On Oct. 30 which will be past when you read this, we will have adjusted our clocks for daylight savings time. To me this has always been a better indicator that fall has arrived in Davis than any date in September.

One of the things I love about fall, other than the return of our students and the university cycle beginning again, is the cool mornings and evenings, which are much friendlier for those who wish to exercise than the hot days of summer.

Now, anybody who knows or has seen me knows I'm not a big exercise buff. I am probably the quintessential couch potato. But fall is also the time, with the university cycles starting, when stressors increase in our work setting. There are more demands, more people to attend to, cyclic schedules in motion, etc., and often this is when our stress levels begin to rise. The blessing that fall in Davis brings us is weather that will allow us to prevent and/or lessen our stress reactions.

Just as a quick review, our bodies experience a stressor as threat and react with a fight or flight response. This response is biochemical in nature and ends up depositing a myriad of chemicals in our system.

In the old days when you were stressed, you could generally respond physically to the danger, but today our stressors are likely to be customers, students, bosses or subordinates. Not a very good reason to get up and run or to respond defensively. While exercise is only one solution to stress symptoms, it is a good one to get into the habit of now.

Exercise allows us to use up those chemicals that flood our body in the fight or flight response, as well as releasing endorphins and creating a general state of well-being that makes us able to cope more effectively with the stressors we all face.

When most people talk about exercise, they focus on physical fitness (i.e., getting your heart rate up to a certain level or running a six-minute mile). There is not as much emphasis on these markers when we use exercise as a stress buster. Any kind of movement that is steady and maintained is a plus in dissipating the stress hormones. So, something as simple as a walk in the park with your dog, a swim in a pool, or a set exercise regime at home will serve the purpose.

Stress-busting

I'd like to offer two caveats about exercising as a stress prevention and a stress-relief method. For those of you who, like me, aren't really into this stuff, choose something you like and, unless you really want to, don't turn it into an achievement project. If you are walking steadily every night or riding your bike for a half hour or 45 minutes, it will serve the purpose. You don't have to do your personal best for stress relief. Pick something you enjoy and try to keep it fun when you do it.

The second caveat has to do with our brains, which have a tendency not to shut off unless we are asleep or unconscious. Too many people who try to use exercise as a stress release method tell me that, as their stressors increase, they give up the exercise because "they are too busy." If they do exercise, they are also thinking about the things that bother them. This does not work.

Every time you think about your stress, it sends another rush of hormones into your system. So when you do these things, in the nice cool air of the fall morning or evening, take time to look at the flowers, talk to a friend, or listen to your favorite music.

You need to clear your mind as well as exercise your body to get the benefits that come from this kind of program.

If you have any questions please call me at 752-2727 or e-mail me at shharvey@ucdavis.edu.

Sally Harvey is the director of the Academic and Staff Assistance Program. For more information, visit http://www.hr.ucdavis.edu/ASAP.