Health complications and problems can be triggered by a number of different things. However, one of the most overlooked causes of health problems is stress.

Stress is all too common in the American lifestyle of go and do and keep going and doing until you drop. In general, the average American fills his or her life with too many things to do and not enough habits that develop healthy living.

The definition of stress is the response that your body has to a demand placed on it. That demand could be fun or difficult, challenging or easy, physical or emotional.

While stress can be unhealthy in extreme levels, it is important that you do not cut all of the challenges out of your life. Challenge is what makes you develop passion and what drives you to keep accomplishing and trying.

Without challenge, your live would probably be very unfulfilling. It is when the challenge becomes too much to deal with that it becomes a negative things.

How each person deals with stress is very different. Everyone’s body is affected differently by stress.

In order to deal with stress properly it is important to learn how to listen to your body. If you do not know when you are stressed out, it is hard to fix the problem.

By recognizing when you are stressed out, you will be able to recognize the ways in which you are currently coping with stress which may not be so good. You will be able to replace these bad habits with better habits.

Stress is often unconscious and automatic, but it can be recognized and prevented. Some of the ways in which people try to deal with stress that are unhealthy include becoming irritable towards others, overeating, breaking out, and suffering from migraine headaches.

When you react in a negative manner for a long period of time to stress it can really take a toll on your health. This could lead to tremendous health bills which could cause even more stress related to finances.

Even if you have a good medical insurance, it is much easier and more enjoyable to simply practice healthy habits and stay healthy rather than suffer through illness. There are many ways in which you can deal with unhealthy habits related to stress.

The first thing you will want to try to do is live in the moment. By living in the moment, the upcoming deadlines and obligations will not press down on you.

Instead, you will be able to get one thing done at a time, possibly enjoy it, and move on to the next thing without feeling any stress. Studies have found that all stressful things are associated with things of the past or things planned in the future.

By living in the moment, you will be able to avoid a lot of stress. Another beneficial activity that you can do if you feel like you are getting stressed is begin breathing deeply and evenly.

Your breathing can directly control how you are feeling. When you sleep, you relax into deep, slow breathing.

Therefore, when you want to relax or let something go, try to let it go when exhale slowly. By learning to control your breathing you will be able to control your feelings of stress.

When you are stressed, you will probably begin breathing very shallowly instead of filling your whole stomach and diaphragm. This will add to your feelings of anxiety and stress.

Learning to relax is an important part of letting go of stress. In order to relax, you must distract your mind from thinking about everything that is stressing you.

Focus on one assignment and getting that one assignment done. Or if the assignment is what is stressing you, focus on the one problem and leave the deadline out of your mind.

If you need to, you may want to take a short walk so that when you return you can look at the assignment with a better perspective and less stress. The more stressed you are, the less productive you will be.

In order to get the assignment or task done properly, you must first relieve the stress. Some people like to listen to relaxation tapes or MP3s that lead them through the steps to relax all of their muscles right before they go to bed so that they can enjoy a night of good rest.

Sleeping well so that you are not tired is also important. You are less likely to be stressed and develop medical problems if you are not tired.