Self-calm every day to lower stress

Although the relaxation of lockdown offers greater freedom, for many the situation is more stressful than ever. If you can do more, will you be safe?

Unfortunately, no one can answer this question with absolute certainty. All you can do is try to make the wisest decisions, balancing up-to-date scientific advice against pursuing activities that help you feel at your physical and psychological best. How can you achieve this balance? A recent study suggests we should practise self-calm, as raised cortisol we’re not even aware of could be leading us to make rash decisions.

Scientists at the University of Konstanz in Germany recruited 141 young adults and randomly assigned them to stress induction or a control group. Those in the stress group had to present a convincing argument and perform mental arithmetic in front of two “experts”, while controls performed the same tasks but not in front of others. Everyone then read arguments about the safety of triclosan, a little-known household chemical agent. Lastly, participants were asked to write about triclosan to another participant.

Stress levels were measured every 12-15 minutes: physiologically, through saliva samples, and subjectively, with participants rating how stressed they felt. Those who reported high stress reacted with greater alarm to the triclosan articles and were more likely to pass on negative information. However, those who were physiologically stressed were less concerned about triclosan and less likely to share alarming information.

These results suggest that when we feel stressed we worry excessively about negative information, making us more likely to overplay risk and avoid some activities unnecessarily. When our cortisol levels are high we do the opposite, downplaying risk and behaving in ways that may put us in danger. These conclusions back up previous research. What is new – and extremely important, given that many of us are currently experiencing chronically high cortisol levels – is the finding that subjective stress and cortisol levels didn’t always co-occur. Cortisol levels didn’t mirror their reported stressful feelings. Instead, cortisol rose slowly and remained high, even when participants reported lower stress ratings.

It seems we don’t necessarily know when our cortisol levels are high – we may think we’re making rational decisions, when in fact we’re underestimating the risks we’re about to take.

The antidote? Take time to self-calm every day, to lower both perceived stress and cortisol levels. You could choose controlled breathing, meditation, mindfulness, yoga, tai chi or mild to moderate aerobic exercise. Self-calm for at least 15 minutes daily, preferably before you catch up on current events and definitely before you plan what you’ll do that day or make any major decisions.

Calming yourself first means you’re most likely neither to underestimate nor overestimate current risks.