Health
Relieve stress instantly with this simple 3-minute stretching routine: 'Feel better in no time'
Nearly half of Americans frequently experience stress, according to a recent Gallup poll — and if the condition goes unchecked, it can increase the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and other medical problems.
There are some simple ways to reduce the impact of stress — starting with stretching.
“Your muscles tend to contract and tighten when you are stressed, which causes all sorts of aches and pains,” Walter Gjergja, the Switzerland-based co-founder and chief wellness officer at Zing Coach, a personalized fitness app, said in a statement sent to Fox News Digital.
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Stretching elongates and relaxes the muscles, relieving built-up tension, according to Gjergja.
“It also increases blood flow to your muscles, delivering oxygen and nutrients while removing metabolic waste from your body — and any soreness and stiffness with it,” he said.
Walter Gjergja, the Switzerland-based co-founder and chief wellness officer at Zing Coach, has created a simple three-minute stretching routine exclusively for Fox News Digital. (Walter Gjergja)
Gjergja, who is trained in mindfulness and meditation, has created a simple three-minute stretching routine exclusively for Fox News Digital.
A GUIDE TO BASIC STRETCHING FOR BETTER OVERALL HEALTH
“When you feel your stress levels rising, don’t sit and wait for your muscles to tighten up,” he said. “A few minutes of stretching is often all you need.”
7 stretches to relieve stress and tension
Hold each exercise for 20 to 30 seconds before switching sides or moving on to the next one, Gjergja advised.
1. Neck stretch
Gently tilt your head to one side, bringing your ear toward your shoulder until you feel a stretch in the side of your neck.
For the neck stretch, gently tilt your head to one side, bringing your ear toward your shoulder until you feel a stretch in the side of your neck. (Walter Gjergja)
2. Shoulder stretch
Bring one arm across your body and use your other hand to gently press it closer to your chest until you feel a stretch in your shoulder.
For the shoulder stretch, bring one arm across your body and use your other hand to gently press it closer to your chest until you feel a stretch in your shoulder. (Walter Gjergja)
3. Cat/cobra stretch
Start in a push-up position with your wrists parallel to your shoulders. Take a deep breath and lift your head, shoulders and stomach to the sky while keeping your pelvis flat on the ground. Hold, giving your spine a chance to stretch.
Start in a push-up position with your wrists parallel to your shoulders. Take a deep breath and lift your head, shoulders and stomach to the sky while keeping your pelvis flat on the ground. (Walter Gjergja)
Next, exhale, pulling your upper body into a tabletop position and arching your back.
Spend a few minutes flowing between these two poses, synchronizing each movement with your breath.
Next, exhale, pulling your upper body into a tabletop position and arching your back. (Walter Gjergja)
4. Spinal twist
Sit on the floor and extend your legs out in front of you. Bend one knee and cross it over the opposite leg, placing the foot flat on the floor.
Twist your torso toward the bent knee, using the opposite arm to hug it close to your body.
Sit on the floor and extend your legs out in front of you. Bend one knee and cross it over the opposite leg, placing the foot flat on the floor. Twist your torso toward the bent knee, using the opposite arm to hug it close to your body. (Walter Gjergja)
5. Forward fold
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and hinge forward at your hips, allowing your upper body to hang down toward the floor.
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and hinge forward at your hips, allowing your upper body to hang down toward the floor. (Walter Gjergja)
6. Hips and posterior chain stretch
Sit and create an L shape with the legs.
While pressing the folded knee toward the ground, open the hip and reach forward to the outstretched leg.
Sit and create an L shape with the legs. While pressing the folded knee towards the ground, open the hip and reach forward to the outstretched leg. (Walter Gjergja)
7. Kneeling quad stretch
Start in a kneeling position with your legs pressed together, sitting on the heels of your feet.
Place your hands behind you, parallel with your shoulders, then lean back and push your hips forward while keeping your buttocks firmly on your heels.
Start in a kneeling position with your legs pressed together, sitting on the heels of your feet. Place your hands behind you, parallel with your shoulders, then lean back and push your hips forward while keeping your buttocks firmly on your heels. (Walter Gjergja)
4 pro tips for more effective, enjoyable stretching
“What’s good for the body is usually good for the mind,” said Gjergja.
“Stretching offers a rare reprieve from your thoughts, reducing the cortisol that typically builds up when you’re stressed.”
“It also stimulates the release of endorphins — happiness hormones — that will help you to feel happier and healthier.”
“What’s good for the body is usually good for the mind.”
To help you get the most out of your stretching session, the wellness expert offered the following tips.
1. Don’t hold your breath
Breathe fully and focus solely on the inhalations and exhalations, rather than any worries in the back of your mind.
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2. Don’t rush
If you experience muscle pain, Gjergja recommends slowing down and using a smaller range of motion, gradually increasing it as the tension releases.
3. Remember to hydrate
A sip of water between each exercise can prevent creaky joints, the expert said.
