Break-out the Stress

I’ve long been a walker. It seems that whenever I struggle with a problem, I know that if I can just escape for a 20 or 40 minute walk, I significantly increase the likelihood that I will find a solution by the time I return to my desk. Recently, I’ve discovered that stitching away on a needlepoint canvas can accomplish the exact same thing. If I dash from a series of meetings or program deliveries to an airport, and soon after arriving, pull out my needlepoint, within 10 minutes or so, I usually discover a solution to some problem that had previously left me stymied.

I had no idea why engaging in these relaxing activities following a period of stress seemed to produce such positive results until I picked up Herbert Benson and William Proctor’s recent book The Breakout Principle (Scribner, 2003) http://www.mbmi.org/pages/bio2.asp. In an interview published in the November, 2005, issue of the Harvard Business Review, Benson speaks of the dangers of unmanaged stress in today’s workplace. However, he also maintains that effective managers can actually harness stress and help their teams achieve unparalleled performance.  

How?

Here’s the trick, Benson says. When you or one of your teams start a project and begin to approach a high level of stress--sudden feelings of anxiety, fear, anger or boredom--it’s critical to walk away from the problem and immediately engage in something completely different. A mere 10 or 15 minutes away will do. What’s important is that this different activity be something that is particularly pleasurable to you.

What happens? During this time of relaxation, chemicals released within the body immediately produce a relaxation response. That response frequently is followed by Benson’s "breakout," an unexpected insight or higher level of performance. Odds are when you return to the project you will do so with a sense of calmness and confidence, allowing you to achieve and exceed initial performance expectations.

Benson describes the biological basis for the breakout response. It turns out that as we begin to experience stress, our bodies develop a flight-or-fight response. We experience increased heart rate, blood pressure and muscle tension. If we are exposed to stress for too long, our bodies become overwhelmed with bunches of hormones, including cortisol. (Admit it, you’ve heard about this one on late night TV commercials.) Benson says that if we can get to a high point of stress and then "suddenly pull the rug out from underneath it," the body suddenly releases "puffs" of nitric oxide, which contribute to general feelings of well-being.

I find Benson’s argument convincing enough. I’m already trying to figure out ways that I can provoke the "breakout response" more frequently by scheduling forced relaxation during periods of high stress.

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