Although man has come a long way with cures and treatments for various conditions such as malaria, tuberculosis and small pox, the fast and competitive lifestyles of today leave us struggling to control diseases such as hypertension, insomnia, heart disease and diabetes when it comes to men’s health.
Stress has become a major modern-day factor affecting men’s health and can lead to unhealthy habits like smoking, drinking, overeating, or drug abuse to help deal with these stresses. Unfortunately, stress combined with these unhealthy habits will increase the risk of developing health problems, which in turn will increase stress levels – becoming a vicious cycle.
Adopting healthy ways of managing your stress, will not only reduce your stress levels, but also reduce your risk of developing health problems.
Consider one (or more) of the following options to combat stress:
Exercise regularly – Ideally you would want to do at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day. Choose something you enjoy: gardening, hiking, cycling, etc.
Eat and sleep well – Good nutrition and 6-8 hours of sleep each night can help your body recover from past stress and manage better with stresses to come. Avoid caffeine and other stimulants that might promote stress and sleeplessness.
Meditate – Spend 15 – 20 minutes a day being quiet, either by means of meditation and prayer or something more physical like yoga or thai-chi.
Avoid stressful situations – Research has shown that men’s stress levels soar by 60 % when stuck in traffic jams – 7 times higher than their female counterparts. If possible, plan your day to miss peak traffic, go to the shops when it is quieter, etc.
Accept the things you cannot change – There will always be situations you cannot change, accept this and try turn the situation around.
Don’t take on more than you can handle – learn to say no and only do what you know you are capable of doing.
Tackle first things first – Determine the most important tasks you need to completely and move on to the less critical jobs. Try and avoid multiple jobs at once.
With high-stress jobs, fast pace lifestyles and taking on the responsibility of being the provider of the house, men often forget to take a moment for themselves. Now you have an excuse to.
Author Jenna-Lee Field