Stress is an integral part of being human, and it can help motivate you to get things done. Even high stress from a serious illness, employment loss, a death in the family, or a painful life event can be a natural part of life. You may feel down or anxious, and that’s normal too for a while. Consult your doctor if you feel down or anxious for more than several weeks or if it starts to interfere with your home or work life. Therapy, medication, and other strategies can help. In the meantime, there are things you can learn to manage stress before it gets to be too much. Consider these suggestions: To start with, physical activity can help improve your sleep. And better sleep implies better stress management. Doctors do not yet explore exactly why, but people who exercise more tend to get better deep “slow-wave” sleep that helps renew the brain and body. Just take care not to exercise also close to bedtime, which disrupts sleep for some people. Exercise also seems to help the mood. Part of the reason may be that it stimulates your body to release a number of hormones like endorphins and endocannabinoids that help block pain, improve sleep, and sedate you. Some of the endocannabinoids may be responsible for the euphoric feeling, or “runner’s high,” that some people report after long runs. Get a dose of stress relief with these exercises: Running, Swimming, Dancing, Cycling, Aerobics etc. WHO reveals Heart disease now killing more people than ever before Scrumptious recipe to make Baked Potato Pie 5 ways you can reduce stress being a single mother