In history they told us about the Bronze or Iron Age. Maybe over time, ours will be labeled as plastic and stressful. Stress is simply a part of modern society. Whether it's high performance demands, fast times, constant trends and changes to the noisy environment of big cities. Despite all the negative aspects that stress brings to a certain extent, it can also be beneficial for the organism. In what and when is stress more of an enemy than a helper? In this article, we will look at the "good stress". In it you will also find practical tips on what to try if you are experiencing acute stress.

It is a set of physiological and psychological reactions of the body to external or internal stimuli that are perceived as demanding, threatening or exhausting. It arises when the body perceives a situation as a threat or a challenge and activates the so-called "fight or flight" response. If the body is in such a state for a long time, we are talking about chronic stress, which is not beneficial to the body. Its opposite is acute stress, from which some we can extract the benefits. So what can "good stress" do?

Maybe you know that feeling in your stomach when you're sitting on a proper merry-go-round. It's also a certain amount of stress on the body, even if you're enjoying the crazy ride. This sensation occurs in response to mild levels of stress and can potentially increase your brain's performance. Mild stress strengthens connections between neurons in the brain, improves memory and attention, and helps you be more productive.

A study by scientists at the University of Berkeley reports that in laboratory rats, brief stressful events activated stem cells in their brains. These multiplied into new nerve cells, which after two weeks led to an increase in mental performance.

Better brain performance probably explains why some people work better when under stress. These are last minute or tight deadline tasks. You can easily check if you are one of them by observing yourself. Try to evaluate your performance during a day when you experience a higher level of stress at work. You may find that you are more focused and productive than on low-stress days.

The fight-or-flight response that occurs during stress is designed to protect you, whether from injury or another threat. Interestingly, low doses of the stress hormone help protect against infections as well. Mild stress stimulates the production of a chemical called interleukins, giving the immune system a quick boost that can protect it from disease, unlike chronic stress, which lowers immunity and increases inflammation.

What about those interleukins? It is a group of proteins that play a key role in the regulation of the immune system. They are signaling molecules that enable communication between different types of white blood cells (immune cells) and other cells in the body. Each interleukin has a specific function and purpose, such as promoting the growth and activation of immune cells, coordinating the immune system's response to infection and inflammation, or assisting in the production of antibodies.

When we are dealing with a problem or situation, it can be very stressful. Diseases or vaccinations work on the same principle. At first exposure, the body may become confused. But for the second flu in life, the body will already have instructions on what to do and how to do it. It's the same with any other event. Exposure to situations that are not standard teaches the brain to be more resilient in the future. And in that case, the stress made you stronger. But how to best manage such situations?

We have a few practical tips for you that you can try right now:

Extended exhalations are probably the easiest and fastest help in stressful situations. for quick relief, it is enough if the exhalation is longer than the inhalation. For example , inhale for 4, hold your breath for 7 and exhale for 8. Breath is a great first aid tool because you have it with you everywhere.

The second handy breathing exercise is box breathing. During it, there is an inhalation, an exhalation and a 4-second breath hold between them. It looks like this: inhale for 4 beats, hold your breath for 4 beats, exhale for 4 beats and hold your breath for 4 beats.

The mindfulness technique will also help with acute stress. It's about redirecting the mind to an object other than ourselves. You can try the 5-4-3-2-1 method . just look around and find:

5 things you see

4 things you can touch

3 things you hear

2 things you feel

1 thing you can taste

If it's too complicated at first, try to focus on just one sense, like sight, and find as many objects of the same color as possible. The great thing is that mindfulness can be trained well and is a great helper in stressful situations.

The next tip needs a bit of practice, but then you can use this technique anywhere. This is Jacobson's progressive relaxation . It consists in tightening and relaxing the muscles accompanied by inhalation. Usually a breath for 5 beats with a gradual contraction of the selected muscle group from a slight contraction to your maximum. This is followed by gradual relaxation and exhalation. We promised practical examples, so we are sending a video from the organization Don't Let Your Soul Go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U3C_uhKfUc

In addition to the mentioned techniques, you can also try meditation, relaxing music with headphones or herbs and herbal teas. St. John's wort, lemon balm, hops or valerian, which you can find in our Stress Free, have a calming effect. So stress less!