencer's recommendations for 20-second intervals. They will get the blood – and cortisol – flowing and reduce stress:
- Jumping Jacks - 20 Seconds
- Burpees -20 Seconds
- Squats or squats with presses - 20 Seconds - "if you don't have weights around for the squats with presses just reach your hands to the ceiling as you come out of your squat."
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How to Eat Out When You Have Food Allergies
Food allergies are an increasingly common problem for many adults and even more so challenging for kids. 1 in 25 Americans and over 3 million kids in the US suffer from mild to severe allergic reactions to peanuts, gluten, soy, shellfish and other common food allergens. If you are a parent of a child with a food allergy, you always have to be on high alert whenever eating out (if you can do that in the first place) and, of course, carry an epi-pen with you at all times. Avoiding places that offer cross-contamination of different foods - buffets, ice cream shops - is a good start. There are a lot of factors that make it easier or harder to have a meal outside your house. So following the Food Allergy Awareness Week I decided to speak with Paul Antico, founder of AllergyEeats.com. His mission is to help make it easier for food-allergic families to eat out.
Do you think restaurants should be required to post allergy information on the menu?
I do think restaurants should be required to take the simple step of posting allergen information on their menus. First of all, restaurants are already being required by the federal government to calculate calorie counts – a much more difficult process that inherently allows for the identification of all major allergens without any additional work! Secondly, I believe food labeling laws have been very successful in helping make the process of buying products at the supermarket much easier and safer.
Eating out with my son who has nut allergies is very tricky. What can parents do to make their restaurant visits easier?
Parents need to prepare in advance – consider known allergy-friendly restaurants, check menus or make phone calls before you start driving around, try to dine at off-peak hours, learn the right questions to ask staff, and trust your instinct if the employees at a specific restaurant don’t seem to feel comfortable with how to safely accommodate you. Most importantly, however, NEVER dine out without an Epi-Pen (or similar rescue medication). Each of these items deserves more attention.
