Music can affect the body in many health-promoting ways, which is the basis for a growing field known as music therapy. Music offers us relief from stress in many ways. It helps us to open ourselves emotionally and let loose with feelings that may be causing disease. Classical music is a good choice for stress. Try listening to mozart while you’re working, for focus and calm or choose slow, soft music to fill you with a sense of peace & mental quiet. Playing music as you drift off is one way to counteract the effects of stress by taking your mind off of what’s stressing you, slowing down your breathing, and soothing your mind. Music can also be used to assist one in improving his or her self-esteem and furthering an individual’s personal growth and development or transformation.

Music is a powerful catalyst for healing because it touches the very core of humanity our souls. The baroque music has been found to increase the alpha waves in your left and right sides of your brain which help improve your learning ability, creativity and calmness. Patients recovering from heart attacks and strokes respond much more quickly to treatment when soothing music is played in their rooms. Kids with learning disabilities show remarkable improvement in mathematics, reading and reasoning skills when they are exposed to appropriate music. People suffering from back pain, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and pain from injuries; all benefit from using music. Physical therapy is much more effective when combined with music.

Stress is the body’s reaction to any change that requires an adaptation or response. Stress can affect children, adolescents and adults. Although, the stress component may be varied in different age groups, the outcome is more or less the same. Stress that persists without relief can lead to a condition called distress — a negative stress reaction. Distress can lead to bodily symptoms that are headaches, upset stomach, elevated blood pressure, chest pain, and sleeping problem. The long and short term effects of stress on the body reveals itself irrespective of the age groups. When the trigger is unvaried, prolonged or unforeseen, then it becomes pathological. The effects of stress affect also animals. People suffering from chronic stress might feel discouraged or incapable of getting through the day. They might even stay home in bed simply as they are feeling stress but do not know how to handle it.

When chronic stress excites cortisol production, the daily cycle of cortisol levels is disorganize. High levels of cortisol may occur at night. This can result in insomnia. When stress is managed in a negative manner it generally leads to depression. To come out of this depression many take the hurtful help of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs, all of which give a sense of stress relief. The physical and physiological effects of stress will all vary from person to person hanging upon factors such as age, physical and mental health, attitude and outlook towards life, and the amount of stress. Another big negative effect from stress is the way people select to deal with it. They take crucial drugs like nicotine, alcohol, prescription drugs, street drugs, eat food, etc. The misuse of these types of “cures” becomes a double edged sword. The cure becomes worse than the cause.

Short term effects of Stress

Common short term effects of Stress may include:

• Increase in the blood pressure to supply blood effectively.
• Difficulty in concentrating.
• Diversion of the blood from less vital to more vital organs.
• Memory disturbances.
• Loose stools.
• Loss of appetite.

Long term effects of Stress

Common long term effects of Stress may include:

• Irritable Bowel disease.
• Backache.
• Stroke due to similar reasons.
• Weight loss.
• Mood swings.
• Sleeplessness.

Stress is present in nearly everyone’s life, but the combination of stress and diabetes adds complexity to the treatment of both. Founts of stress can be physical, like injury or illness. Or they can be mental, like problems in your marriage, job, health, or finances. People having diabetes, the fight-or-flight response does not work well. Insulin is not always capable to allow the extra energy into the cells, so glucose piles up in the blood. In people with diabetes, stress can vary blood glucose levels. It does this in two ways. Firstly, people with stress may not take good care of themselves. They may drink more alcohol or exercise less. Secondly, stress hormones may also alter blood glucose levels precisely. When you have diabetes, stress can meaningfully affect your capacity to control the disease. Glucose levels may remain high and diabetes-related complications can be more severe when the patient is exposed to long-term stress. The reactions to stress are not the same for all patients with diabetes.

If you are under stress, you may skip meals or disremember to take your medicines, which will affect your blood glucose level. During stress, hormones are pumped into your blood which in turn release stored blood glucose and stored fat for extra energy. This extra energy helps to face this stress. Physical disterss like illness or injury, causes higher blood glucose levels in people with either kind of diabetes. For some people with diabetes, determining stress with relaxation therapy sounds to help. It is more possibly to help people with type 2 diabetes than people with type 1 diabetes. Some people with type 2 diabetes may also be more impressionable to some of the stress hormones. Relaxing can help by making dull this sensitivity. The favours of exercise helps in reducing stress are well known. Exercise gives you a feeling of well-being and may relieve symptoms of stress.

Potential causes of stress

Common stressors that may affect individuals with or without diabetes include:

• Death of a loved one.
• Major financial setback and employment changes.
• Environmental stressors.
• Physical injury.
• Chronic pain and disease.

Some ways to help control stress

• Get a massage.
• Exercise.
• Get 6-8 hours of sleep a day.
• Go on a vacation.
• Have a hearty healthy laugh.
• Meditation.