Are you currently stressed out? Do you constantly feel anxious or depressed? Are you currently worried about what will come next with COVID-19? Research has shown that there are easy steps to begin to reduce stress, anxiety and depression with a few simple practices. Doing daily activities such as exercising, or arts and crafts have been shown to help reduce stress within people. But why does this happen? When your body and mind are put into stressful situations, cortisol is produced along with many other hormones in the adrenal cortex of the brain. Cortisol functions as a homeostatic hormone. Essentially, this means that cortisol’s primary function is to help your body maintain a standard level of functioning. While this makes cortisol sound very helpful, that is not always the case. For example, cortisol is meant to help your body return to a normal state of functioning by altering your behavior. By building up cortisol, your brain is telling you to remove stress inducers from your life so that cortisol levels can return to normal. However, it is almost impossible to remove all stressors that afflict someone in today’s world. Whether they be from work, school or just life in general, stress is all around each and every one of us preventing cortisol levels from naturally dropping over time.
So, what can be done in order to help your body return to a better normal without being able to eliminate stress factors? Doing simple activities such as exercising or by doing arts and crafts can lead to significant decrease in bodily cortisol levels. A study conducted by Harvard University found that that exercise led to a large decrease in these hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. Even better yet, this study also found that by exercising, people also produced higher levels of endorphins. Endorphins are chemicals produced in the brain that act as natural painkillers and can lead to creating a more positive attitude in people. According to this report the amount of exercise done does not even have to be very extent to see the benefits. Something as small as a 20-minute jog caused a large decrease in cortisol and an increase in natural endorphin levels. Physical exercise does not have to be very extensive to see many benefits as seen above; however, the issue that many people still face today is getting themselves in a rhythm of regularly exercising. Just doing one jog every couple of weeks is not going to cause any significant reduction in stress and lead to increased mood. Regular exercise is required. For example, running every two to three days will suffice or if running is not your thing than going to the gym or going out for a walk with the same frequency will also yield great results.
Of course, many other options besides physical exercise exist to help reduce stress. As mentioned above, arts and crafts have also been shown to be great stress reducers. Art activities such as painting, pottery, or scrapbooking are great examples of non-physical ways to relax and reduce stress. There are various other ways to reduce stress through doing activities, you just need to find something you truly enjoy and make plenty of time for that activity. And as a result, your outlook on the world and life will most likely improve alongside your mental health by helping your body to reduce these stress causing hormones such as cortisol.
Connor Wakefield, Wabash College ‘23, is an intern with the Montgomery County Health Department.
