While some stress can be healthy, the extreme levels many of us suffer from can lead to chronic health problems. In an Everyday Health special report, almost 60 percent of those surveyed said they are paralyzed by stress, while almost one-third said they have visited a doctor about something stress-related — and so has Queen Latifah. Busy announcing Oscar nominees, wrapping up the latest season of the TV series Star, and still coping with the loss of her mother Rita Owens, who died last year from heart failure, the 49-year-old actor and producer also has had to become the queen of managing stress. That’s why Queen Latifah — alongside singer Nick Jonas and actor Ted Danson — recently partnered with health insurance company Cigna on a new campaign supporting whole body wellness. The Girls Trip box office success actress says it doesn’t matter who you are or how successful you become, your health has to come first. We sat down with Queen Latifah to talk about the balance between physical and emotional health, and learned her top five tips for staying stress-free.
1. Do Things That Make You Happy
Happiness means something different to everyone. It could be a glass of wine, going to the park with your dog, or reading a good book. But with the fast-paced world we live in, there can be a lot of guilt stepping away from responsibilities and doing something that makes you smile — we often feel like we should be doing something else. Queen Latifah says whatever that special thing is that makes you happy, make time for it, because it’s important to your overall health. “Always for me music soothes the savage beast,” she says. “If it makes me happy, that’s what I do. Find things that make you feel good — get a toolbox full of that.” RELATED: Careworn by Caregiving: A Population at Risk From Chronic Stress
2. Find Balance
When you’re working three jobs, trying to get one kid off to soccer and another to dance class, and doing whatever else is on your never-ending to do list, it can seem impossible to find balance. And it’s when we’re off-balance that we feel stress the most. Experts say the ideal way to live is achieving a healthy work-life balance; finding and maintaining harmony between work productivity and personal fulfillment can prevent you from crashing and burning. For Queen Latifah, finding a healthy balance means taking care of herself as a whole — mind, body, and soul. “Eat good food, do some yoga, meditate, find your peace,” she says. “Just try to keep the balance. I want to live a long, healthy life, and I gotta’ take care of my mind, body, and emotional health to do that.” Our United States of Stress special report revealed that caring for others before ourselves is causing us major burnout. When asked, “If stressed, are you more likely to put your needs first or last?” 65 percent of women and 49 percent of men said they put their needs last. But putting your needs first doesn’t make you selfish. Think of it like the emergency procedure instructions they tell you before flying: Make sure your oxygen mask is firmly in place before assisting others. “Many things in my life are about other people, but my health is about me first,” Queen Latifah says. “If I’m okay, then I can do more for everyone around me.”
4. Press Pause
We don’t want to let down our parents, our kids, our bosses, or our partners. So we work, work, work until some of us, quite literally, drop dead. Stress can wreak havoc on our health, and recent studies have shown heart attacks are becoming more common among young women. Even if it seems like the world will end if you stop for a millisecond, we promise you, it won’t. In fact, meditating — even if it’s just a few minutes of deep breathing per day — can reduce anxiety, sharpen memory, and improve heart health, according to a study published in May 2018 in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. “All I have time to do is breathe,” Queen Latifah says. “Simplify things down to that. Just breathe, and put one foot in front of the other. The world is fast enough and things come at you quickly, if you can slow everything down for a hot second, then do that.” RELATED: Are the Virtual Interactions of Social Media Busting or Boosting Your Stress?
5. Talk to Your Doctor
Stress is serious. Chronic stress actually makes us sick, and Everyday Health’s special report shows that for all genders and ages, chronic stress is a national epidemic. Because our bodies physically react to stress through physiological changes and hormone release, being in a prolonged state of heightened stress can lead to serious consequences, like cognitive impairment, muscle pain, and high blood pressure — just to name a few. That’s why Queen Latifah’s biggest piece of advice is one we echo as well: Talk to your doctor. “You need to talk to your doctor if you’re feeling stressed,” she says. “I’ve talked to my doctors about things I wouldn’t even talk to my friends about. But that’s what my doctors are for. They create a safe place for me to open up and be honest about things.”
