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Beating the stress bug

Written by Byron Loker

9 December 2005 -- Don't worry about bird flu; the killer bug stalking the corridors and cubicles of the modern workplace is stress. The evidence is compelling: Time magazine has already identified the problem by calling stress "the epidemic of the eighties", claiming that the condition is "the United States' leading health problem". Stress costs the U.S. economy $300 billion annually; the three best-selling drugs in the United States are for the treatment of stress; two-thirds of visits to physicians stem from stress, and, according to Fortune magazine, the number of reported stress-related illnesses has tripled in the last four years. What's more, the Health News Network recently reported that, "There isn't a disease or illness in the modern world that is not, in one way or another, affected, intensified or triggered by stress."

But what is stress exactly and how does it manifest? Stress can result from anything that annoys, threatens, prods, excites, scares, worries, criticises, angers, challenges, hurries or frustrates one, or reduces self-esteem. A wide range a stimuli indeed, many of which we are exposed to during the course of a working day. Ultimately, the danger of stress is that, at its most severe, it undermines decision-making which can have seriously detrimental consequences.

Stress may manifest in a variety of ways. Physically, those under stress experience frequent headaches, high cholesterol, tightness in the neck and shoulders, general muscle and back ailments, a pounding heart, chest pains, high blood pressure, stomach or digestive discomfort, fatigue and frequent colds, flu or other illnesses.

Stress also has emotional manifestations, such as feelings of extreme sadness, hopelessness, helplessness, negative thoughts, anger and resentment, irritability and forgetfulness. Behavioral problems relating to stress include extremes in eating, sleeping, spending, an increased use of alcohol or medication and chemical stimulants, hurting others and withdrawal from family, friends and life.

Stress has been linked to cancer, heart attacks, a weakening of the immune system, high blood pressure, migraines, blood clots, back pain, muscle deterioration, digestive disorders, spousal abuse, child abuse and sundry other maladies and violent behaviour. "From the common cold to cancer, every illness known to humans typically begins with a breakdown in immunity," declares a report by the Health News Network.

Breakthroughs

With the prevalence of stress in the hectic work environments of today, how does one fight back? Researchers have pegged stress resistance to a single quality: resilience. An investigation by the Wall Street Journal into mitigation of stress claims: "People who handle stress well recover quickly, physically and mentally when confronted by it." A study by the University of Chicago of over 670 managers found that leaders who faced stress with a positive attitude of challenge, commitment and control, remained much healthier than did their pessimistic counterparts.

Another reported study showed that patients who received a four-month stress-management course had a 74% reduction in the risk of heart attack or need for surgery, compared to routine care. A 35 year study at Harvard University has found that a positive attitude can slow down the ageing process - optimists suffered far less from chronic degenerative disorders and lived longer, healthier lives than pessimistic peers. Also examining this phenomenon, The Independent newspaper in Britain has reported that "breakthroughs in the neurosciences are bringing about a paradigm shift in how we understand the relationship between the mind and the body."

Breath and Meditation

Chris Loker, MD of Moksha Yoga Enterprises, has developed a unique programme on stress management in the workplace, using techniques derived from the ancient Indian art of yoga. Loker's methods use his business background and combine meditation, breathing and physical exercises - contemporary applications of yogic teachings gaining currency today not only in India, but worldwide.

In Bangalore, home to more than 1500 global and domestic firms currently riding the call-center and software outsourcing boom, major software companies like Infosys Technologies have long recognised the problem of stress and have built in-house recreational centres where employees can unwind after long and demanding hours of constant pressure. More than 300 000 software professionals are employed in Bangalore, many of them having to work at night due to a 12-hour time difference with the United States. The Art of Living Foundation, an international organisation with a presence in 142 countries, says more than 400 code writers enrol every month to learn meditation.

In his meditation classes, Chris Loker teaches that, "Conscious breath work is at the centre of mind / body integration. During meditation, breathing slows, blood pressure decreases, and stress hormone levels fall. Oxygen consumption falls almost twice as much as during sleep. The effect is immediate."

Some studies have even found that meditation is more refreshing and energising than a deep sleep, with half an hour of meditation being equivalent to three to four hours of sleep. A study from the University of Kentucky, for example, found that meditation could offset the sluggishness of sleep deprivation better than a nap. Researchers tested volunteers on a button-pressing speed task and found that even novice meditators improved their performance more after 40 minutes of meditation than after a 40-minute nap. "Meditation seems to energize the sleep-deprived. It seems to help with concentration. It even seems to bolster the structure of the brain as we age. The breath integrates mind and body. Thought is the movement of breath. Breath is the movement of thought," says Loker, outlining the mantras of his stress coaching technique.

Meditators, he says, are better able to deal with life's challenges and crises. They are calmer, more centred and less vehemently aroused by stress. In addition to altering brain waves, meditation reduces blood lactate levels which rise to unhealthy levels during periods of stress, fatigue and anxiety. A combination of physical relaxation and an alert yet quiet mind, what Loker calls "restful awareness", distinguishes this state from sleep. This produces the opposite of a fight-or-flight response. "The mind is awake, though quiet. Brain wave studies have shown improved coherence between different parts of the brain during meditation. These changes in body and mind are not seen during wakefulness or sleeping," says Loker.

Yoga?

Loker contends that, "Yoga offers practical tools to short-circuit the stress reflex." The Harvard Medical School has documented that the benefits of yoga include a reduction in blood pressure, heart rate, cholesterol and blood sugar. Dr. Herbert Benson, president of the Mind/Body Medical Institute and a Harvard Medical School associate professor, has studied the body's "relaxation response" for nearly 40 years. He says that scientists now understand this phenomenon in ever more advanced scientific terms.

In recent years, academic researchers seeking to turn anecdotes into hard data have suggested that meditation may provide a broad array of benefits, from lifting depression to relieving pain to fighting flu. Research on meditation now includes many scientific studies examining its possible benefits, as demonstrated by a Society for Neuroscience meeting held recently in Washington.

"The relaxation response also boosts the immune system," concludes Loker, "Yoga is about learning to breath properly by being aware and in control of the breathing process (which is meditation), in so doing, we exercise greater control over the mind, which in turn allows us not to react to stressors - instead moderating the reaction by objectively accessing the impacts thereof."