Stress affects all of us in our daily lives. Whether it's work, school, family, or relationships; stressful situations can arise. Stress affects us a lot more than is apparent. A couple side effects are: weight gain, illness, lack of concentration, increased effects of aging, and depression. All these side effects can hurt your ability to socialize, productiveness at work, physical strength/abilities, and ability to recover.
The New York Times
highlights a study on a group of mice that observed the effects of
stress. One group was allowed to run on wheels at their free will, the
other group was kept in a cage and extremely sedentary. When allowed to roam free, the sedentary group showed higher levels of anxiety, were less active, and were not as confident. The active group showed opposite results.
What we don't know about stress is that biology determines how we react to stress. Some areas of the brain are easily excited and react to stress (or pleasurable activities) much easier. So, without your control, stress may hit you a lot faster than most people. The good news is, you're more likely to react just as easy to pleasurable stimuli.
Not everyone is wired the same in their way of handling stress. Some can brush it off easily while others can't function normally. Fortunately, there are many ways to reduce your stress. Meditation/relaxation, massage, enjoyable activities, and exercise are all ways to reduce stress.
Exercise isn't everyone's favorite activity...but what if you paired it with some dancing? Enter, Zumba.
According to WebMD,
Zumba workouts are charged with health and wellness benefits. As a
cardiovascular workout, it served as calorie burner and increases
aerobic threshold, endurance and bone density. Additionally, Zumba
improves balance and muscle tone, reduced body fat, and lowers blood
pressure. The exercise, paired with enjoyable upbeat music, can help trigger happy signals in the brain to help combat stress.
Zumba is offered in gyms throughout the country, but most importantly, also offered here on campus at UCSD. FitLife also brings the classes to groups of our hard workers here on campus in addition to our Walk & Stretch Program and Stretching classes. Zumba has been one of the favorites and has seen great attendance/support from the employees.
For a little more information on the effects of stress and Zumba, check out the links below.
Exercise reorganizes the brain to be more resilient to stress
Girls under stress age more rapidly, new Stanford study reveals
Zumba: Fun Is Secret Ingredient of Latin Dance Workout
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