4. Relax
Approach stretching as you would meditation. Gjergja suggests putting on some calming music and focusing on your body, not your thoughts.
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After completing these stretches, Gjergja said, “Your body and mind will be feeling better in no time.”
“A tense mind cannot ‘live’ in a relaxed body — therefore, by reducing physical tensions, we induce simultaneous mental relaxation.”
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An accidental lab discovery has opened the door to entirely new ways of preventing the flu.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells, SWNS reported.
By targeting the specific molecules the viruses rely on, scientists found that they could block them from entering new cells and halt their replication altogether.
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Researchers say these “fundamental insights” into seasonal influenza highlight a clear path toward developing better preventive medications.
“The hope is that fundamental, curiosity-based research like this helps to pave the way for novel strategies to treat and prevent influenza infections,” principal investigator Dr. Emily Bruce, from the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, said in the SWNS report.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells. (iStock)
While several flu strains cause illness, H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses are the most common. However, current flu tests cannot differentiate between them, and clinical treatments are identical for both.
Although vaccines and antivirals are available, Bruce noted a “dire” need for better medications to stop the virus from spreading cell to xxcell.
“You don’t get sick when a virus is in one cell,” he noted. “You get sick because a virus replicates itself and goes into many more cells.”
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The study, which was published in The Journal of Virology, originally aimed to map how viral RNA segments are transported within cells to create new viral particles.
The team used H1N1 and H3N2 viruses isolated from the nasal passages of positive patients in 2022.
Clinical treatments remain identical for both primary strains of the flu virus. (iStock)
During the investigation, the team unexpectedly stumbled upon a cellular pathway that blocked the virus from entering lung cells, SWNS reported.
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The data revealed that when a specific human protein called Rab11B was depleted, H3N2 viruses failed to enter human lung cells. H1N1 viruses were completely unaffected.
Using reverse genetics, the team mapped this defect and uncovered a brand-new, H3N2-specific role for Rab11B during viral entry.
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This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way.
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“Viruses are like pirates from different countries hijacking someone’s ship,” Bruce said. “Different viruses, like different types of pirates, use different methods to get onboard.”
This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way. (iStock)
“We had previously thought that all flu viruses used the same way to get into a cell, but we discovered that this is not true,” she went on. “H1N1 and H3N2 need different proteins to get in, and if you get rid of the right protein, a specific virus can’t get in.”
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While these findings identify a critical cellular pathway for viral entry, the study was conducted using isolated cells, the researchers acknowledged.
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Further research is needed to determine whether blocking the protein is safe and effective within a live, complex human respiratory system.
Bruce and the team hope to conduct further research to determine whether this Rab11B-dependency is a fundamental property of H3N2, or if it’s a trait unique to currently circulating flu strains.
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Eating processed meat like ham, sausage and bacon may be linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancer, according to new research.
While health organizations have already confirmed that processed meat can contribute to colon cancer, this study looked closer at cancers in the upper digestive tract, where the link has historically been less clear.
To understand these connections, researchers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), one of the world’s largest long-term nutrition and cancer cohorts, tracked the health and diets of 450,112 people across Europe for an average of 14 years.
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The study group included 131,426 men and 318,686 women, according to the study’s press release.
During the follow-up period, 876 people developed stomach cancer and 215 people developed esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is cancer of the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach.
For female participants, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk of developing the disease. (iStock)
Researchers tracked where the stomach cancers grew, separating them into the upper part of the stomach near the throat and the lower part of the stomach.
The researchers also sorted the tumors into two categories based on how the cancer cells appeared under a microscope: intestinal, which forms more organized structures, and diffuse, in which the cells are more scattered throughout the tissue.
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After adjusting for other lifestyle factors, the researchers found that for every extra 30 grams of processed meat a person ate per day, their overall risk of stomach cancer went up by 9%. Eating that same extra 30 grams a day was also linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.
A standard single slice of regular deli-sliced ham or lunch meat averages around 28 grams, according to USDA data and nutritional tracking databases.
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken and turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach. (iStock)
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken or turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach, the researchers noted.
The study also revealed differences between men and women. For male participants, only processed meat showed a clear, statistically significant link to a higher risk of stomach cancer. For female participants, however, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk.
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These findings align with global health benchmarks, particularly those established by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The agency has long classified processed meat as a known human carcinogen, primarily due to its strong, well-documented links to colorectal cancer.
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However, health organizations have also consistently pointed to a potential, yet less definitive, relationship between these meats and cancers of the stomach.
Eating 30 grams of processed meat a day, or the equivalent to one slice of ham, was linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma. (iStock)
Further scientific investigation is needed to confirm the findings and to account for other underlying risk factors, such as certain stomach infections, which could interact with dietary habits.
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A key limitation of the study is its reliance on self-reported diets, which can sometimes lead to inaccuracies in how participants recall their meat consumption over time, the researchers noted.
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The findings were published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers requesting comment.
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