Stretch to keep fit

Patna, Jan. 3: Utkarsh Pratap, a 36-year-old senior executive of a telecom company, was a rockstar for his friends.

He was bright, cheerful, full of energy and enthusiasm. Utkarsh had a perfect life: a fat-pay job, few concerns and of course lots of friends to party with. His friends at times envied him for stealing the show at the parties and his seniors at work recognised him as an excellent employee.

The hectic lifestyle was easy for Utkarsh till a couple of years ago. Today, he doesn’t have that freshness and vigour anymore. He complains of being tired all the time.

“I have been feeling very tired lately. