The goal of relaxation techniques, according to Dr. Herbert Benson, president of the Mind/Body Medical Institute in Boston and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard University, is to elicit a relaxation response from your body. Relaxing can counteract the consequences of stress by slowing your heart rate, breathing rate and lowers blood pressure. Below, Benson talks about common stress signals, and ways to relieve stress.
What is stress?
Stress is any circumstance that requires behavioral adjustment. Any change is, therefore, stressful. And when under stress, people evoke what’s called the "fight or flight” response. “And that is when adrenaline is put forth in the body,” says Benson, “and we experience increased metabolism, heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rate.” In essence your body is preparing to run or to fight.
“Our species wouldn’t be here today without it because it is necessary for self-protection,” says Benson. “Our modern society, however, turns on our stress response when we don’t need it.” So when you don’t run or fight when stressed, those same hormones can lead to a number of different disorders, such as anxiety, depression and high blood pressure. Stress can also lead to cardiac irregularities, heart attacks and insomnia. It worsens PMS and hot flashes from menopause, and affects ovulation and infertility. Stress has the ability to disrupt more than just your vacation.
