Reducing Urban Stress In Bangkok
Over half of the world's population resides in cities. The signs have indicated this urbanisation will increase with the coming decades. This can be considered good in certain ways because as the density of the population in the cities increases, it becomes easier to distribute available resources than in sprawling areas with much lower populations. This is the reason so many incentives are offered for developing in the center of a city such as the downtown area as opposed to the suburban sections.
Typically city residents become excited when they see new downtown businesses, pedestrian traffic on the streets during both the evening and the day and the wide variety of new destinations for eating, shopping and entertainment. People relish in the freedom of not having to use a car because they are close enough to walk to their desired destinations. There are also people who have become fond of a lifestyle at complete odds with the bustling cities.
Then you have people crave wide open spaces, extra room, wide streets, a double car garage and a lot of parking available when out shopping. Specific demographics are attracted to different types of lifestyles. Many families with small children would rather load their kids into a car and drive where they need to be as opposed to walking with the children through crowded city streets. There are positives and negatives to both lifestyles but city life is a lot more stressful on both the brain and the body. This makes stress reduction critical. There is no doubt urban stress has become an issue.
Urban Stress
Studies have been revealing the higher rates of stress related illness for individuals living in crowded urban cities as opposed to the countryside for a very long time. Some of these studies have demonstrated higher rates of depression, anxiety disorders and psychosis for individuals born, raised and living in the cities. There is no way to be certain if this is actually due to the stress so common with city life or if socio-economic status and family history play an important role. It is possible living in the city is one of the main contributors to these types of disorders.
A study conducted recently has gained a tremendous amount of attention from the media. The study showed when city residents are compared to rural residents, they have much stronger reactions to social criticism. These reactions could be seen in the brain activity captured through functional imaging methods. The individuals participating in the study were asked to perform complicated maths tasks while simultaneously receiving harsh criticism for any errors. The area of the brain involved with the regulation of emotional responses is the amygdala—a. The levels of activation in this area were noticeably higher for urban residents in comparison to the people living in the countryside.
In a way these results represented a conundrum. It could be expected the individuals living a crowded city would be more immune to social assaults due to the way they have chosen to live out their lives. The possibility does exist their brain systems that control the emotional state has been continually barraged with so many alerts, ploys for attention and threats each and every day that their systems have been overwhelmed. The evolution of mankind has involved coping with settings much more pastoral than the issues presented by the big cities.
The question is how a city resident chooses to cope with urban stress. Workshops, seminars and even exposure to nature have been shown to provide some relief and help cushion the brain from the effects caused by urban stress. These steps may additionally improve the cognitive function. One possible answer is for urban dwellers to protect every green space they possibly can whenever they are threatened. City parks are about a lot more than just aesthetics or a nice public space to enjoy. Green spaces have been proven to heal both the body and the mind.
It is just as important to control the stress caused by navigating through crowded pavements, dodging traffic, coping with the emergency vehicles blaring sirens and the constant honking of car horns 24 hours every day. An excellent first step is to research the issues to gain knowledge. It is critical to realise avoiding triggers can help regulate stress levels.
Everyone has certain situations that will inevitably cause their blood pressure to rise. Using a variety of relaxation techniques prior to facing these types of situations can help decrease stress levels. What many people have failed to realise is a lot of the stress they experience comes from the environment. Becoming aware of exactly what is causing the stress responsible for a wide variety of feelings takes both time and practice.
Copying with Urban Stress
In addition to taking a seminar or workshop, there are also technological aids available. These aids were created specifically to help people monitor their levels of stress. It is also advantageous for each person to fully understand who they are, what their motivations are and which behaviours or patterns are causing the greatest amount of stress. These patterns can be changed to help reduce everyday urban stress. New routes can be taken to work or for pleasure that encompass parks that would not usually be seen. This can positively change the way the person feels.
Making small changes in a daily routine can make a significant difference in how a person reacts to stress. Avoiding certain common habits generally performed on a daily basis can also trigger positive changes. The key to success may be as simple as taking the time to really see what is there and notice all the small seemingly insignificant details. Sometimes this is simply not enough and the person requires something completely different than they have experienced in the past.
A popular destination in Bangkok is the akyra Thonglor Bangkok. This is a 5 star boutique hotel with a creative flair and a lovely urban style where people of the city come to relax, enjoy and simply take a break from life. The hotel offers a nice selection of hip bars, excellent spaces for the community to relax and hang out and some of the most delicious restaurants in town.
