Stress: The Enemy of Weight Loss

We secrete a hormone called “Cortisol” when we feel stressed. The higher cortisol levels there are, the more visceral fat we store in our bodies. Higher cortisol also decreases the amount of growth hormone in our bodies, makes it hard to build muscles, lowers the metabolism, which overall creates difficulty to lose weight.

At the same time, stress makes us want to indulge in bad habits such as overeating, smoking, binge drinking, and staying up late. Stress is a big factor in whether or not we can succeed in achieving our weight loss goals.

Effective Stress-Relief Activities

The following activities are known to help with stress:

• Spend time to relax
• Laugh from your heart
• Get quality sleep
• Concentrate on an activity
• Get adequate exercise

When we carry stress our hearts are being weighed down. Every person has a different level of stress resilience and there’s no one answer in how to resolve it. What’s most important is that we have ways to keep our distance from our stress source.

Dancing is gaining attention as it checks off many of the points above.

The Benefits of Dance for Weight Loss

There are many types of dancing from competitive dancing to casual fun dances for weight loss. The dances we will mention here are anything short enough to practice within 5-10 minutes.

The following are the benefits we gain from dancing:

A Stress Reliever

According to studies of dance movement therapy, participating in expressive and communicative body movements with others creates a sense of safety and stress relief. By letting go of stress, our mental capacity becomes better prepped for taking on the challenges of a weight loss journey.

A Fun and Painless Way to Exercise

There is a unit called “MET” that measures exercise intensity based on our oxygen consumption. Our inactive resting state is measured at 1 MET and we can measure our activity intensity by MET units to figure out a metabolic rate.

For example, jogging is 7 METs, tennis is 6 METs. Every activity has a MET measurement. The higher the MET is, the more calories are burned in the same amount of time spent on it.

Dancing, which can be categorized as aerobic exercise, is about 8 METs. This is a higher MET than jogging. If the usual exercise of weight lifting and running seems stressful, dancing could be a great way to exercise in a fun and painless way.

Infinite Variations to Try

When we’re trying to lose weight, oftentimes our diet and exercise can become repetitive and mundane. That alone can be a cause of stress. However, dancing is a great way to switch up your mood!

To dance, we need music, and this can easily bring our mood to a high. What makes dancing unique is its variety in the types of dance movements. From hip-hop, ballet, jazz, salsa, ballroom, dubstep, or just freely dancing however you feel, dance has so many means of expression. This also why Zumba has gained popularity as an exercise.

If repeating the same kind of dance bores you to the point of stress, there’s no need to continue. You can always try different styles of movements to keep things interesting.

Dance for Stress Relief and Weight Loss

Weight loss exercises are only effective when we continue them, but it can also become painful and stressful to do the same movements every day. Stress is the enemy in achieving weight loss goals.

Therefore, dancing is an excellent way to relieve stress, get exercise, and refresh our mood. We hope you find a fun dance to incorporate as part of your exercise routine so that you can combat stress while trying to lose weight.

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Reference：
Clements, A. (2020, August 12). How Laughter Can Relieve Stress + Ideas to Laugh it Off. University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences. https://www.usa.edu/blog/how-laughter-can-relieve-stress/

Jeong, Y. J., Hong, S. C., Lee, M. S., Park, M. C., Kim, Y. K., & Suh, C. M. (2005). Dance Movement Therapy Improves Emotinal Responses and Modulates Neurohormones in Adolescents with Mild Depression. International Journal of Neuroscience, 115(12), 1711–1720. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207450590958574

Koch, S. C., Riege, R. F. F., Tisborn, K., Biondo, J., Martin, L., & Beelmann, A. (2019). Effects of Dance Movement Therapy and Dance on Health-Related Psychological Outcomes. A Meta-Analysis Update. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, NA. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01806

Miyachi, M. (2019). Physical activity, METs, and energy expenditure. Nippon Shokuhin Kagaku Kogaku Kaishi, 66(2), 57. https://doi.org/10.3136/nskkk.66.57

Physical Activity Guidelines Resources. (2020). American College of Sports Medicine. https://www.acsm.org/read-research/trending-topics-resource-pages/physical-activity-guidelines

Tamashiro, K. L. K. (2011). Metabolic syndrome: links to social stress and socioeconomic status. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1231(1), 46–55. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06134.x

Tsujimoto, H., Yamada, K., & Morioka, I. (2013). Experience of Weight Loss and Its Related Factors of Thin Females Who Still Wished to Lose Weight among Junior High School Students. Nippon Eiseigaku Zasshi (Japanese Journal of Hygiene), 68(3), 197–206. https://doi.org/10.1265/jjh.68.197

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Inside every sophisticated grown-up adult is a little kid just dying to get out.

Walt disney

Many people feel excited and uplifted when they come upon a new place, or a landscape they’ve never seen before. In today’s stressful society, mental health is becoming increasingly important, and according to recent research, traveling may reduce stress, help prevent disease, and improve health.

