Federal Employee Education & Assistance Fund
  • About Us
    • Our Mission
    • Our Board
    • Our Staff
    • Watch Our Video
    • Accessibility Statement
    • Privacy and Data Protection Policy
  • Our Programs
    • Emergency Hardship Loans
    • Disaster Relief
    • Scholarships
    • Tutoring
    • FEDLifeHacks
    • Childcare Subsidies
  • News & Impact
    • News
    • Annual Report
  • Support Us
    • Our Supporters
    • Ways to Give
    • Volunteer
    • Feds In Motion Challenge
  • Feds In Motion Challenge
  • DONATE
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Health & Wellness

Stressed Out? Learn to Trigger Your Body’s Built-In Relaxation Response

Source: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

A Black man meditates as part of his self-care when stressed out.

Heart Health Awareness Month: Discover Self-Care Techniques to Manage Stress and Protect Your Heart Health

Whether it’s from everyday deadlines, financial struggles, or the COVID-19 pandemic, stress shows up often in life. And your body reacts to it: your heart rate increases, your blood vessels narrow—and over time, these little blows can add up and do damage to your health, particularly your heart. With chronic stress, you’re more likely to have high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and poor sleep. Even other parts of your body – from your lungs to your gut – can take a hit.

But while you can’t always limit the amount of stress in your life, you can work on changing how you respond to it. Just like the automatic “fight or flight” response that kicks in when you’re scared – your muscles tense, heart rate increases, and brain becomes more alert – your body also has a built-in, healthy relaxation response. When that’s triggered, the opposite happens: your breathing and heart rate slow down, and your blood pressure decreases.

Luckily, with practice, you can learn to trigger that response. Try these techniques on your own or find a teacher or class to help you get started. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get the hang of it quickly. And if one approach doesn’t work for you, try something new. You can learn to de-stress in lots of other ways.

Meditation

One of the most studied approaches for managing stress, this involves developing your ability to stay focused on the present, instead of worrying about the past or future. Find a quiet location with as few distractions as possible. Get comfortable by either sitting, lying or walking. Focus your attention on a specific word or set of words, an object or your breathing. And let distractions, including thoughts, come and go without judgment.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

To feel the effect, first tense your muscles for a few seconds, then relax them. Start by tensing and relaxing your toes, then your calves and on up to your face. Do one muscle group at a time.

Deep Breathing

Take in a slow, deep breath, let your stomach or chest expand and then exhale slowly. Repeat a few times. Many people don’t breathe deeply, but it is relaxing and something you can do anytime, anywhere.

Guided imagery

This involves a series of steps that include relaxing and visualizing the details of a calm, peaceful setting, such as a garden.

Getting your mind and body to a place of calm doesn’t always mean being still, however. Other healthy ways to manage stress include taking a yoga or tai chi class, talking to a professional counselor, joining a stress management program or an art class, or meeting up with friends for a brisk walk. Being in nature can be very soothing for some people.

Combining de-stressors like these with other healthy habits can go a long way toward strengthening your heart. Eat more veggies, fruits and whole grains, and less sodium, sugar and saturated fats, for example. Move your body more – like through dancing and walking meetings.

Find exercises you actually love and do them regularly. Get enough good, quality sleep. And develop a strong social support system. Then rethink some of the familiar ways you may be coping with stress, such as drinking alcohol frequently, using drugs and other substances, smoking or overeating. They can actually worsen your stress – and your health.

Taking care of your heart health is a lifelong journey, but at a time when the risk of severe illness from COVID-19 remains higher in people with poor cardiovascular health, learning new ways to make your heart strong has become even more important.

Learn how to stress less for a healthier heart and more about heart health from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute by visiting www.nhlbi.nih.gov. If you need help finding additional resources to help you cope with stress, talk to a healthcare provider.

Seek urgent care if you can’t cope at all or have suicidal thoughts.

Resources are also available at nimh.nih.gov/health/find-help.

More from FEEA

Health & Wellness

Love Your Heart: Make Heart Health a Part of Your Self-Care Routine during American Heart Month

"The year is yours. What will you do with it?" Make your resolutions stick with SMART goals.
#FedLifeHacks, Health & Wellness

Make Your Resolutions Stick in the New Year with SMART Goals

An African American man checks his blood sugar level as part of his regular diabetes care
#FedLifeHacks, Health & Wellness

National Diabetes Month Aims to Educate and Open Access for Diabetes Care

A blonde woman wearing a winter holiday sweater surrounded by presents and other holiday decorations sits at a table with her hands to her head to represent that she is stressed out.
#FedLifeHacks, Health & Wellness

Managing Stress During the Holidays

A man in a button-down shirt sits at a desk with a computer in front of him and his hands to his face to represent being stressed out. Three hands are reaching towards the man holding various objects: a cell phone, a pencil, a stack of papers, and a folder.
#FedLifeHacks, Health & Wellness

5 Strategies to Cope with Stress in Your Life

An alarm clock in the foreground with a woman in the background stretching while seated in bed and backlit by the morning sun.
#FedLifeHacks, Health & Wellness

Your Guide to a Better Night’s Sleep

An African American family with a woman and man standing behind a boy and girl smiling as they prepare food in the kitchen.
#FedLifeHacks, Home & Family

Easy Meal Prep Ideas for Better Health

World Heart Day Logo with a red heart icon
#FedLifeHacks, Health & Wellness

World Heart Day

healthy lunches
#FedLifeHacks, Health & Wellness

Tips to Help Pack a Healthy School Lunch Your Child Will Love

PreviousNext

Subscribe to FEEA’s Newsletter

A silhouette of woman in yoga pose with a lake in the background with the words "gentle yoga"

The information provided in this piece is for your convenience and informational purposes only and not to be construed as professional advice. FEEA and its coauthors and sponsors are not liable for any losses or damages related to actions or failure to act with regard to the content in this piece.

Would you like to reprint this piece in your agency human resource, federal employee association, or union local newsletter? You can do so at no cost by contacting admin@feea.org with your request.

Tags:#StressedOut, #hearthealth, #meditation, #ourhearts, #stress, #stressawarenessmonth
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail

Archive

Categories

  • #FedLifeHacks
  • News & Impact

Newsletter Sign-up

* indicates required
Fed Life Hacks Logo

Footer Section

Guidestar Platinum Transparency 2021

Contact

  • Phone: 202-554-0007
  • Fax: 202-559-1298
  • Email: fedshelpingfeds@feea.org
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Privacy Policy

Mailing Address

  • FEEA
  • 1641 Prince St.
  • Alexandria, VA 22314

News

  • Subscribe to our Newsletter
Love Your Heart: Make Heart Health a Part of Your Self-Care Routine during American...Computer with the word Webinar overlayed above it. Virtual webinars allow federal employees access to important information from experts.Calendar of Events: A lineup of free webinars for federal employees

© 2023 - Federal Employee Education & Assistance Fund | All Rights Reserved.

Scroll to top