The hotel is in an exciting area between Petchaburi Road and Sukhumvit Soi 55. The akyra Thonglor Bangkok offers 148 suites with one, two or three bedrooms and studio rooms. The rooms reflect the local trendy aesthetics with a powerful, contemporary design. The boutique style bathrooms are beautifully elaborate with Ayurah amenity sets created to relieve stress and create a relaxing ambience with an extraordinary aromatic sensation. These lovely sanctuaries are perfect for travellers and business guests. The akyra Thonglor Bangkok has a convenient adjacent mall and a supermarket open 24 hours each day. The shuttle service is complimentary and provides guests with the perfect opportunity to explore the dynamic capital of Thailand.
akyra Thonglor also offers wellness seminars to help people from all over the world learn how to cope with stress properly. People from across the globe are suffering from urban stress due to lifestyles with non stop expectations, demands and deadlines. This type of lifestyle cannot be sustained indefinitely. The average person is constantly trying to balance their work, friends, family and time for themselves. It is nearly impossible to continue to perform and deliver without becoming overcome with stress. This stress can lead to a serious burnout causing health issues, chronic pain, relationship issues and the inability to simply stop for a period of time.
The hotel offers wellness workshops and seminars to teach people how to pause their lives to avoid a burnout. They teach how to handle external pressures and stress more efficiently and successfully. The Breath Vitality session is about following the advice of Thich Nhat Hanh, the Zen master regarding anxiety and stress. This is centred on taking three deep and conscious breaths. When the breath is used to pause and reconnect to the mind and body, it provides the power to remain grounded, ease anxieties and ensure the individual is brought back to the present with these breathing exercises.
The workshop teaches how to use the breath every day to bring about more awareness and a greater vitality. Several different practices are explored to help build and conserve the life force and vital energy inside every human being. The breathing techniques or foundational pranayama are taught to provide clarity and vitality. Bangkok is an important destination for anyone impacted by urban stress.
Stress causes the breath to become shallow where the breath deepens when the person is relaxed. There are breathing techniques to manage stress and lower the heart rate described below.
Stress Management Tips
The first step is to check the posture. If the body is in a slumped position, it becomes much harder to breathe deeply. To begin, sit on the edge of a chair. Make certain the pelvis is tilted forward to ensure the lower back has a natural curve. Both feet should be placed on the floor roughly five or six inches apart. The head should be back and in line with the spinal column. This deep breathing exercise is commonly used for yoga classes and is classified as a three-part breath exercise. The exercise is performed by executing the basic steps.
One hand should be placed on the belly and the other on the ribcage. The state of mind should be observed along with the breath. The breath should be deepened until the belly is pushing out and the ribcage begins to expand. The collarbone will lift towards the chin and lower as the individual exhales. The belly will flatten as the rib cage compress. The inhales and exhales should be counted to be certain they are the same length. Most people have a deeper inhale than exhale. This exercise should be continued for a few minutes then the hands should be rested in the lap and the breath and state of mind reconsidered.
Scientific research has revealed many benefits for deep breathing. In addition to lowering blood pressure and stress, the digestion, immune system and brain are also affected. The effects of certain stress exercises are felt because the relaxation response or parasympathetic nervous system are effectively triggered. Breathing affects the spirit, body and mind.
Stress is higher for individuals living a fast paced, competitive, busy, loud and huge urban centres from Bangkok to New York. The impact on the body becomes a lot worse when children, a demanding job, sleepless nights and constant obligations are added to the picture. This can cause chronic stress that is rough on the body. Short periods of moderate stress can often be good since the body was designed to handle short term stress even at more acute levels. The reason humankind survived was the ability to react quickly to stress and survive extremely perilous situations.
People have developed an environment where they have no choice but to live with extremely high stress levels. The issue is the body is unfamiliar with handling this type of stress. Exercising often is important and interval training has been proven to be the best natural method for relieving stress. Stress chemicals are burned off while happy hormones like endorphins are released.
Life is all about breathing. This is how new born babies begin their lives. When the average person becomes stressed or anxious, they do not breathe normally. The key to overcoming stress and relaxing the nerves is to breathe calmly and deeply when stress and tension become factors. Other ways to efficiently decrease stress and tension include a spa, massage or acupuncture treatment.
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