If you were to ask a parent how they destress most will say wine. However, taking a swig in the supermarket aisle with three kids in tow is often frowned upon. Then I came across an ingenious piece of research of how to de-stress without wine the other day. Which I was able to share with my husband at exactly the right time.
My husband called me last week whilst I was negotiating the modern days’ parent hunter-gathering tool- the shopping trolley. You know the one? It has a botched wheel that keeps veering off to the left; which in a busy shopping centre in peak hour shopping is ideal. Even more so when you have just fifteen minutes to get what you need. All whilst negotiating with children on why they can’t have a bag of sour bottle lollies {Yes you do go nuts after eating them. No, it’s not the sugar its the other things like the colouring}.
Just talk to me he said. Just talk.
I proceeded to babble about absolutely nothing. Finally, I say to him after not hearing a response are you okay.
If you know my husband he never gets stresses about much. It’s like his superpower. I also suspect that he wasn’t as much stressed, as he was worn down by whatever was happening at work. Still, the research was coming his way on; how to de-stress without wine which ironically doesnt apply to him because he doesnt drink- at all.
Yeah, he quietly replied. It was however obvious that my inherent babble hadn’t solved his problem whatever that might have been.
Did you know I said. That just thinking about a loved one can reduce stress levels? I imagined him at this point possibly rolling his eyes but smiling because I have this weird knack and complete love for useless information.
I took a breath before telling him that a new study from the University of Arizona asked 102 participants to complete a stressful task: submerging their foot into 3 inches of cold water ranging from 38 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Researchers measured participants’ blood pressure before and after the task.
The participants, all of whom were in committed romantic relationships that had lasted longer than a month, were randomly assigned to one of three conditions when completing the task. One group had their significant other sitting quietly in the same room with them during the task; another group was instructed to think about their romantic partner as a source of support during the task; and the final group was instructed to think about their day during the task as a control.
Surprisingly, the group that was only required to think about their partner had a much lower blood pressure response to the cold water than the control group. Not only that, the group that focused on the mental image of their partner showed the same rate of decreased blood pressure as the group participants who had their partners in the same room.
Although previous studies have suggested that having a partner present or visualizing a partner can help manage the body’s physiological response to stress, the new study, which was led by psychology doctoral student Kyle Bourassa and published in Psychophysiology, suggests that the two things are equally effective — at least when it comes to blood pressure reactivity.
Does that help I asked him.
Yes, he said, it does and he hung up without much more than I love you.
He into the wide blue yonder and me into the depths of the supermarket with three kids, peak hour traffic, a to-do list a mile long, a dodgy trolley and his smiling face firmly planted in my mind.
xxDeb.
