Pass the stress test with these supplements

Modern life causes stress in many ways, making it vital to develop healthy coping mechanisms and build resilience with tools like exercise, sleep, diet and supplements.

Effectively manage stress with lifestyle changes, we can approach life’s challenges with greater confidence and clarity.

Common stressors commonly encountered include:

• Physical stress, such as vigorous exercise, illness, injury, direct trauma, or physical dysfunction. Nutritional stress, which relates to the impact that foods and ingredients have on our bodies.
• Environmental stress refers to elements in our external world that affect us, such as exposure to chemicals and toxins or extreme temperatures. and
• Psychological stress arises from relationships, everyday pressures or situations.

When a healthy, normally functioning body encounters acute stress, it initiates a well-coordinated response to help cope with and adapt to the stressor, which has many positive benefits.

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Acute stress reaction

After all, our bodies respond to different stressors in the same way. This response involves two systems:

1. The nervous system
2. The hormonal system.

The nervous system it responds quickly through the sympathetic branch, triggering the fight-or-flight response.

This process releases adrenaline and noradrenaline, hormones that increase the heart rate, widen the airways, and redirect blood flow to the muscles, preparing the body for immediate action.

At the same time, stress activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which stimulates the adrenal glands to release cortisol, a hormone that helps regulate metabolism, suppress inflammation, and provide sustained energy.

Once the stressor subsides, these systems self-regulate and return to baselineensuring that the body’s stress response is well-coordinated to maintain overall health.

In these cases, acute stress can positively affect your body, making you more alert, aware, and ready for action. Constantly putting your body under acute stress through regular exercise can also cause adaptations that make you stronger and better.

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Stress overload

However, when multiple stressors overwhelm our mind and body, the Chronic stress can overload our normal stress response. Without corrective action, chronic stress can affect our health and performance in a number of ways.

Initially, we may begin to feel constantly stressed, anxious or overwhelmed, accompanied by symptoms¹ which include disturbances in the normal functioning of the endocrine system (hormone system), insomnia, digestive problems, impaired immune system function, physical symptoms such as weakness and aches and cognitive issues such as unfocused thinking.

Other common stress-related conditions include high blood pressure, increased heart rate, sexual dysfunction and depression².

Hence, It is vital that we find healthy ways to cope and manage stress in all its forms.

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Build resilience to stress

Taking a proactive approach to stress management can help us achieve and maintain optimal health and wellness. A common framework used to identify and neutralize stressors is the 5 As approach, which entails:

1. Avoiding: Don’t create additional stress by staying on top of factors in your control, such as scheduling, project planning, and task prioritization. Take control of your environment to avoid unnecessary stress by eating a healthy balanced diet and getting adequate, quality sleep.
2. Change: Identify things in your life that cause stress and change what you can. For example, back-to-back meetings can cause stress by taking time away from other tasks. Working late can cause relationship stress, so plan accordingly and prioritize your life to find the right balance.
3. Adjustment: Sometimes, we face unexpected sources of stress that are out of our control, such as a last-minute assignment, a school project, or a family emergency. Remind yourself that life happens and try to adapt to stressful situations as best you can to help you gain control.
4. Acceptance: Those who expect and prepare to experience stress usually handle and respond better than those who do not accept that stress is a part of everyday life. We should not try to avoid or remove all stress from our lives, but accept that we will experience it and prepare as best we can.
5. Activity: Physical activity helps calm the nervous system and releases endorphins, which are neurotransmitters that improve your mood. A walk or some yoga are great options. Some light exercise, especially cardiovascular activity, is a great way to manage stress without aggravating the condition with vigorous physical activity. Exercise also releases tension by distracting you from everyday worries, while the improvements it makes to your cardiorespiratory system allow your body to deal with daily stress more effectively.

Support your strategy without stress

There are also many other ways to deal with stress and develop greater resilience to stress. For example

According to a research, Creating space and quieting the mind are effective ways to deal with and reduce stress. For example, participants in a study² effectively reduced stress levels with yoga, mindfulness and a mindfulness app.

Meditation can also help you manage and reduce stress⁴ making you more mentally resilient. Regular meditators gain better control over their thoughts, feelings and emotions and experience various benefits such as improved stress tolerance, less anxiety and depression, better mental clarity, concentration, focus, calmness and emotional positivity.

Deep breathing exercises or breath work (Deliberate control of your breathing pattern) it can also calm your nervous system and reduce stress levels⁵.

Maintaining strong social ties is also essential for managing stress³. Talking to friends, family, or a therapist can provide a valuable outlet to express your feelings and gain support. Feeling understood and connected can reduce the emotional toll of stress.

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Manage stress with supplements

Biogen’s extensive line of supplements includes products specifically designed for they support our body’s natural response to stress.

These products usually contains natural botanicals and plant-based ingredients and vitamins and minerals that support our nervous and hormonal systems or acts as a mild sedative to reduce tension, irritability, nervousness, restlessness and mild anxiety.

These ingredients include adaptogens, which are substances that increase the body’s ability to resist and adapt to mental and physical stress.

They are generally made from plant extracts or herbs that help restore balance to the cardiovascular, immune, nervous, and endocrine systems, usually without any physiological disruption, side effects, or toxicity.

Stress management products in the Biogen Platinum range include:

Common adaptogenic ingredients available include Rhodiola Rosea, Ginkgo Biloba. Panax Ginseng and Ashwagandha, among others, and are commonly found in nootropic products, along with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and herbs.

Nootropic drugs may enhance cognitive functions and enhance mental resilience to stressand calm the body and mind to promote restful and restorative sleep.

Bibliographical references:

1. Yaribeygi H, Panahi Y, Sahraei H, Johnston TP, Sahebkar A. The effect of stress on body function: A review. EXCLI J. 2017 Jul 21, 16:1057-1072. doi: 10.17179/excl2017-480. PMID: 28900385; PMCID: PMC5579396.
2. Can YS, Iles-Smith H, Chalabianloo N, Ekiz D, Fernández-Álvarez J, Repetto C, Riva G, Ersoy C. How to relax in stressful situations: An intelligent stress reduction system. Healthcare (Basel). 16 Apr 2020, 8(2): 100. doi: 10.3390/healthcare8020100. PMID: 32316370; PMCID: PMC7349817.
3. Ozbay F, Johnson DC, Dimoulas E, Morgan CA, Charney D, Southwick S. Social support and resilience to stress: from neurobiology to clinical practice. Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2007 May;4(5):35-40. PMID: 20806028; PMCID: PMC2921311.
4. Daniel RV, Sharma G, Chandra S. Effective Stress Management through Meditation: An EEG-Based Study. Int J Yoga. 2022 Jan-Apr.; 15(1):45-51. doi: 10.4103/ijoy.ijoy_171_21. Epub 2022 Mar 21. PMID: 35444365; PMCID: PMC9015081.
5. Fincham, GW, Strauss, C., Montero-Marin, J. et al. Effect of breathing on stress and mental health: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Sci Rep 13, 432 (2023).