Fighting CEO Stress: 8 Essentials From Mayo Clinic

Editor’s Note: With a bevy of stressors, every CEO knows—and fears—the truth about this job. It can be a killer. That’s led Chief Executive to team with the renowned faculty at Mayo Clinic Executive Health to help you rethink some of the most important—and too-often overlooked—aspects of maintaining good health as CEO. We hope you find this new initiative useful. — Dan Bigman, editor

When we talk about CEO stress, it’s considered a negative thing. The pace, challenges and noise in our lives today—especially when running a company—add stress to even the most mundane situations and can lead to feeling frustrated and overwhelmed. What we sometimes forget is that even happy times cause stress. Stress is an inevitable part of life. To thrive, CEOs must figure out how to manage stress levels for optimal health, not avoid it.

It helps to first define stress. At Mayo Clinic, we define it as a normal psychological and physical reaction to the demands of life. Some stress can be good, motivating you to perform well. But many challenges daily, from complex M&A to building team alignment and developing breakthrough products—or even just getting stuck in traffic—can push you beyond your ability to cope. And while the effects of stress may seem temporary—you finally unwind after making it home after a long day at work and an extra hour to your commute due to a traffic jam—we understand that continual stress can have lasting negative impacts on health.

“When stress becomes chronic, lasting weeks, months or even years, this stress then can change the equilibrium (homeostasis) without our immunological, hormonal and other biomarkers of health within our bodies,” says Dr. MoainAbu Dabrh, a physician with Mayo Clinic Executive Health program in Jacksonville, Florida. “These imbalances can lead to negative impacts on our physical, emotional, mental, social, environmental and many other aspects of our wellbeing.”

While there’s no way to completely eliminate negative stress for most of us, you can learn how to better manage our reactions to stressful situations and lessen the impact stress has on our bodies. The best part is: The most common ways to decrease the impact of stress on our lives are things that are pretty easy to include in your day-to-day and that you likely  already know or have tried. The secret is focus and commitment, so a simple checklist can help:

1. Be active

Physical activity can pump up your feel-good endorphins and other natural neural chemicals that enhance your sense of wellbeing. Exercise can also refocus your mind on your body’s movements, which can improve your mood and help the day’s irritations fade away. When it’s hard to fit in a workout, take the stairs rather than the elevator. Lead a walking meeting instead of sitting around a table. Only 30 minutes of moderate activity most days shows to have considerable health benefits. Make an effort to meet that recommendation each day. More from Mayo Clinic: Smarter Exercise Guide >

2. Stick to a healthy diet

Eating a healthy diet is an important part of taking care of yourself. Aim to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables and whole grains. A plant-based diet is preferred to an animal-based diet, particularly one that emphasizes red meat. In general, a diet that is too low or too high in carbohydrates is not as healthy as a more balanced diet. More from Mayo Clinic: Inside the Mayo Diet >

3. Avoid unhealthy habits

Many people turn to vices when the stress becomes overwhelming. Alcohol, illicit substances, binging on junk food or other risky behaviors are all habits that can harm your health.

4. Meditate

During meditation, you focus your attention and quiet the stream of jumbled thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress. Meditation can instill a sense of calm, peace and balance that can benefit both your emotional wellbeing and your overall health. More from Mayo Clinic: Meditation Guide >

5. Laugh more

Too frustrated for a chuckle? Fake it till you make it! When you laugh, it not only lightens your mental load but also causes positive physical changes in your body. Laughter fires up and then cools down your stress response. So, find some of the best dad jokes, watch a comedy or hang out with your funny friends. More from Mayo Clinic: The Science of Health & Humor >

6. Connect with others

When you’re stressed and irritable, your instinct may be to isolate yourself. Instead, reach out to family and friends. Studies show that people with a strong social network are less likely to turn to unhealthy habits in times of high stress due to the availability of their friends to help lighten the load. Whether you stay in touch via text, social media or in person, quality time with those you care about is crucial for a healthy mind and body.

7. Assert yourself

Saying yes may seem like an easy way to keep the peace, prevent conflicts and get the job done right. But it may actually cause you internal conflict because your needs and those of your family come second, which can lead to stress, anger, resentment and even the desire to exact revenge—and that’s not a very calm and peaceful reaction. Learn to say no when you need to. More from Mayo Clinic: Reducing Stress With Assertive Communication >

8. Get enough sleep

Stress can cause you to have trouble falling asleep. When you have too much to do—and too much to think about—your sleep can suffer. But sleep is the time when your brain and body recharge.

The quality and amount of sleep you get can affect your mood, energy level, concentration and overall functioning. If you have sleep troubles, make sure that you have a quiet, relaxing bedtime routine, listen to soothing music, put clocks away and stick to a consistent schedule. More from Mayo Clinic: 6 Tips to Better Sleep >

When we talk about resiliency, we really mean how a person reacts to setbacks and calamities. Do you use your inner strength to rebound from a challenge, or do you dwell on the issue and turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms?

It’s much more difficult to build resiliency without skills to manage stress. A person can develop resilience by learning to train their attention on more positive aspects of life. Decreasing negative thoughts in your mind and bringing greater focus on the most meaningful aspect of an experience works to enhance resiliency. Improving resiliency can enhance quality of life and decrease stress and anxiety by teaching you to view life’s inevitable challenges as opportunities.

“There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’,” says Dr. Abu Dabrh. “We are all unique individuals with unique needs, opportunities for improvement and context of life, values and preferences. The scientific evidence and expertise provide us with a blueprint to explore and identify what matters to us to live our healthiest selves—one day at a time. Living healthy is a journey.”