The Stress Bucket Explained
Table of Contents
What Is The Stress Bucket?
How Much Can Your Body Take?
Stress Bucket Video
How To Empty The Stress Bucket
Final Thoughts
The Stress Bucket Model – As busy as the world seems nowadays, we are getting all too familiar with everyday physical and mental stress. Sure, stress is not bad in itself. It is an integral part of our survival mechanism. Under pressure, your adrenaline starts pumping, and the cortisol level jumps, raising blood sugar. The focus is shifted from the digestive and immune systems, and your body goes into full alert mode. This fight or flight phenomenon that your body and mind exhibit in times of crisis depends on stress to pull the trigger. The trouble is, when stress gets out of hand, the barrel is pointing your way!
“Stress is a double-edged sword. Little stress will aid your survival, but too much will threaten it!”
STRESS BUCKET MODEL
The Stress Bucket Model gives us the easiest-to-understand explanation. Stress exists in various forms. It could be psychological, physiological or even environmental. For example, lack of sleep, skipping breakfast, missing the train, an over-demanding boss, going over the top at the gym, bad weather, a nagging wife/husband, alcohol, cigarettes, staying up late watching TV, being late the next day for work… You get the picture.
These are all stress factors. Now imagine you have a bucket, and all this stress’ falls into this bucket in the form of water. How big the bucket is and how heavy it can get depends on the person carrying it. His physique, strength, lifestyle and mood play a role in defining his stress tolerance level. But no matter who is holding the bucket, one thing for sure is that the bucket will overflow at some point. This is the breaking point of the person. But that is only half the story.
The other half of the stress bucket model concerns stress release mechanisms such as – sleep, listening to soothing music, a healthy diet or maybe just sharing a laugh with friends! These stress-relieving activities are the holes in the bucket through which the accumulated stress is discarded. It is of the utmost importance that the stress input does not exceed the output.
“High-stress output is the key here, and we must choose our activities and lifestyle accordingly.”
Professional athletes, bodybuilders, martial artists etc., do not begin their career with 8 hours at the gym right from day 1. They build this tolerance over time. But more importantly, they have figured out effective coping mechanisms that aid in releasing the accumulated stress and fastening the recovery process.
HOW MUCH STRESS CAN YOUR BODY TAKE?
As a Thai boxing champ for 3 consecutive years before retirement, I often train professional boxers at the gym. Now, these guys are on another level, training and conditioning their bodies for 6 to 7 hours daily. So how come they do it for years without “Overtraining” while others burn out after just a week of ‘hard’ training?
To put it simply, I would say stress management. The secret lies in maintaining a high-stress tolerance level and systematically releasing excess stress. But how much is too much?
Stress Bucket Video
6 Effective ways to empty that stress bucket
ADAPTOGENS
Adaptogens are probably the first and easiest way to help with stress. They are simple herbal supplements that give the body additional resistance to all physical, chemical or biological stressors. They interact with HPA (Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal) and the sympathoadrenal system. Both have their part in your body’s ability to deal with stress. You could say Adaptogens perhaps increase the size of your stress bucket. You can buy them reasonably cheap on Amazon. I use the liquid drops myself, add a couple to a glass of water and drink in the afternoon.
STRETCHING
After a solid workout or sitting for long hours in front of the computer at your 9-5 job, muscles tend to get tense, and the body begins to feel rigid. Left unattended, these could also cause chronic pain, especially around the neck, shoulders, and back. Stretching improves blood circulation, relaxing the muscles and releasing stress. The improved blood circulation, in turn, improves cardiovascular health. It also helps to shift the body from a catabolic state (during a workout) to an anabolic state (recovery).
Stretching slows down the heart rate and signals the nervous system to decrease the production of stress hormones. While improving circulation, stretching also sends new blood to the brain, which enhances our mood. And the mood is a major psychological stress factor. Fitness professionals have long known the importance and benefits of stretching. I always advise my students to perform a stretching activity, such as a yoga class, to counter stress.
ICE BATHS
Ice baths are one of my favourite stress bucket release methods. Many elite athletes and fitness enthusiasts also use it for its effectiveness. It works because when you sit in an ice bath, the body is exposed to freezing temperatures. This constricts the blood vessels, contrary to the warming up caused by the workout. This alteration helps to discard the waste and toxins from the blood vessels, namely the lactic acid formed during the exercise, from the exercise. Too much lactic acid in the body can cause fatigue and a ‘delayed onset of muscle soreness’ (DOMS).
