Is there anything I can take for stress that really helps? I sometimes have a stressful job and have trouble sleeping a lot of times, which I noticed half a glass of wine, melatonin as well as St. John's wart twice a day seems to help. But I'm wondering if there's anything else I can take or that might help a little bit better?

I'm not sure if there's long term effects on taking St. John's wart? I wouldn't mind taking something short term when there's a stressful period in my life as well as many something I could take daily even when I'm not as stress, because I feel I have more stress and anxiety than most people.

I've noticed improvements from a year ago when I switched from coffee to green and oolong tea, actually drastic improvements. Could be my imagination, but vitamin D also seemed to put me in a better mood, which helps with stress and anxiety.

What's ironic is that I saw a list of foods for stress and i actually eat these foods everyday.

blueberries, almonds, and bananas and my wife eats alvocados everyday, which is common in her culture.

I also exercise 4-5 days a week, which is supposed to help with stress as well.

Dear jbo,

If you really want to handle stress effectively, the first thing to do is to know precisely what it is! Briefly, stress starts with the person him/herself and has a definite cause. You can read about it in this article on how stress affects lifestyle: https://www.improving-health-and-energy.com/stress-affect-lifestyle.html.

When we experience stressful situations, depending upon how we deal with it, our bodies generate hormones so that we can physically deal with the stress.

This physical reaction comes from the days when we had to run for our lives from saber-toothed tigers! These "stress hormones," such as increased adrenaline, are only meant to be temporary solutions to the physical need for increased action! But nowadays, they are "on" almost all the time due to the higher levels of and different types of stress that we are faced with.

The best thing you can do is to learn what stress is and develop handlings that work for you. This article on stress management and relaxation provides some effective suggestions for handling stress: https://www.improving-health-and-ener...elaxation.html

As far as what can help with the physical aspect, in addition to good nutrition including sufficient water and regular physical activity, I've found valerian root to be extremely effective in helping me relax and sleep well. I've found a great product called "Snooze In" at the Vitamin Shoppe that is a combination of melatonin, valerian root, chamomile and some other sleep enhancing substances. I take 1 every night about an hour before I go to bed and it works fantastically for me.

All the best,
BB

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Improving health made simple.

The best natural substance for both stress and as a sleep aid is the lovely plant/herb passiflora. Highly recommended.

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https://holy-lance.blogspot.com

Having a dog is a wonderful stress reliever. Dogs can read human minds, of this I am sure. Just petting a dog will lower cortisol, and blood pressure.

Stress can kill the adrenal glands, and the best substance for adrenals is vitamin C.

As for sleeping, I would suggest doubling up on the melatonin about 20 minutes before bed...valerian is also a good choice.

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Let Food Be Your Medicine And Medicine Be Your Food.(Hippocrates)

Make a stiff highball, lie down, pull covers over your head & take a nap!
It's hard to do stressful things when one is sleeping!
Besides the extra rest/sleep will do you good!

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May you always have..Love to Share, Health to Spare, and Friends that Care!