Stress is a familiar experience for all of us.

Most of the time, we are aware of our tension.


That rock in your stomach, that persistent fluttering in your chest, and maybe even that queasy feeling.

Stress can be brought on by a multitude of factors for women, such as our employment, caring for our families (particularly if we have young children), paying expenses, maintaining our health, and of course, our periods.

Have you ever wondered what the long-term effects of stress are on the mind and body if left unmanaged?

Or perhaps the special effects that stress can have on women?

We must comprehend the scientific reasons behind stress and discover natural ways to relieve stress if we are to begin lowering chronic stress in our lives.

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The “Stress” Hormone

Despite being released under stress, cortisol—also referred to as the stress hormone—plays a much bigger role in the body and is essential for general health.

This steroid hormone helps regulate metabolism, blood sugar, and blood pressure.

But it does have some negative effects if we have too much of it.

Some symptoms of elevated cortisol are:

• Weight gain
• Irritability
• Anxiety and Depression
• Muscle weakness and/or fatigue
• High Blood Pressure

We can begin to relieve some, if not all, of the above symptoms by lowering the level of stress in our life. For us as women, there are a few more noteworthy advantages of lowering stress in our lives.

7 Benefits of Stress Reduction for Women

As women, minimizing stress in our lives can benefit us in a variety of ways.

Most of the benefits listed below are particular to women, but males can also benefit from stress reduction.

Let’s look at these 7 Benefits of Stress Reduction that you may start to notice when you eliminate stress in your life.

1. Balanced Hormones

For us women, our hormones seem to control everything.

And they actually do.

Our sex hormones (estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone) regulate everything from our sexual desire to our emotional condition to our ability to conceive.


Cortisol, our stress hormone, can upset our hormonal balance, making us feel weary, bloated, irritated, more emotional than usual, anxious, sad, and even inhibiting our capacity to lose or gain weight.

That sounds like PMS to you too, right?

This is because our sex hormones are depleted by high cortisol. most of all progesterone.

Progesterone is the hormone that helps us with pregnancy.

We have the highest levels of Progesterone in our luteal phase, right after ovulation. This is when progesterone helps the body prepare for a baby.

If we have low progesterone (due to high cortisol) the body can’t sustain a pregnancy.

It basically causes a painful and perhaps heavy menstruation by trying to wash out the uterine lining as quickly as possible.

By lowering cortisol and alleviating some of these PMS symptoms, minimizing stress in our life can help balance out our female sex hormones.

2. Cycle Regulation

Simply said, knowing when your period will start makes life easier.

If your menstrual cycle is erratic like many other women's, you may have pondered why it's so wrong.

There are a few things that can cause an irregular cycle, like a hormone imbalance or PCOS. But stress can also play a big part in whether or not we have a regular cycle.

Elevations in cortisol have been linked to disruptions in the adrenal glands and (the pituitary gland) which are both involved in hormone production and release.

This may lead to decreased sex hormones, irregular menstrual cycles, or complete cessation of menstruation in women.


Reducing our stress levels can assist to balance these cycles and relieve pressure on the pituitary and adrenal glands.

3. Increased Libido

Stress can also play a big part in our sex drive.

Research has indicated that women experiencing high-stress levels may have a decrease in their libido or a lack of enthusiasm in having sex.

This is because stress triggers the release of cortisol in the body. Excess cortisol in the body can lower testosterone hormone levels, decreasing our libido.

Getting rid of stress can lead to a healthier sex drive, more energy, and a more enthusiastic outlook on life.

4. Increased Chance of Weight Loss

If you’ve ever tried losing weight, you know how frustrating it can be when the scale won’t budge an inch.

Chances are, stress could be contributing to your plateau.

Whenever we are stressed, our adrenals release the hormones adrenaline (the hormone responsible for fight or flight), and cortisol into the bloodstream.

The excess cortisol produced when we are stressed can spike blood sugar, causing us to crave sweets.

Eating sugary, fatty foods while stressed can cause our bodies to store these foods as fat stores, usually around our mid-sections.

Excess cortisol can also slow our metabolism.

We may lessen the likelihood that our bodies will store fat and maintain a faster, healthier metabolism by reducing the stress in our life.

