Stress.
Goal: To Reduce Chronic Stress
Action: Find Time for Regular Relaxation
Purpose: Improve Health and reduce risk of Chronic Diseases
Stress takes on many different forms in the body; from the oxidative stress within the cell, to the physical stress that causes muscles to grow.
And, as with most things in life, it is the dose that makes the poison.
Too much and for too long, and something is likely to crack. Too little and not long enough, then there is no stimulus for growth.
Getting the right balance is one of the keys to Premiership Health and can mean the difference between promotion and relegation.
In terms of Type 2 Diabetes we can see the damaging affects of chronic stress at every level at the Club.
So, the Beta Cells in the Pancreas, which produce Insulin get “Burnt Out” or dysfunctional, because they are continually subjected to the stresses of a high carbohydrate diet.
Similarly, the fat cells in the Liver, Pancreas and adipose tissue also get stressed out when they no longer have room to breathe and start suffocating inside the cell.
Then, one of the stress hormone players; Cortisol, increases the amount of sugar in the blood, to supply the energy needed for the fight or flight response, but when this is continually activated by all the perceived worries and fears in life, they too become exhausted.
There is even a medical condition called Cushing’s syndrome, associated with high levels of cortisol, which is recognised as a cause of type 2 diabetes.
Finally, diabetes itself can act as a chronic stress. Worrying about what and when to eat, the ups and downs of glucose monitoring and the fear of future complications is enough to make many give up and revert back or continue with poor lifestyle choices, such as; eating junk food, smoking and drinking.
A Premiership Health Manager learns how to control stress and use it to their advantage.
Tactics to Reduce Stress:
Relaxation Techniques
Aromatherapy
Scouting Report: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23075206