Click Here To Listen To An Amazing Interview With Dr. Kennedy.

Here’s Dr. John M. Kennedy, the medical director of preventative cardiology and wellness at Marina del Rey Hospital.

Give Your Company a Much Needed Breather: 10 Ways to Reduce Stress in the Workplace

There’s a large body of literature showing how workplace stress negatively impacts employee health, and unhealthy employees can greatly affect the company bottom line. Making matters even more difficult, the current economic crisis has forced companies to lean down, which has placed a larger burden on the existing workforce.

When employees are stressed, they are less engaged, less productive, and more likely to miss days at work due to stress-related illness.  Research suggests that stress weakens our immune system and increases inflammation which makes us more prone to illnesses ranging from the common cold to heart disease. In fact, some studies show that two specific types of workplace stress can take a toll on our cardiovascular system.

The first type of stress involves the physical strain of having to do more with less.  Taking on additional responsibilities and having to accomplish more work in less time is a common example.

The second type of stress occurs when employees feel socially isolated and unacknowledged for their extra work.  Despite increased efforts, employees often feel their hard work goes unrecognized, and is unappreciated which leads to feelings of apathy, and as though they have little or no opportunity for career advancement.

Both types of stress cause a release of stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol, which if neglected can have deleterious affects on our health.  Recognizing the health dangers associated with workplace stress, here are 10 steps employers can take to help defuse stress in the workplace and create a healthier and happier work environment:

1. Acknowledge that everyone feels stressed at times and that no one, whether an employer or employee is spared.  Realizing that stress affects everyone, provide your company with simple, helpful, cost-effective, self-directed stress management tools like the B-R-E-A-T-H-E technique which is described in The 15 Minute Heart Cure: The Natural Way to Release Stress and Heal Your Heart in Just Minutes a Day

2. Frequently, acknowledge employees for their extra work, and make them aware of how valuable they are and how much they are appreciated.

3. Provide employees with support to excel and succeed in the workplace and encourage them to inquire about career advancement and inspire and motivate them to achieve these goals.

4. Encourage employees to take short time-outs. Rather than ruminate and stew over your workload, sometimes just taking short walk down the hallway can help us rejuvenate and refocus.

5. Meet regularly (weekly) as a group to discuss stressors in the workplace and come up with solutions to help mitigate the stress rather than sweep problems under the rug.  Even if the stressful problem is unavoidable, regular meetings will foster feelings of trust and improve team building.

6. Encourage, acknowledge, and reward employees for exercising (pedometers at work, riding a bike to work, parking further from the building, taking the stairs instead of elevator)–when we get stressed we are less physically active.

7. Reward and encourage employees to eat healthy (provide healthy food choices in kitchen or cafeteria at work and acknowledge employees for making healthy dietary choices)–when we get stressed we tend to eat comfort foods.

8. Organize after work activities such as a walk or hike or a meeting at a healthy restaurant. Studies suggest that people tend to drink and smoke to mask the feelings of stress.

9. Encourage employees to join local gyms at subsidized cost (if possible) and enroll as a company group for an evening spinning, kick boxing or aerobics class (improves health and promotes camaraderie).

10. Provide, encourage and acknowledge employees for taking pilates, tai chi, chi gong and yoga classes.

John M. Kennedy, M.D., is the medical director of preventative cardiology and wellness at Marina del Rey Hospital, and author of the new book, The 15 Minute Heart Cure: The Natural Way to Release Stress and Heal Your Heart in Just Minutes a Day.

Click Here To Listen To An Amazing Interview With Dr. Kennedy.

Please visit www.johnmkennedymd.com for more information.

John M. Kennedy, M.D.,

The 15 Minute Heart Cure: The Natural Way to Release Stress and Heal Your Heart in Just Minutes a Day.

He has also incorporated the BREATHE™ technique into a company wellness program, BREATHE™ For Company Wellness, which will enable companies to provide a healthy and safe alternative for employee stress release; the program features a private social media component.

Dr. Kennedy is our newest guest blogger here at StopStressingNow.Com and we couldn’t be any more excited to have him on board. I’ve read his amazing book and asked him right away to contribute his life saving knowledge with all of you for 2010.

For more information on Dr. John M. Kennedy, please visit his website:  www.johnmkennedymd.com

The 15 Minute Heart Cure: The Natural Way to Release Stress and Heal Your Heart in Just Minutes a Day.  He has also incorporated the BREATHE™ technique into a company wellness program, BREATHE™ For Company Wellness, which will enable companies to provide a healthy and safe alternative for employee stress release; the program features a private social media component. Dr. Kennedy is our newest guest blogger here at StopStressingNow.Com and we couldn’t be any more excited to have him on board. I’ve read his amazing book and asked him right away to contribute his life saving knowledge with all of you for 2010.

It’s with great pleasure I introduce to you…

Dr. John M. Kennedy

Over the past fifteen years, I’ve personally witnessed how emotional stress directly impacts the hearts of my patients, both directly and indirectly.  The direct negative affects are caused by the stress hormones that over time cause damage to the delicate cardiac tissue, and the indirect affects lead to developing maladaptive behaviors such as physical inactivity, smoking, and overeating—all leading to cardiovascular disease.

The reality is, we all experience rising pressures to perform under increasingly more demanding schedules.  So I set out to find a solution, and developed the BREATHE™ technique, a seven-step exercise that helps reduce stress and heal your heart.  BREATHE™ combines two proven forms of relaxation—guided imagery and breath work—and puts a modern spin on ancient wisdom.  Both of these techniques elicit the “relaxation response” which is opposite the “stress response”.  When practiced regularly, like toning your muscles in the gym, you’ll develop a special neural network that will help you focus and find a sense of calm when faced with one of life’s unexpected stressful challenges.

• B is for Begin: In order to develop a rhythm and routine, find the right time of day and a comfortable, quiet place to practice the meditation.

• R is for Relax: Though it may seem counterintuitive, relaxation requires focused and conscious breathing.  Try to clear all thoughts and concentrate only on your breath.

• E is for Envision: Special imagery exercises and specific healing metaphors will help lower heart rate, blood pressure, and strengthen the immune system.

• A is for Apply: By practicing each heart-healing metaphor regularly, they will be filed away in your memory bank, and become retrievable and accessible for high-stress situations.

• T is for Treat:  The BREATHE™ technique is a pleasurable and therapeutic exercise.  Practicing regularly, like exercising, will foster feelings of elation and happiness.

• H is for Heal: The goal of this technique is to unite neural networks that connect your heart and brain, decreasing blood pressure, enhancing immune response, and lowering pulse rate.

• E is for End: Every effective exercise has a formal beginning and ending.

This simple, cost-effective technique has withstood the test of time and modern research shows many positive health benefits of its use. Guided imagery and breath work have been used successfully for reducing anxiety, improving coping skills, lowering blood pressure, and for decreasing post-operative pain. They have also been shown to have potent immune bolstering effects. Studies have shown that patients using similar techniques have increased levels of natural killer cells which are potent immune cells that help ward off infection. Relaxation therapies such as BREATHE™ have also been shown to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol which in large amounts (like those seen with chronic stress) can weaken our body’s ability to fight infection and slow tissue repair.

Whether you have had a heart attack, have been diagnosed with a heart condition, or simply want to keep your heart in great shape, BREATHE™ will help you make every day less stressful and more healthy.

Dr. Kennedy will be appearing on my radio show on Feb 28th. Don’t miss it!

For more information on Dr. John M. Kennedy, please visit his website:  www.johnmkennedymd.com