How to Reduce Stress and Improve Your Health with Praying

Prayer is a spiritual activity that involves thanking God for His countless blessings. But beyond the religious factor, it has many health benefits too. Prayer is the best stress relief. It has tremendous calming power that relaxes the mind and soul of a person.

We all are bombarded with stress daily. Either at home when dealing with family or financial issues or at the office when dealing with a fussy boss or colleagues. Moreover, life throws unexpected stressors at us every day that add up to our mental exhaustion.

People indulge in all kinds of things to relieve stress; some try the exercise while others go to therapy. Similarly, many try Yoga or meditation while others swear by retail therapy. While all these methods are excellent, I believe that prayer can reduce stress like nothing others!

But before we look into how prayers relieve stress, let’s take a look at the impact of stress on our lives:

How Stress Impacts Our Health?

Stress is defined as a temporary change that causes physical, emotional, or physiological changes. In simple terms, stress is the reaction of the body to anything or any situation that needs attention.

Stress, whether acute or chronic, can lead to health problems. If you are stressed, you might not be able to live a healthy and fulfilling life. Besides, prolonged stress can also have adverse impacts on your mental and physical health.

It can also lead to personality disorders. Taking too much stress makes the body restless, not allowing it to focus or be creative. Stress causes people to lose motivation easily; we may become unmotivated to accomplish our goals.

It can also cause deep sadness and depression. People suffering from acute or chronic stress can start to think negatively and become pessimists. They are agitated by the smallest triggers and nothing brings them happiness. Most of the time they stress about all the things that can go wrong, a feeling which prevents them from maintaining successful relationships, growing their career, and enjoying life in general.

Some of the most common physical effects of stress on a human body include:

• Headaches- migraine
• Fatigue
• trouble in digesting food
• Insomnia – issues in sleeping g pattern
• High blood pressure
• Pain in chest

Emotional effects of stress include the following:

• Lack of confidence
• Lack of motivation
• Agitation
• Unhappiness
• Depression
• Irritability
• Feelings of loneliness and isolation

A study found that 42 percent of adults suffer from health problems related to stress, and about 70 percent and 90 percent of doctors’ visits are related to issues linked to stress and anxiety. The American Psychological Association (APA) argued that stress is a significant contributor to the health problems of US adults.

Their research found that stress leads to lack of productivity, inability to form and maintain healthy relationships, and poor health. Moreover, the study found that stress is increasing over time; many individuals reported that they are under more stress today than they were 5 years ago.

Hence, the need to manage stress is more prevalent than ever.

Resolving Stress through Prayer

Our good health not only depends on the food we take, it relies on multiple factors including our mental and spiritual well-being. And this is where praying comes in.

By definition, prayer is a way to converse with the Creator. In almost all religions of the world, people use prayer to seek strength during hardships.

Have you ever seen a student before their result is about to be announced? A mother whose kid is in surgery? A sportsman before a big match? What do these people have in common? They all pray to ask for strength and for positive outcomes.

Therefore, in my view prayer is a medium through which we send out positive vibes in the universe, willing it to make our desires come true. Some will argue that prayer is ineffective, but I disagree.

Through prayer, a person is able to let go of the things they cannot control, and in doing so they let go of the stress and anxiety of the uncertainty, the need to know, and the need to make right. Religious people in Islam call it ‘Tawakul.’

The believer says the prayer and leaves their worry with God. They make God the guardian of their problem and in doing so they relieve themselves of the stress. In most religions, people believe that if a thing is good for them, it will come to them. However, if it is not good for them, it will not come to them even if they strive hard for it.

Therefore, by praying, the believers leave the decision to God, and in doing so they become free of the stress that comes with it. If their prayer comes true – hallelujah, but if it does not, they appease themselves by saying that it mustn’t have been good for us.

This ability is almost a coping mechanism for managing stress. It helps people manage stress as they give away their worries to God through prayer. It does not mean that religious people have no worries. Of course, they have them, but they are better able to manage them by putting their faith in God.

Research conducted also supports the fact that praying and good health are directly related.  It shows the solid benefits of praying, reducing stress, and leading to good health and relaxed life. The study concludes that:

• Those who regularly go to Church visit hospitals three times less than times shorter than those who don’t visit a church or attend the Sunday prayers.
• Heart patients who are more religious heart are 15 times less likely to die after heart surgery.
• Strokes are common in elderly people. It occurs half as often in those elderly people who are regular visitors of the church.

Surprisingly those people who participate in weekly prayer circles, and those who pray for others too, show similar health benefits for the person praying and for the one who prays for others.  It is because who prays for others is free from any kind of negative feelings. Negative feeling and jealousy lead to stress, that leaves adverse impacts on health.

Now, this does not mean, that a person involves himself in long prayers all the time to get closer to God and relieves stress. It also does not mean sitting in church for hours leads to a stress-free life.

I believe, even a quick but simple, prayer that is coming straight away from your heart can do wonders for you. Easy gestures that show your connectivity with God, can make you relive your stress too. For instance, try these magical short prayers: “I have faith in God”, “God is my strength.”

Final Thoughts

Praying is an important pillar in every religion. It not only brings us closer to God, but it has multiple health benefits too. The major one is relieving our daily stress and allowing us to look at life from a broader perspective. Having a firm belief in God and praying activates those parts of the brain, which are responsible for releasing the hormones that relieve stress and make us content.

Are you under stress as well? If yes, then take up prayer and see if it makes a positive difference in your life. You can try apps to establish prayer timings to establish a routine and get that stress out of your life!