Mad March Hare

Do you feel a bit like the Mad March Hare at the moment? With so much in everyday life to manage, it’s difficult to keep the teacups spinning.

We’ve already had Valentine’s day, random act of kindness day, love your pet day, pancake day, Ash Wednesday, and this year is a leap year in February! Here are a few more days to be aware of coming up in March:

1st St David’s day

8th International women’s day

14th No smoking

15th Red Nose Day

17th St. Patrick’s day

20th International Earth day

20th First day of spring

22nd Mother’s Day

26th Make up your own holiday day!

By the end of March we may need to make up a holiday to recover! Celebrations are great of course, but more often than not, also stressful. Some of the symptoms of being stressed are:

Feelings of panic, fear, worry, and a lack of control
Restlessness
Difficulty concentrating
Difficulty falling/staying asleep
Fatigue
Irritability
Nausea and digestive issues
Headaches
Muscle tension

There are 3 big players in this stress response:

Norepinephrine grabs attention and gives you focus, becoming more awake and aware of the surrounding situation. It moves blood flow away from areas where it might not be so crucial, like the skin, and toward more essential areas, like the muscles, in times of trouble.

Adrenaline is responsible for our immediate reactions when stressed or scared. It increases heart rate, blood pressure, and energy supplies.

Cortisol, the primary stress hormone, increases sugar levels in order to enhance brain function and tissue repair., while decreasing nonessential functions, like the digestive and reproductive systems. In survival mode, the cortisol can be life saving.

Depending upon whatever is stressing you out, it could take anywhere from half an hour to a couple of days to return to a healthy resting state. When you stew on a problem, the body continuously releases stress hormones, and chronic elevated levels can lead to serious illnesses, such as, Continuously high cortisol levels can suppress the immune system, increase blood pressure and sugar, decrease libido, produce acne, contribute to obesity, and more.

We need to relax! The relaxation response is a state in which the heart and breathing rate slows, blood pressure lowers, the production of stress hormones decreases, and muscles relax. It also increases serotonin, which positively affects emotions and thoughts.

Massage is a relaxation technique that reduces tension, fear and anxiety, while promoting feelings of calm and wellbeing. It lowers levels of stress hormones, and boosts dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, and oxytocin.

So, massage makes you happy! Book today at http://www.beholisticmassage

So now that we’re relaxed again, let’s look forward to the all the fun of April with Palm Sunday, World health day, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and St. George’s day.