Good News! Work Stress Won't Cause Cancer (But Here Are 4 Ways ...

Isn't it nice when you find out that something isn't linked to cancer? I love news like this--especially on a Monday morning, when digging into the mountain of work feels almost like trying to conquer a literal mountain.

Stress has long been suggested as a contributing cause of cancer, because it can play a role in chronic inflammation--which in turn has been shown to be linked with the progression of cancer. Additionally, people who are stressed out are more likely to stress-eat (and possibly be overweight), stress-drink, and stress-smoke, all of which are contributing factors to various kinds of cancers.

But no official research has focused on whether or not work stress contributes to cancer, so researchers from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health and University College London analyzed the results of a dozen studies involving 116,000 participants, measuring levels of stress in their jobs. None of the participants had cancer when they started the study; they were followed for an average of 12 years. About five percent of the participants developed some form of cancer over that time, but the results showed no evidence of a link between job stress and overall cancer risk (or risk of specific cancers, such as colorectal, breast, lung, or prostate cancers).

Work stress feels terrible, though, and I'll bet most of you know it--millenials (18- to 33-year-olds) are apparently the most-stressed age group, according to the American Psychological Association. So here are a few ideas to stressing less--and you can even do them all the office:

Cross off an item from your to-do list. Do you ever look at your list of must-get-dones--which grows exponentially by the minute, it seems--and freak? Yeah, me too. But being able to physically take a pen to paper and scratch something off can make a big difference in your levels of stress--so tackling the rest of the to-dos doesn't seem quite so impossible.

Chew a piece of gum. Research has shown that, not only do gum-chewers feel less anxiety (and are possibly even in better moods), they may also have increased blood flow to their brains--meaning they're more alert. (Which, hello, can always be helpful on a Monday morning.)

Find one thing that makes you feel grateful at work, every day. No, it's not always easy to find, but there's always at least one reason to feel grateful at work--even if it's small! Maybe it's that you have a nice view of the blue sky, or the supply closet is always stocked with your favorite kind of pens, or you have a coworker who's especially good at making you smile. Research has shown that gratitude can actually help your physical wellbeing.

Play a game online. I mean, wait until it's OK to do this (like during your lunch break). But doing an online puzzle, like solitaire or sudoku, can actually decrease stress and improve your mood, according to research from East Carolina University. It's a distraction that helps get your brain thinking about another task--and lets your nervous system take a break.

How are your stress levels these days? Do you have any favorite at-work ways to stress less?

Photo: Thinkstock

Source: http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/blogs/vitamin-g/2013/02/good-news-work-stress-wont-cau.html

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