Stress - the missing puzzle piece

How are you feeling? Calm and relaxed or frazzled and wired?

With our increasingly busy lives, many of us are experiencing an unhealthy level of stress on a daily basis.

Stress increases our cortisol levels and triggers the immune system to produce an inflammatory response. This is ok in the short-term but unfortunately the inflammation caused by chronic high level stress can have a significant impact on our health, even if we are following the most nutritious diet!

As inflammation is a root cause in many health conditions and diseases, it is crucial that we manage our stress levels.

As a busy mum, I know how hard it is to find time to wind down but even 5-10 minutes a day is a great place to start.

Some simple stress management techniques include:

• breathing exercises, e.g. box breathing, belly breathing, 4-7-8 breathing

• doing a 10 minute YouTube yoga workout

• using a meditation or mindfulness app

• sitting outside while you have your morning or afternoon cup of tea

• taking a few deep breaths while you're waiting at the traffic lights

• going for a walk

• cooking (unless you find cooking stressful!)

• asking for help!

Managing stress is one of the most important things you can do for your health so try to make it a priority, especially at this crazy time of year!