When we think about stress, the mental and emotional aspects of feeling stressed often come to mind. It's common knowledge that this kind of stress affects physical health. What may not be as obvious is that there are physical stressors that directly affect your health too.
Physical stress takes many forms. We are exposed to an almost constant barrage of toxins in water, air, personal products, cleaning products, foods, beverages and their containers. We take in toxins through drugs, alcohol, and smoke.
You also create stress in your body through your behaviors. When you eat too much food you strain your digestive system and related organs. Excessive exercise taxes your muscles. And if you've ever suffered from a bout of insomnia or cheated yourself of sleep for more than a day or two, you know how stressful that is.
Your body reacts to any mental and emotional stress you are experiencing. Whenever the stress response is triggered, your body is flooded with stress hormones and has to prepare for fright or flight. This creates noticeable symptoms like muscle tension and stomach butterflies. What you don't notice until you get sick is a depressed immune system, narrowed blood vessels and less of the hormone needed for cell repair and growth.
An occasional dose of stress hormones isn't harmful, but many people are habitually in this state. We are not designed to deal continuously with the onslaught of toxins and stress hormones that modern people subject their bodies to. Eventually rapid aging and illness can result.
Addressing and reducing all of these stressors will take you a long way toward bettering your health. One of the easiest steps you can take to reduce the stress and possible damage due to toxic exposure right away is to switch to non-toxic products for your home and personal use.
Baking soda, castile soap and vinegar will take care of many cleaning jobs. Green products are easy to find for dish washing, laundry and general cleaning. Unfortunately, not all 'green' products are created equal. Choose plant-based products instead of petroleum-based. Choose fragrance-free unless scented only with essential oils.
Look for shampoo, make up, deodorant, soap, and other personal products that contain only natural, preferably organic, ingredients. If you enjoy making things and really want to control the quality, make some of your own cleansing and beauty products.
This step does require a small investment of time and money as you make the switch. But then, unlike many new habits, you don't have to keep thinking about it. This makes it easy to stick with. Best of all, your body and the environment will thank you for reducing the amount of toxic stress it has to cope with on an ongoing basis.
About this Author
Physical stress is just one part of the stress triangle. If you would like to hear more about mental and spiritual stress, and easy action steps to reduce them, Val invites you to receive her "DeStress for a Healthier Happier You" audio and additional resources to help you de-stress and live a healthier, happier life.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Val_Silver
