Stress

Stress

The images in the retirement-community ads certainly are alluring. A man fishing with his grandson. Golf seven days a week. A leisurely afternoon siesta. No worries, no problems, no stresses.

Dream on.

For many people who dream of such a stress-free nirvana, there may be a surprise waiting by the hammock. stress doesn’t retire. It can follow you like the flu. In fact, the retirement years often are among the most stressful in a person’s life, says George T. Grossberg, M.D., director of geriatric psychiatry at St. Louis University School of Medicine. “Late life is a time of tremendous stress. You face numerous strains that you probably have never faced before, like the loss of loved ones, loneliness, disability, and unanticipated financial strain. And when you’re 85, you’re not going to bounce back from these stresses as quickly as a 25-year-old would,” he says. “Consequently, the chances that stress will lead to chronic illness are much greater.”

Researchers suspect that stress contributes to a multitude of physical and emotional disorders including high blood pressure, muscle spasms, chronic fatigue, insomnia, obesity, heart disease, digestive problems, anxiety, phobias, and depression. But it is particularly harmful after age 60, because the body can’t physically adapt to the strain as well as it once did, explains Dr. Grossberg.

Under stress, for instance, an older person’s blood pressure rises more rapidly and stays higher longer than a younger person’s, because the older person’s blood vessel walls may have lost some elasticity, increasing the risk of a heart attack or stroke, Dr. Grossberg warns.

Stress may take a greater toll as you get older because of a chemical imbalance—the body continues to crank out stress hormones at a steady pace, while the production of the hormones that counteract it declines dramatically as you age, according to Dr. Grossberg.

The result is like overinflating a balloon. You’ll likely feel stretched—nearly to the limit. And that pressure can affect your mind, body, or spirit, says Frieda R. Butler, Ph.D., professor of gerontology at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

But it is never too late to learn how to deflate stress, Dr. Butler says. In fact, even if you’ve managed to corral stress in the past, you may have to develop new coping skills because the ones you used at 30 may not work as well at 70.

“As you get older, it takes longer to get yourself together after facing a stressful situation. So you’ll have to adapt to maintain a healthy balance,” she says. “Some of the old strategies may still work, but also you will have to take on new more effective ones.”

Try This First

Take it in stride. “Exercise does more to relieve stress than a lot of other things combined,” Dr. Butler says. “It helps get the blood circulating, improves mobility and muscle strength, and boosts morale. If you can move without pain, it changes your whole outlook on life. Exercise also has been shown to have a positive effect on mental abilities such as memory and in relieving anxiety.”

Exercise also can improve your energy reserves so you’ll feel more vigorous, says Robert E. Thayer, Ph.D., author of The Origin of Everyday Moods and professor of psychology at California State University, Long Beach. And the more energized you feel, the better you’ll be able to cope with stress. If you feel slightly blue or worried, he recommends taking a brisk 10-minute walk at a pace as if you were late for an important appointment, but don’t tense up as if you really were late.

Other Wise Ways

Stop peddling the news cycle. Computers, televisions, radios, and other forms of media offer staggering amounts of information instantaneously. But do you really need to know it all? Of course not, Dr. Butler says. In fact, letting go of news and information you don’t need is one of the best stress busters for a person over 60.

“If you feel pressured to keep up with the world, then you may begin to feel stressed out. But who says you have to keep up with the latest music or styles anymore? Who says you have to read the newspaper or watch the evening news every day anymore? You don’t. Only hold on to the information that is relevant for your new lifestyle. So if you golf, you may want to know who won the Senior Open, but not give a hoot about movies or politics. That’s fine.”

Get cozy. As you age, your natural ability to regulate body temperature declines, so you’ll be more prone to stress in extreme cold or heat, according to Dr. Butler. Keep the temperatures in your house well within your comfort zone, and avoid venturing out on unusually frigid or sultry days, she suggests.

Inhale relief. Deep breathing is one of the simplest ways to keep stress under wraps, says Dr. Butler.

Practice it by doing the following:

1. Sit in a comfortable chair with your back straight.

2. Slowly breathe in and feel your lungs filling from the bottom to the top.

3. Focus your attention on your belly; let it expand as you breathe. It should feel as if your diaphragm, a muscular membrane separating your lungs from your abdomen, is being pulled down, as if it were attached to a string in your belly.

4. Slowly exhale, emptying your lungs from top to bottom.

5. Feel your diaphragm relax into its natural position. Then take another deep breath and repeat.

Do this exercise twice a day for five minutes, Dr. Butler suggests.

Anticipate power surges. Energy levels tend to be higher at certain times of the day than at others, Dr. Thayer says. Being aware of this cycle is very important because when you have low energy, you’ll be more susceptible to stress. Every two to three hours for three days, jot down on a notepad whether your energy levels feel high, moderately high, moderately low, or low. You should see patterns emerge that will help you make decisions, schedule appointments, and run errands at times when your energy levels are high and you are less apt to feel stressed, he says. So if you find yourself feeling drained around 2:00 p.m. each day, take a nap instead of balancing your checkbook or playing a chess game.

“This technique works particularly well for people over 60, who tend to not have the energy reserves that they once had,” according to Dr. Thayer.

Head for the showers. Plunging into a steaming shower, bath, or hot tub is an excellent way to relieve stress, Dr. Thayer says. But don’t stay in too long. Staying in warm hot-tub-like water for more than 10 minutes actually increases tension and can dampen your mood, he says.