Testing It Up

Working mothers are among the most exhausted people in the world. They have plenty of things to juggle — work deadlines, budgets, family responsibilities, and household chores — which create a massive amount of stress that ends up hurting their health. If you’re one of those working moms who pride yourself for being an excellent multitasker, you’re probably not aware with the kinds of risk your putting on your health.

Experts agree that too much stress triggers increased blood pressure, heart rate and inflammation in the body, all of which can result to heart problems.

So, how do you cope?

Your diet is as important as your health. Owing to the fact that you do a number of things, the more you need to consume nutritious food, which means plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fish. Omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon and other fatty fish help decrease cholesterol, while whole grains may lower blood pressure and decrease cardiac risk. Additionally, fresh produce offers heart-healthy antioxidants, potassium, folate, and fiber.

Rest and quality sleep are also what you need the most to help you get rejuvenated. A study published in the European Heart Journal reveals that people who get less than six hours of sleep a night are almost 50 percent more likely to have a heart attack. As a working mom, it would be helpful to delegate some household tasks to your partner to give you additional time out.

If weekdays doesn’t give you a lot of time to slow down, make it a habit to recover on weekends. Try not to make your weekend schedules as cramp as the first five days of the week.

The effects of stress on health are varied and can be debilitating in the long run. You may not probably notice the symptoms at first, but you will soon if you continue exposing yourself to stressful situations. Though a small amount of stress can be a motivating factor in helping you finish a pressing deadline, too much of it puts you at greater risk of health problems.

Immune System. Chronic stress weakens your immune system and when that happens, you’re prone to pick up infections. Colds, sinus infections, and vaginal yeast infection are only some of the diseases that are blamed on stress.

Fatigue and Tension Headache. Ever wonder why you seem to experience muscle pains even when you haven’t done aerobics or any physical challenges lately? Stress could be the only culprit there is. People who are always under pressure or working on a stressful job are very likely to experience fatigue and complain of various muscle pains. The pain signals you to stop and take notice. And because stress can also cause the blood vessels in the head region to constrict, your chances of experiencing tension headache is also very high. If you don’t pay attention, it could also trigger migraine.

Sleep Patterns. Stress interferes with normal sleep patterns. When you’re stressed you will find it more difficult to sleep or you may even wake up earlier than normal. As a result, you become more cranky, agitated, and unable to concentrate at work or in school.

Severe Health Conditions. The last thing you’d want to happen is to find out you’re suffering from heart diseases, diabetes mellitus, or even obesity. Unfortunately, stress can trigger all of these health problems. Chronic stress can cause elevated blood pressure, chronic muscle tension, and low immune system which can eventually lead to life-threatening conditions like heart attacks, kidney disease, and cancer.

Ever had a bad day and all you can think about is ice cream to make everything okay? This is a classic example of emotional hunger or emotional cravings. Emotional eating is when someone reverts to eating food to address particular emotional needs or stressors. This method of dealing with emotional stress is the leading cause of obesity in the western world.

Emotional hunger is something that comes directly from the mind’s need to address an emotional need unlike physical hunger wherein we feel it in our stomach. When we get hurt, betrayed, lonely or angry, we turn to our favorite food to comfort us. “Comfort food” is the term commonly used by emotional eaters to call the food that they desire when they feel stressed.

Often times, emotional eating affects those who already are struggling with their health and weight. Most emotional eaters are usually having some weight or self-esteem issues to begin with, thus runs the risk of doing more damage to the body instead of finding a way to fix the problem. Instead of getting high on sugar and fat, then why not address the depression with something more practical, such as talking to a friend or gearing up for a good exercise? Communication and exercise are both good for one’s psychological and emotional health.

The first step to stop any problem is to acknowledge that the problem exists. Get to know your body first and learn the difference between your emotional hunger and physical hunger. Also, address the root cause of it all. What causes you to overindulge in food? What are your stressors? Know your sources of stress or depression and target those instead.