How to Naturally Cope with Stress
Natural approaches to stress management come into play in two ways:
1. Enabling the body to reduce the effects of stress:
Certain natural compounds have been identified to help the body reduce the effects of stress:
- L-theanine (Camellia sinensis), a naturally occurring amino acid found in green tea, helps generate alpha waves that creates a relaxed yet alert mental state. It promotes relaxation without drowsiness.
- Beta-Sitosterol, a natural plant sterol, helps blunt cortisol, a hormone produced during physical stress that contributes to many health challenges.
- Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is an Ayurvedic herb that aids the body’s ability to adapt to continuing stress.
- L-tyrosine is an amino acid produced by the body to make the neurotransmitter norepinephrine. Studies suggest that norepinephrine levels, which are involved in mood regulation, may decline with stress.
You can get one formulation containing all of these ingredients in a natural supplement.
2. Learning new ways to respond to stressful situations so we don’t evoke the damage response to start with:
For this second aspect of natural stress management, the National Mental Health Association has a PDF document with some tips for coping with stress.
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