The cold temperature also slows the body’s metabolism and prevents muscle swelling. When you leave the ice bath, the body begins to warm up again, aborting fresh oxygen into the blood vessels and delivering it to the muscles for recovery. Besides relieving stress, ice baths improve alertness and immunity due to enhanced blood circulation. They are also known to fight depression by activating the sympathetic nervous system. No wonder ice baths are a favourite post-workout stress release for many!
MASSAGE – MYOFASCIAL RELEASE
This is probably one of the most popular methods since stress release is almost always the primary objective of anyone in for a massage session. Massage is very effective not just against physical stress but mental stress as well. Almost immediately, massage helps to relax all the tense and tight muscles. Blood circulation improves, while blood pressure, heart rate and cortisol, a stress hormone, decrease.
Massage also has a calming effect on the mind. Endorphins, the feel-good hormone, are released along with serotonin and dopamine, which further helps relax your mind. A relaxed body enters the parasympathetic state, where the body begins repairing and rebuilding the muscles. At the same time, depression and anxiety are significantly lowered. So no matter what type of stress you are under, a massage is always a win-win choice. But it’s not always the easiest or the cheapest option, depending on where you live, self-massage or Self-Myofascial Release is also commonly used among gym enthusiasts, professionals, and anyone who can do it. You don’t have to be a gym-goer to buy a Foam Roller and start releasing muscle tension, helping you relieve that stress bucket.
Below are some Foam Rollers I would recommend. The Emerge Electic Foam Roller is great because it vibrates and helps loosen those muscles further. It also has an instructional book to teach you how to use it. You can read more on the Benefits of Foam Rolling here.
MEDITATION
Meditation can work wonders with mental stress, and there are a lot of physical benefits to meditation. It puts you in a positive mood and tends to calm you down. This has a significant impact on lowering anxiety levels and depression, two very emotionally taxing ailments.
But the real benefit of meditation is in the long-term use of it. It helps to shift our perspective positively, thus changing how we perceive and react to stress. The breathing techniques usually associated with meditation help improve the oxygen supply to the major organs. Along with its extraordinary impact in easing mental stress, meditation also lowers the heart rate, blood pressure, and cortisol level, significant factors contributing to physical stress.
SLEEP
One of the biggest ways to empty that stress bucket is SLEEEEEEEP! Stress and sleep often play a game of cat and mouse with each other. When the stress is big, sleep is hard to find and when the sleep is good, the stress is gone! This is the body’s default stress release and body repair method. This is the anabolic state the body waits for after a workout. You only need to pay attention and listen to your body. But many times, our lifestyle choices affect our essential sleep quota. Chronic sleep deprivation can also lead to serious physical conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure etc, while regular good sleep lowers even the cholesterol levels.
FRIENDS
We are social creatures, and our friends are one of our most treasured assets. One way you might not have thought would empty that stress bucket would be to hang out with your friends. They are treasured mainly for the way they make us feel, which is, of course, a positive feeling. When we feel loved and accepted. We are relaxed and stress-free!
Studies even show that friends tend to increase longevity. On the other hand, the lack of friends may cause depression, anxiety, and weight gain. Being with good friends releases oxytocin which in turn boosts serotonin levels. These two, or rather, our friends, literally keep our stress at bay!
EMPTY THAT STRESS BUCKET!
When the stress bucket overflows, your system goes into a critical state, and side effects of too much stress, such as overtraining syndrome, set in. Maintaining low-stress levels is very important to avoid such chronic consequences and improve the quality of life in general.
I have shared with you here some of the most effective stress-release methods. However, one must also give equal importance to a good diet and a healthy lifestyle. Maybe you have devised some practical ways to tackle stress yourself. In this case, you should consider sharing it in the comments and then share this article with your friends since helping others is a proven way to decrease stress levels.
Krix Luther
Author/CEO
Krix Luther is a Health and Fitness Specialist and one of Asia’s leading Personal Trainers. He is an Ex Professional Muay Thai fighter and Avid Free Diver. At the same time, he is very active, has a passion for gaming, and has his own Twitch stream. You can contact him via his Instagram if you have any questions.