AURORA | Holiday stress might be worse for your health than you think.
Stress could cause adverse health effects in women, according to University of Colorado researchers who are hosting an event later this month about how to de-stress during the holiday season.
Katrina Maluf, associate professor of physical therapy at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, recently studied the effects of stress and found that stress can cause chronic neck pain in younger women while in older women, it could put them at risk for cardiovascular disease.
Maluf will present her findings at a “Conversations about Women’s Health” talk at 6 p.m. Nov. 27 at the Anschutz Medical Campus about her findings.
Stress is a large risk factor for cardiovascular diseases including stroke, peripheral arterial disease and high blood pressure, Maluf said.
“It’s something you can prevent,” she said. “But to prevent it you have to be aware of it.” And even if women don’t like to admit they’re stressed during the holiday season, they should take measures to prevent burnout, Maluf said.
“If women are more aware of how their bodies might be responding to stress, they can sit down, take a deep breath and relax their muscles or take a little time during the day to calm down and relax,” she said.
“Exercise is absolutely the most effective stress reliever and stress outlet,” she said. It’s important for women to find at least a little bit of time to exercise, especially during times of high stress, she said.
Women should understand the physiological effects of stress because they’re more likely to be empowered to improve their stress levels and also talk to their physicians about it, said Chiara Del Monaco, administrator of business development for the Women’s Health Program at the University of Colorado Hospital. Del Monaco helped launch the “Conversations about Women’s Health” series. The series, which started last November, regularly addresses different topics that are of interest to women and features highly educated guest speakers including doctors and researchers.
“If we give women good information they can then advocate for themselves in front of a physician,” Del Monaco said.
The goal of the event is to provide women with tips on how to manage emotional health during the holiday season. The event will also feature guest speaker Dr. Cheryl Chessick, who is the director of Women’s Studies and Treatment, as well as an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and OB/GYN. She will talk about maintaining mental health wellness through the holidays.
RSVP for the Conversations about Women’s Health talk by Nov. 25 at uch.edu/events or call Chiara Del Monaco at 720-848-4023. Cost is $15 with dinner included.