28/3/2005 Time PJ (Pendidikan Jasmani) pagi tadi , sambil main-main kami borak ngan cikgu.. huhuhu dah jadi kebiasaan klu tiba waktu PJ , gals mesti sembang ngan cikgu tanya tu ni cam "sesi soal jawab" psl hal dunia ni..

My mind juz tertarik ngan pertanyaan my chinese fren about Stress.. Dia cakap pe tau , " Cikgu.. kami rasa hidup kami hanya stress saje , macam mana ni cikgu ? " Hish .. gitu lak dia. but sumtimes mmg kesian kat chinese student sbb mereka sibuk pegi tuisyen sana sini ngan homwerk yg mcm menara tu. Tu lah sebabnya.. im here. Cuba elakkan diri drpd ngadap buku , kertas , pen , buku , kertas , pen 18 jam (tolak waktu tidur) .

This is for you guyz yang stress manjaaang , yang pening kepala , sakit tu sakit ni dlm sibuk belajar , kerja dlm menjalani tugasan dan hidup seharian.. termasuklah me.

(Jom kita translate.. ehehe)

Question: I am so stressed out from so much schoolwork. What can I do?

SLEEP: Try to get the nightly sleep you require to feel just right the following day, without having to drag yourself from class to class. Not only is it more difficult to deal with stress when fatigued, but sleep deprivation also weakens immune system functioning, according to recent research findings. Sleeping the same number of hours each night, during the same time-block, can give you a more reliable energy supply.

EXERCISE: The Gold Medal of stress-busters goes to aerobic activities: walking briskly; jogging; swimming; cycling; blading; playing tennis, basketball, volleyball, or racquetball; doing calisthenics; and, working out on all those contraptions at the gym, including the stair-climber, treadmill, and rowing machine. Aerobic action spends stress hormones, strengthens organs targeted by stress, improves sleep, and increases energy, just to name a few benefits. Most gyms have orientation programs to familiarize new users to exercise equipment, and to reduce the fear and discomfort felt by many workout novices.

EAT: A healthy, balanced eating plan is right there on the shelf with stress reduction.

The Food Pyramid, created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)/U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is a recommendation of the types of foods to eat to maintain a healthy diet. The food pyramid shows that no one food is absolutely essential to good nutrition, and that no one food group provides all the essential nutrients adequately. Variety, balance, and moderation are the keys to the plan.

Alice has listed the Food Pyramid's suggested number of daily servings and serving size by group below:

Breads, Cereals, Rice, & Pasta: 6 to 11 servings a day
One serving equals 1 slice bread; 1/2 cup cooked rice, pasta, or cereal; 1 ounce cold cereal.

Vegetables: 3 to 5 servings a day
One serving equals 1/2 cup raw or cooked vegetables (about the size of 1 tennis ball); 1 cup leafy raw vegetables.

Fruits: 2 to 4 servings a day
One serving equals 1 piece of fruit or a melon wedge; 3/4 cup juice; 1/2 cup canned fruit; 1/4 cup dried fruit.

Milk, Yogurt, & Cheese: 2 to 3 servings a day
One serving equals 1 cup milk or yogurt; 1.5 to 2 ounces cheese (about the size of 1 ping-pong ball). Choose low-fat options from this group.

Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, & Nuts: 2 to 3 servings a day
One serving equals 1.5 to 3 ounces cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish (about the size of 1 deck of cards, 1 quart jar lid, or palm of your hand); 1 to 1.5 cup cooked beans; 2 eggs; 4 tablespoons peanut butter.

Fats, Oils, & Sugar: Use sparingly.
This includes alcoholic beverages and high fat and/or sugar in foods, such as cheese, ice cream, and french fries.
So although six to eleven servings may seem daunting at first glance, once you realize what is considered a serving, it's most likely that it is already part of your regular diet.

How To Use Diet To Reduce Your Stress
By Stuart Nelson

Let us first of all set the scene.

Stress Chemistry
Whenever we perceive a situation that needs urgent and immediate action, our adrenal glands begin to make adrenalin. Almost immediately, our heart is pounding, our muscles tense, our eyes dilate, our breathing changes, our blood thickens and glucose is pumped into it: so much glucose that we could run a mile, though this might be overkill if the cause of our stress is an unwanted telephone call, a traffic jam, or kids fighting on the back seat.

The glucose is produced by breaking down the glycogen that is contained in our muscles and liver. Getting it from our blood to our bodies is achieved by hormones, produced by the pancreas. These are insulin and glucagon. The insulin, with another chemical, this time from the liver, facilitates the movement to the cells of the body, whilst glucagon is used to top up the blood sugar levels if these fall too low.

You will realise that this process of equipping us for fight of flight is expensive of energy. We might wonder where the extra energy comes from, especially if we were feeling tired immediately before the event that we are now reacting to.

