I'm sure by now you've heard about the benefits of exercise. I guess that's kind of like asking if you've heard about the health risks of smoking. Anyway, exercise has a TON of health benefits including stress reduction! So when you're fretting over the seating chart and wondering who'll get stuck sitting next to Uncle Joe, well, I suggest you drop what you're doing and get your bridal butt moving!
I talked to the very distinguished, intelligent, and handsome health expert, Dr. Alex Kraft(who also happens to be my husband and would be happy to help you formulate your very own health regimen if you live in the Seattle area, btw) to get the scoop on how exercise can help lower your wedding planning stress.
According to Dr. Kraft, exercise decreases Cortisol levels in the body-which is a good thing apparently-because when we're chronically stressed (anything over a couple of hours) we produce a low level of Cortisol, which makes us feel anxious and agitated.
"In the wild, animals get stressed if they're being chased or about to get eaten. Their natural instinct is to run away. The act of running actually helps them process the stress hormone and in this case it's a good thing--it's needed for survival. But the difference between acute stress in animals and chronic stress in humans is that we humans don't get that same opportunity to run our stress off, so the stress hormone builds up and causes long-term health effects" said my hunky husband, er, I mean Dr. Kraft. Isn't he so smart?
Aside from lowering cortisol levels, Dr. Kraft also noted that exercising produces endorphins--the body's natural pain killers, mood enhancers, and anti-depressants (sounds fun, eh?). This is why exercising makes us feel so good!
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