Using Your Breath to Manage Stress
Controlled deep breathing is standard in stress management training, and knowing why it works can have you doing it more often. One reason deep, slow breaths work so well is brain physiology. When you deep breathe, you use a different part of your brain to control your chest muscles instead of the part of your brain experiencing the “fight or flight” reaction to stress: the amygdala.
Got a Staircase and 30 Minutes a Week?
Research keeps showing us how little exercise is needed to maintain health. The one consistent finding: You need some. A McMaster University of Canada study screams “no more excuses,” claiming that a bit of stair climbing and a total of only 30 minutes per week can do the trick.