How is Traveling Related to Mental Health?

With the current pandemic forcing people to cut back on travel, some may feel deprived of methods to relieve stress due to their inability to go out. For some of us, traveling has been a way to relieve daily fatigue and stress. In general, popular travel attractions such as sports activities and relaxing spas, are considered healthy activities.

Despite the occasional negatives like bad weather, unexpected accidents, or sub-par customer service, we believe that most experiences we gained from traveling are positive. This is because we feel relieved from everyday life, get the opportunity to enjoy our hobbies, and experience freedom, all while having an extraordinary time. Yes, these are all the positive pleasures of travel, but is there actually any scientific evidence that traveling is good for us?

The Benefits of Chromogranin A

One case study tested human saliva to verify the stress-reducing effects of traveling by measuring the participants’ stress levels before, during, and after a trip. The human body secretes a hormone called “cortisol” when under stress, and conversely, a protein called “chromogranin A” is secreted when we are in a good mood. When these two substances were investigated throughout a three-day travel tour, the levels of cortisol decreased during the trip compared to before the trip, while the levels of chromogranin A increased dramatically during the trip. In particular, there were significant effects on people with low stressors on a daily basis, which suggests that travel was an effective way for them to feel refreshed. In addition, for those who felt high-stress loads, there was no significant effect, which suggests a re-evaluation of duration, location, and method for their future travels.

Planning A Trip Improves Mental Health

While traveling itself is of course beneficial, the excitement of planning helps relieve stress as well. Stress can be relieved through the build-up of excitement, curiosity, and adventure. We’re filled with anticipation when we search about the local scenery, foods, sights, or accommodations. If the planning itself feels too stressful, we can always opt for a group tour where everything is pre-planned and packaged together for us to save time.

Creating a plan we look forward to, will make our daily life more exciting! It will serve as motivation for our daily work or studies. The same can be said for events that we are excited about, not just trips.

Travel Experiences are Priceless

When we travel to unfamiliar destinations, we are bound to encounter a few unexpected events. If things don’t go as planned or problems arise, the hardships we face to think for ourselves and resolve situations will become an invaluable experience in life. Another positive we gain from traveling is learning new things and getting to know new people with different values. As our daily routines become more and more monotonous, we get used to our own lifestyles, which ends up narrowing our perspectives and values. When this happens, we can get frustrated about feeling stuck in a pigeonhole, ultimately leading to a build-up of stress. Enjoying a time of openness and exposure to new values can relieve the vast, unexplainable stress you feel every day.

Mental Health Care Through Wellness Tourism

The term “wellness tourism” or “health tourism,” is used to describe a medically-based approach to tourism that restores, maintains, and promotes health and wellness. In recent years, its effects are highly anticipated in terms of improving mental health.
The term “wellness tourism” has been defined in different ways, albeit with slightly differing terminology:

Wellness tourism [is] all travel associated with the pursuit of maintaining or enhancing one’s personal wellbeing.

Global Wellness Institute

Leisure, recreational and educational activities removed from the distractions of work and home that use tourism products and services that are designed to promote and enable customers to improve and maintain their health and well-being.

Pollock & Williams (2000)

Wellness tourism is the sum of all relationships and phenomena resulting from a change of location and residence by people in order to preserve or promote their health.

Müller & Kaufmann (2001)

Wellness tourism has many potential benefits for mental health. Tourism for the purpose of physical and mental health are quickly gaining popularity across the world. These tours include programs such as:

・Physical activity (Healing through the use of hiking, climbing, pilates, yoga, etc.)
・Natuopathy (Meditations and/or massages that are held in nature)
・Dietary therapy (Healthy dietary menus and/or homeopathic medicines)

However, the scientific evidence on whether wellness tourism is effective in relieving stress and improving mental health is yet to be proven. More research is expected to be conducted in the future. One thing for sure is that the positive health benefits of travel can surely bring a smile to many people’s faces. Seeking healing away from the confines of daily life may become an essential element for the stress-filled people of today’s society.

Image：Unsplash
References：

Makino, H., Toda, M., Kobayashi, H., & Morimoto, K. (2008). The effect of stress relief which is caused by traveling. Japan Institute of Tourism Research, 19(2), 9-18. doi: 10.18979/jitr.19.2_9

Müller, H., & Kaufmann, E.L. (2001). Wellness tourism: Market analysis of a special health tourism segment and implications for the hotel industry. Journal of vacation marketing, 7(1), 5-17. doi: 10.1177/135676670100700101

Ohashi, S. (2018). Development of Wellness Tourism : A New Trend in Modern Tourism. Wakayama University Association for Tourism Studies, 18, 107-117.

Pollock, A., & Williams, P. (2000). Health tourism trends: closing the gap between health care and tourism. Trends in outdoor recreation, leisure and tourism., 165-173.

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