Small amounts of stress can be beneficial and healthy for us—it aids in bringing out things like ambition, motivation, and persistence. It can drive us. But when the delicate balance between healthy stress levels and dangerous stress levels favors the dangerous side, problems can arise. Too much stress can lead to headaches, high blood pressure, stroke, and even heart attack. And I’m just naming a few of the problems it can cause. It is important to be able to recognize these signs before they become dangerous. Some symptoms to indicate that you may suffer from too much stress are difficulty sleeping, loss of appetite, racing pulse, headache, or a feeling of being overwhelmed. These are just some of the more obvious. If you think your stress levels are dangerously high, I advise you to see your doctor. However, if you feel your stress levels are still within a manageable level but don’t want them to get out of control, some simple lifestyle changes coupled with exercise may help.

For starters, take a look at what you put into your body. A lot of people tend to consume too much coffee. While this can actually be beneficial if taken in small quantities, it can also act as a catalyst that can lead to more serious problems like heart palpitations, even heart attack, in a person suffering from too much stress. So take a look at the amount of coffee you drink on a regular basis and decide if it is indeed too much. If so, make some adjustments.

The amount of sleep you get per night also affects your stress levels. Typically, stressed out people often feel there is simply not enough time in a day, and constantly push themselves to do more. This day-to-day feeling of falling behind only adds to their ever increasing stress levels, usually culminating in sleep deprivation in order to accomplish more of the "I have to’s" as I call them, instead of the "I choose to’s". Remember, you have choices in life. I try to never use the phase, "I have to" because more times than not, I don’t have to, I’m actually choosing to.

Another tip is to find an outlet for your stress. Not everything you do in your life has to be productive, it’s okay to do things simply because you want to, or because they’re fun. Music is a huge release for me, but in addition to that, I devote a lot of my time to sports. I suppose I didn’t start out participating in sports to alleviate stress, but I do notice that when I can’t do them on a regular basis (like when I fractured my foot), my life feels out of balance. I enjoy devoting time to Jiu-jitsu, mountain biking, hiking, weight lifting, and I recently started surfing, or attempting to surf anyway, I’m still learning. The point being that sports really helps to reduce my stress levels. Also, it can be a great way to spend quality time with friends and loved ones if you can get them to participate. That way, you are helping them as well as yourself to increase the quality and longevity of your lives. Most likely, no matter where you live or what you do, there is time enough in a day for yourself; you just need to rearrange your priorities.

Melissa Allen, CPT, BS, CES is a certified personal trainer & corrective exercise specialist, as well as the owner of Optimum Condition—Mobile Personal Training & Exercise Therapy. Melissa offers customized online fitness plans for people all over the U.S., so please contact her with any questions or comments by visiting her website at http://www.optimumcondition.com/packages.html