Stress Awareness Month 2024: Little by little
April is Stress Awareness Month, a time to recognise stress in our lives and find ways to manage it to improve our wellbeing and quality of life. This year’s theme is #LittleByLittle, highlighting the powerful impact of consistent, small positive actions can have on our wellbeing.
What is stress?
Stress is your physiological response to a situation, and everyone will have a different response.
⚠️ When your senses perceive something as stressful or dangerous, they send an alert to your brain.
🧠 The amygdala, a part of your brain responsible for processing emotion and information, identifies this risk and alerts the hypothalamus, your brain’s command centre.
🔴 The hypothalamus will kickstart survival mode, which usually translates into four responses; fight, flight, freeze or fawn. (Unless it’s a threat to your life, you probably won’t actually fight, you might use a coping mechanism like bouncing your leg or fiddling with an object).
🧬 A hormone (adrenaline) will start coursing through your veins and cortisol (the stress hormone) will enter your brain, maintaining this response for as long as necessary.
What kinds of stress might you experience?
There are four known types of stress that someone may experience in their lifetime.
- Eustress
The opposite of distress, this type is beneficial to your body because it builds your resilience. It’s associated with feelings of excitement, anticipation, and fulfilment, and could be triggered by planning a wedding or starting a new job. - Acute stress
This is a quick and short-lived stress response that could be caused by any number of things day to day – a presentation, a job interview, a leaky pipe, etc. Acute stress is not harmful in small doses and can even be motivating but can have negative health effects if it’s prolonged. - Chronic stress
This is long-term and persistent stress usually caused by ongoing difficulties and pressures. This could be caused by health conditions, family or relationship challenges, or other life adversities. Chronic stress can have a negative impact on your physical and mental health and could lead to cardiovascular disease, depression, anxiety, and immune system issues.
Let’s work against stress!
Along with the theme #LittleByLittle, we can do lots of little things to maintain our wellbeing and counteract stress.
📆 The Action for Happiness calendar offers lots of daily activities to encourage you to take a short break and do something beneficial. They release a new calendar each month so there’s always something new to do!
🏃 You’ve heard it before, and you’ll hear it again – EXERCISE! Don’t worry, you don’t have to go for a five-mile run, you just need to get moving. You could walk instead of driving somewhere, you could take the stairs instead of the lift at the shopping centre, or you could take a dip in the sea for 10 minutes. It doesn’t have to be long or difficult, it just needs to be movement!
🟩🟦 Spend time in natural green and blue spaces. Read a book by the sea or meet with a friend on the moors. This is a proven way to bring calmness to your day and improve your wellbeing (European Centre for Environment & Human Health).
💧 Drink water! It’s not a complex one, but it’s so important for your health and your brain! Staying hydrated is really important and helps to keep your body functioning at its best.
📵 Spend an evening without screens. You could cook a nice meal, play a board game, or explore a new book.
☀️ Spend some time in natural light. Now the clocks have gone forward, we have more time in the evenings to enjoy some daylight. Try to spend some time in the light and fresh air, even if it’s having a cup of tea in the garden.
💤 Prioritise sleep. Sleep and rest are essential for your body and mind, it allows you to recharge and energise your body for your day. An average adult should sleep between seven and nine hours per night!
Check out the Stress Management Society’s stress test to check your levels and get some more tips on how to reduce your stress!
Post authored by:
Patrick Owen
Press & Public Relations Officer
Plymouth Marjon University