The answer is that energy is diverted from the body’s normal functions of maintenance and repair. Thus, so long as we are feeling stressed, our digestion, rejuvenation and cleansing functions are turned off. No wonder people who are continuously stressed look old before their time.

But things are even worse than this for people who suffer from chronic stress. Consider the unnecessary aging involved in the process if the pituitary, the adrenals, the pancreas and the liver pump out chemicals continuously to control blood sugar that we don’t need. In short, the process wears us and our bodies out.

The Blood Sugar Saga
Worn out by the process described above, our energy is sapped. We lose concentration, become easily confused, make silly mistakes, fall asleep after lunch, become irritable, find it hard to sleep at night, don’t want to wake in the morning, sweat more than normal, and/or suffer from headaches. Does this ring any bells with you?

This is where most people turn to stimulants to help them regain energy and control. Typically, these will include tea, coffee, cola drinks, chocolate, horror films, retail therapy and such extreme activities as free-fall parachuting and bungee jumping. Those who are not fussy about keeping within the law may seek their buzz from amphetamines, crack, or crime.

Holidays are also so popular. But packing and travelling can be extremely stressful too. Moreover, the typical holidaymaker will choose to read a steamy or gripping paperback novel while waiting for the plane or while lying on the beach. Stress is never far away.

The Formula for Balance
In order to maximise your energy resources and avoid burning out, follow these guidelines.

• Eat slow-releasing carbohydrates (such as fruit and nuts), but not fast-releasing carbohydrates (such as sugar, white bread, foods containing sugar).

• Check that you are taking in all essential nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals (eat plenty of fruit, nuts and vegetables).

• Avoid taking stimulants (e.g. coffee and tea) and depressants (e.g. alcohol.

This doesn’t mean that you can never break these rules – unstressed people can safely eat chocolate and drink wine, in moderation - but if you are addicted to stress or just badly stressed you break the rules at your peril.

When you keep to these rules, you will find that you are better able to face stressful events. This is because you have given yourself a consistent supply of energy. Adopting this approach both helps to break the cycle of energy-consuming behaviour (the blood sugar saga) and creates energy to overcome the mental habits that result in our reaction to stress in the first place.

Warning
If you give up tea and coffee and other stimulants, sugar and chocolate, and you begin to suffer headaches, loss of concentration, tiredness or nausea, this is evidence enough of addiction. You are suffering withdrawal symptoms. Stick to your plan and these unpleasant side effects will pass.

MANAGE TIME: Time management is really about self-management and priorities..

Unfortunately, you can't find time. Nor can you make, buy, or save it. Time cannot be managed, manipulated, or controlled to meet our needs because we're limited to 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year.

With that said, your life should fit into "time's" schedule. First, start by asking yourself a couple of very important questions: what is important to you; and, what are your goals? If the activities that you identified are all priorities, then it's time to take out your planner and figure out how, when, and for how long to hang with friends, see your family, squeeze in your boyfriend,(huhuhu) and study in ways that match your goals. You may decide to talk with your friends less this week so that you can adequately prep for your upcoming exam. Then, next week, when the work load lessens, you can catch up with folks. You might also choose to let go of some friends, see less of your family, or, dare im say, cut back on studying. Combining stuff might work, too: study with your boyfriend ; get groups of friends together; etc.

The great thing about this "life-management" plan is that it puts YOU in charge -- not "Mother/Father Time." This strategy might sound too structured, but organizing one's life, and being disciplined about following a self-imposed plan, is sometimes the best way to get things done -- whatever you want those things to be.

Question 2: How can I reduce stress at work?

Sources of stress are known as stressors. Before you think about stress reduction, start by identifying the particular stresses in your work. What, specifically, is it about your work situation that makes you feel anxious, angry, frustrated, burned out, depressed, moody, etc.? When you come up with your list of answers, address them one at a time. Managing stress is a slow and measured process, like eating a pie one slice at a time, rather than trying to shove it all in your mouth at once.

Stress most commonly manifests itself as difficulty sleeping and concentrating, muscle tension, headaches, migraines, ulcers, sexual dysfunction, among many others symptoms. Job-related stress often stems from deadline pressures and conflicts with colleagues. For these dilemmas, time management and effective communication skills might work to your advantage. However, no matter what the causes of your tension on and off the job may be, stress-inoculating strategies like aerobic exercise, yoga, and meditation help protect against the ill-effects of stress. Social support from family, friends, and colleagues is another way to work out stress-induced emotions, instead of holding them inside where they put wear and tear on your organs and immune system. Try involving a friend in your attempts to generate positive options for thinking and behaving differently in your work environment.

Foremost, it is almost always more beneficial (and stress reducing!) to change your own outlook and actions, rather than trying to change others who we may deem the causes of our stress. For further reading, try Stress Without Distress, by Hans Selye, the pioneer of stress research. The Relaxation Response, by Herbert Benson, provides breathing and meditation techniques for relaxation.

This article is provided by Alice ! kliklah klu nak tau lebih ..