The new year is a time for resolutions, goal-setting and fresh starts, but it can also bring stress and anxiety as we try to navigate the unknown. From financial pressures to health concerns and everything in between, the beginning of a new year can be a challenging time for many. Don’t let stress get the best of you! Although there is no way to completely eliminate stress from your life, B vitamins may help benefit your mood and stress levels.1
What Is New Year Stress?
It’s easy to get caught up in the “New Year, New You” mentality and forget to take things one step at a time and focus on self-care. While resolutions frequently focus on developing new habits that will help us get into better physical shape, getting into better mental and emotional shape can also provide significant benefits.
New Year stress is a real phenomenon that can have a major influence on mood, affecting your sense of well-being, behaviour and health. While a small amount of stress over short periods in young healthy individuals may cause them to be adaptive, prolonged exposure to high amounts of stress in older or unhealthy individuals may damage health.2
READ MORE: How to Choose High-Quality Vitamins and Supplements
Five Tips to Cope with New Year Stress
Consider these tips to make the start of 2023 more manageable:
• Recognise your personal triggers: What situations agitate you physically and mentally? Once you understand your stress triggers, you can avoid them when possible and cope when you can’t.3a
• Practice relaxation techniques: Deep breathing, meditation and progressive muscle relaxation are all good ways to relax. Taking a break to refocus can have long-term benefits.3b
• Be active and eat healthily: Make time to go for a walk outside, ride your bike, or join a dance class. Daily exercise releases stress-relieving hormones into the body and improves overall physical health, while eating well can also help to keep your mood stable.3c
• Get enough rest: Getting too little sleep can trigger symptoms of some mental health conditions, such as mania in bipolar disorder.3d
• Supplement your diet with B vitamins: B complexes, contained in BIOPLUS VIT-ALITY B6 + B1244, may help lift your spirits and improve your cognitive performance.5
How Vitamin B May Help With Your Stress
B vitamins play important roles in the nervous system. Specifically, B1 (thiamine) B6 (pyridoxine), and B12 (cobalamin) help keep the nervous system healthy.6a The body does not store B vitamins, so people need to get some from their diets.6b
The BIOPLUS® VIT-ALITY range is available at selected Dis-Chem and Clicks stores, as well as selected independent pharmacies nationwide. For more information, tap HERE and join the conversation on Facebook.
*In Partnership with Adcock Ingram (Pty) Ltd
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References:
1. Young LM, Pipingas A, White DJ, Gauci S and Scholey A. A systematic review and meta-analysis of B vitamin supplementation on depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress: Effects on healthy and ‘At-risk’ individuals. National Library of Medicine. 2019 Sep; 11(9): 2232. Published online 2019 Sep 16. doi: 10.3390/nu11092232. Available at:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6770181/. Last accessed September 2022.
2. Schneiderman N, Ironson G and Siegel SD. STRESS AND HEALTH: Psychological, behavioural, and biological determinants. National Library of Medicine. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2008 Oct 16. Published in final edited form as:Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2005; 1: 607–628. doi: 10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.1.102803.144141Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2568977/. Last accessed September 2022.
3. National Alliance on Mental Illness. Managing stress. Available at: https://www.nami.org/Your-Journey/Individuals-with-Mental-Illness/Taking-Care-of-Your-Body/Managing-Stress. Last accessed October 2022.
4. Bioplus® Vit-ality B6 + B12 capsules package insert. Adcock Ingram. 02-2020.
5. Kennedy DO, Veasey R, Watson A, Dodd F, Jones E, Maggini S and Haskell CF. Effects of high-dose B vitamin complex with vitamin C and minerals on subjective mood and performance in healthy males. National Library of Medicine. 2010; 211(1): 55–68. Published online 2010 May 8. doi: 10.1007/s00213-010-1870-3. Available at:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2885294/. Last accessed September 2022.
6. Calderón-Ospina CA and Nava-Mesa MO. B Vitamins in the nervous system: Current knowledge of the biochemical modes of action and synergies of thiamine, pyridoxine, and cobalamin. National Library of Medicine. 2020 Jan; 26(1): 5–13. Published online 2019 Sep 6. doi: 10.1111/cns.13207. Available at:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6930825/. Last accessed September 2022.
