You know how mom has always told you not to sweat the small stuff? Mom was definitely on to something and following her advice could save your life.

Both moms and experts have warned us for a long time that high levels of stress in life can lead to health problems and early death due because of very preventable forms of heart disease and cancer, but a new study shows that it's not just high levels of stress that wreak havoc on us- everyday stress also has the ability to send us into an early grave- maybe even more so than the big stresses.

The study was done by the Center for Healthy Aging Research at Oregon State University and it followed over a thousand men for many years and the unsurprising result was that the most stressed-out of the men had the highest risk of premature death. However, what was surprising was that it wasn't the type of stress that determined death risk, but how the men reacted to the stress.

According to study leader Carolyn Aldwin, “people who always perceived their daily life to be over-the-top stressful were three times more likely to die over the period of the study than people who rolled with the punches and didn’t find daily life very stressful.”

Basically, letting things constantly get to you can be very harmful to your health because stress really is toxic. People who tend to get stressed out over every little thing have  increased levels of cortisol and high levels of cortisol interfere with learning and memory. High cortisol levels also increase blood pressure, cholesterol and heart disease.

What should you do if you get easily stressed out? Research has shown that 30 minutes of daily exercise can lower stress levels and improve mood. Meditation can also help calm your mind and give you the tools to calm down when you perceive a situation as stressful. Breathing exercises are also very helpful for keeping your physical reaction to stress at bay.

Get this- a fun event is coming to Binghamton and it combines meditation, breathing techniques and exercise! Grab your friends and join us for the Hot Cross Run at Otsiningo Park on Saturday, June 18th. Hot Cross Run features a 15 minute Hot Yoga session, 15 minute Crossfit routine, and a two-mile run all while benefiting the Southern Tier AIDS Program!

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