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Exercise to Relieve Tension

Stress. A common thing in life of a modern man or woman.

The fact is, life is stressful. Stress is out there in your life whether you want it or not. You can’t avoid it. You have to deal with it.

First, by trying to relax. Taking a deep breath. Once, twice, dozen times. Then you have different techniques and aids.

You know you should try to keep your mind off the things which make you feel stressed and especially those you have no control over.

The best way to do that is listening to music. Listening to music can have an enormous effect on our minds and bodies.

Music instantly absorbs our intention and by doing so it slows down the pulse and heart rate, lowers blood pressure, and decreases the levels of stress hormones. It has been used for hundreds of years to treat illnesses since it can reduce both the sensation and distress of chronic pain and postoperative pain. Cancer patients say music significantly reduces emotional distress and boosts quality of life. Elderly people who listen to music relieve depression and increase self-esteem.

Your life is falling apart and you should sit in your room and listen to music? Actually, no.

You shouldn’t just sit still and since your mind is occupied you should keep your body busy as well. Oh, yes it is time for some exercise and the easiest and yet one of the most effective form of exercise is… you know the answer: running. You almost need no equipment, the old pair of snickers, a white T-shirt and shorts will serve just fine.

But running is can be boring and arduous. So lets take out the heavy gun: music.

Music has two important characteristics: tempo or what we perceive as speed and rhythm response which is actually our instinct to synchronize our movements and expressions with music—to nod our heads, tap our toes or break out in dance.

Just choose your favorite songs, you don’t have to do the fast ones. The normal heart rate is from 60 to 100 beats a minute and the most of popular songs are at a frequency of two hertz, which is equivalent to 120 beats per minute.

Most people favor 160 beats per second while running. Nowadays, beside the various pace music collections for running you can find an Android or an iPhone app which actually plays your favorite songs at your pace rate.
Listening to music makes your body movements more synchronized, using less energy for going and actually making you feel less tired.

Also music encourages people to keep exercising. Your mind is empty and the brain focuses on the body and keeping up with the rhythm. But you do need to be careful. A fast rhythm provides great distraction from fatigue which can results in great pain the following day. And more stress, actually.

It is proven that physical activity plays a key role in reducing and preventing the effects of stress but it takes a at least 30 minutes of exercise, three times per week to feel all the benefits. And we all know which are those. Music gets you moving since the movements of the human body are either cause or result in noise which our brain could perceive and associate with music.

So, next time you hear your favorite song take your earplugs and snickers and just run out to keep moving. Run and after you finish you will run your world, stress free.

We have to make our own choices every day and we can never be sure if our decisions were right. Decision making as well as bad decisions cause stress which can’t be avoided but should be properly dealt with. Putting on your ear plugs and trainers doesn’t solve your problems but gives your brain a break and you a chance to wear a mini skirt again. You can run your life properly with the right soundtrack. And here’s my suggestion from SoundCloud.

Michelle Lee is an ex-journalist and a blogging beginner from Perth. Although she is a working mom, she finds time to research and study the topics that are important to her, which are mostly health related. Having dealt with autism in her family, she understands what is really important in life, but she still enjoys “girly” stuff like fashion and cooking. Follow her posts @ecellulitis