JUST HOW STRESSED ARE YOU?

That is a good question, right?
With rare exception, nearly everyone I speak with fully admits to being over-stressed. Perhaps a more significant question is, how bad is your stress? And the most important question…what can be done about it?

We live in a stressful world.
Between home life, business life, finances, politics, our kids, our parents… all pulling on us, is it any wonder that chronic disease is on the rise. We have had a steady increase in obesity, diabetes, and auto-immune diseases.  Not to mention the staggering increase in depression, anxiety, and pain medications over the past decade.  Yes, stress takes its toll on our nervous system.   As a result, all the other systems in our body are affected; digestive, immune, endocrine, and reproductive.  All can be linked to increased stress.

So, how bad is your stress and is there a way to measure it?
YES, the device is called a Pulse Wave Profiler and it measures Heart Rate Variability (HRV).  Did you just say to yourself: A what that measures what?

This is technical but, the balance between our sympathetic (the part of the system that determines fight or flight) and parasympathetic (the part that is linked to digestion) nervous system can be determined by measuring our HRV.  Knowing if we are in sympathetic or parasympathetic dominance is a quantitative measurement of stress.  In our office we’ve been using a Pulse Wave Profiler to measure stress levels for the past few years.  It may come as no surprise that the clear majority of those we test are in sympathetic dominance to some degree or another.  When we are in sympathetic dominance our heart rate is elevated, our blood pressure is increased, blood is diverted from our gut into our legs and arms, cortisol levels are increased, and our entire nervous system is in a hyper reactive state.  Not a good place to live.

Which leads us to what can I do about your stress?
There are a number of strategies that we have recommended for stress including:

  • Chiropractic Care
  • A Diet Low in Processed Foods & Sugars
  • Meditation
  • Breathing Techniques
  • Essential Oils
  • BEMER

A most recent discovery for us is the immediate and profound impact BEMER has on HRV, and creating a better balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. BEMER is a medical device that helps to boost the blood flow in your body.  Better blood flow can help reduce your stress.  We offer BEMER seminars each week on Mondays from 1pm – 2pm & Tuesday evenings from 6:30pm – 8pm.  Make plans to join us. Just one 8 minute session can make a difference!

Want to learn more about how to deal with the stress in your life?  Give our office a call to learn more about how we can measure and reduce your stress levels.