Getting good sleep is very important for a person’s overall health and well-being. But how can one know whether the sleep they are having is quality sleep that benefits their body or not? The world’s prominent bodybuilding legend, Arnold Schwarzenegger provides a simple formula for determining whether modern life is overloading your body with too much stress through sleep disruption.
The topic of sleep and stress is discussed in the most recent edition’s section, “How To Check Your Stress Levels (Overnight)”. The bodybuilder, as always, outlines research, writing:
“Research suggests that increases in your morning heart rate can indicate whether you are more likely to feel more stressed.”
In the same study, the researchers applied the strategy to college students. The individuals wore sleep-tracking devices, which made it easier to investigate the association between sleep and the experience of being stressed. Schwarzenegger then discusses the research findings, as he writes:
“The researchers found that getting more sleep reduces your likelihood of experiencing moderate-to-high stress by 38 percent.”
Even though the data shows that getting more sleep can significantly reduce stress levels, the bodybuilder wants his ‘village’ members to check their heart rate in the morning.
To further illustrate this procedure, the Austrian Oak suggests that individuals use a monitor or check their pulse for 10 seconds and multiply it by 6. Schwarzenegger also emphasized the research study, writing:
“The research suggests that the odds of experiencing stress increased by about 4 percent for each additional beat per minute.”
For a general overview, Arnold Schwarzenegger wishes to convey that participants in the research study had decreased stress levels only when they received adequate sleep, which was approximately 7 to 8 hours. These findings were similarly valid for the student participants, who experienced less stress with each additional hour of sleep.
This is not the first time the Austrian Oak has offered his advice on stress reduction to his ‘village’ members. A mental ailment can have a significant negative impact on a person; therefore, as prevention is always better than cure, the bodybuilder earlier proposed a simple act to alleviate it.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Advice to Kill Stress With Kindness
Due to various circumstances, a person could experience stress and anxiety in their life. However, this can be simply tackled by kindness, as Schwarzenegger has added it to his recommendation list. He outlined how scientists investigated over 200 studies involving over 200,000 participants regarding this certain topic.
The results were in favor of kindness, as it increased well-being, strengthened connectedness, and caused psychological and physiological changes. The bodybuilder further added that stress is something that one can’t control because the brain tends to replay any kind of traumatic experience as a form of bad memory.
However, as per Schwarzenegger, making others feel good with a simple act of kindness can help shut down those negative thoughts and create a sense of belonging and community. This also boosts the release of serotonin and dopamine, which directly assist in the reduction of stress.