5. Better Sleep

The quality of your sleep the night before has a significant impact on your daily mood.

Research indicates that those who experience ongoing stress do not get enough sleep at night.

Insomnia is a sleep condition that makes it hard to fall asleep, stay asleep, and or reduces the quality of sleep.

Stress is usually the cause of this illness.

Insomnia may also result from an anxiety issue.


Persistent stress might cause some of the symptoms of insomnia even if you don't have it.

We may feel cranky, worn out, and exhausted for the most of the next day if we don't get enough sleep at night.

Calming some of the stressors in our lives can help insomnia subside, and let us finally get some sleep.

6. Increased Vaginal Health

This may seem like a strange potential side effect of lowering stress levels, but it’s true!

Estrogen is responsible for balancing bacteria levels in the vagina.

A healthy balance of bacteria results in the right amount of acidity, which prevents vaginal infections.

Elevated cortisol levels have been shown to decrease estrogen, making us more vulnerable to infections.


Reducing our stress levels can support healthy vaginal acidity and hormone balance.

7. Lowered Chance of Breast Cancer

While there is no definite research that says that cancer is caused by high stress, it could make you more susceptible to it.

This is because stress can greatly lower our immunity.

In women who already have breast cancer, high stress could be a factor that causes it to spread or metastasize.

Lowering stress levels could potentially help your body’s immune system to fight off something that could be a factor in causing cancer.

How to Lower High-Stress Levels

Supplements

Taking a supplement for stress reduction can be very helpful, especially one with adaptogens like Ashwagandha or Reishi.

Adaptogens can help soothe tired adrenals, and help your body adapt to stress.

You can find these types of supplements in any health food store! My favorite brands to take for adaptogens are Four Sigmatic, LifeSeasons, and Gaia Herbs.

Cutting Ties with Toxic People

Or, try seeing people who stress you out less often if you can’t cut ties with them.

Toxic people are people who add negativity, feelings of worthlessness, stress, and anxiety to your life.

Usually, these types of people blame others for things, are constantly complaining, and make you feel worse about things in your life than necessary.

Try talking to them, but if they can’t listen it may be time to walk away.

Stress Management Activities (Yoga, Tai Chi, Meditation, Breathing Exercises)

Try finding an activity you can do to reduce stress.

I have found both yoga and Tai Chi very helpful for my own stress relief, as well as occasional meditation and guided breathing.

The movement in yoga and Tai Chi creates a harmony between mind and body that I haven’t felt with anything else.

Both of these exercises can help you improve your posture, balance, flexibility, as well as your strength, cognitive function, and mood.

Because of all of their benefits, Yoga and Tai Chi are wonderful solutions when relieving stress.

You can find Yoga and Tai Chi videos on YouTube that can help you practice relaxation and stress reduction, or check out Avocadu’s Yoga Fat Loss Bible for a step-by-step gentle yoga program perfect for any fitness level or size.

Going to Therapy

Sometimes you just need to talk to someone, and it can help if that person doesn’t know you or your friends and family.

Going to therapy is a good thing, and can help you figure out your own emotions.

I have close friends that have had great experiences with therapy and feel much better because of it.

Create a Nightly Self Care Routine

Creating an evening self-care routine may be something you’ve heard of before for stress reduction, and it really does work.

Our brains crave routine and structure, even type B personalities (like myself). It gives us control of something and makes one part of our day reliable.

Sometimes the stress in our lives comes from the unknown, so creating something safe and structured at the end of the night can really help quiet our minds.

If you need some ideas for creating a new routine, click here to read my list of 27 self-care ideas.

Taking Time Off

It’s easy to overwork ourselves, especially if we love our jobs.

Sometimes we are unaware of what is causing us to feel stressed, and it could be that we just need to rest and sleep it off.

Once you have started doing some of the things above (yoga, therapy, a supplement), you may still feel some stress.

These things should help you quite a bit, but taking some time off work could be the answer, here is a recommended digital series that would majorly reduce your stress

Check out Stress annihilator Video Series Digital here

Long days on your feet, or sitting at a desk, can take a toll after a while.

Remember that you are a priority, and taking care of yourself mentally and physically is something you deserve.