Stress. It’s a physiological reaction each of us experiences from time to time. Our bodies respond to stress without distinguishing the “good” (standing at the starting line of your first marathon), from the “bad” (running an hour late to catch a flight). Since it’s less likely for most of us to experience “good” stress constantly throughout the day and more likely that we will put up with “bad” stress, let’s focus on how the latter can affect the body’s amazing ability to store body fat when under duress.

When our body is stressed, a hormone called cortisol is released by the adrenal glands. Typically, cortisol levels rise and fall depending on how much stress we are under. According to Dr. Daniel Kalish, author of Your Guide to Healthy Hormones, cortisol also promotes the burning of body fat, helps regulate emotions, interacts with reproductive hormones and counters inflammation and allergies – all part of the body’s “fight or flight” response to threat.

Our body runs into the fat storing problem when we don’t have a chance to recover from stress. This is something that is commonly seen among people who get very little sleep, have numerous young children, have demanding careers and even those who train too much for endurance events. The body’s inability to recover from stress leads to adrenal exhaustion as levels of cortisol remain constantly elevated. You don’t have to feel “stressed out” to be in adrenal exhaustion. In fact, many people who are completely run down have been this way for so long that they often don’t know their adrenals have simply hit an unnatural plateau.

Before we know it, our body is in a perpetual state of “fight or flight.” This fight or flight response is a hormonal reaction that keeps us alive. When you feel that something “gets your adrenaline going,” that is when your body is actually in a state of fight or flight. If we were to go back to the Stone Age we would find that body fat was the one thing naturally produced to insulate our organs and keep us alive. Not too much has changed since then. Stress releases cortisol, which if not managed properly, can send our body into adrenal exhaustion creating an elevated response to store, maintain or increase body fat.

So what can you do to counteract the ill effects of stress?

Sleep: Eight hours of sleep every night is not a rule that should apply only to kids. We need rest, too. Without it, our body experiences anxiety we might not even recognize.

Moderate Regular Exercise: Moderate cardiovascular exercise reduces stress. For novice exercisers, this might be 30 minutes of cardio three times a week, with strength training added to the mix. For more advanced exercisers, 60 of cardio most days of the week with a couple days of strength training should do the trick. Too much exercise for what your body is conditioned to handle, however, can create more stress. Different people need to do different exercises – both strength and cardio. Not sure what to do? Hire a personal trainer. Working with a personal trainer that can assess your overall fitness and give you a good foundation to start or even reevaluate your fitness plan is a huge help.

Diet: Many rules apply here, but above all, watch the caffeine and sugar! Caffeine can create an immediate stress response in some people, while others might be able to get away with a cup or two of coffee in the morning. In any case, if you’re a person who makes a run to Starbuck’s for a venti coffee at 3:00 in the afternoon, trim it to a tall or go for a glass of water instead! Sugar consumption has skyrocketed in the US over the past twenty years. Today, the average American consumes 135 pounds every year. Sugar isn’t just in our cookies and colas, but in our breads, pastas and cereals, too! Sugar can wreak havoc on our blood sugar, which has a direct effect on our insulin and cortisol levels.
Take three days to write out everything you eat. You might be surprised at just how much sugar you actually consume.

Reduce stress with a power nap

There are many health benefits associated with getting enough sleep. Research shows that you can make yourself more alert, reduce stress and improve cognitive functioning with a nap. On the flip side, fatigued people experience more moodiness, aggressive behaviors, burnout and a lot more stress. A mid-day ‘power nap’ - just 20 minutes of sleep in the afternoon - provides more rest than 20 minutes of additional sleep in the morning. However, experts advise to keep the nap between 15 and 30 minutes, as sleeping longer gets you into deeper stages of sleep, which makes it more difficult to awaken. Also, longer naps can make it more difficult to fall asleep at night.

Source: http://www.stress.about.com.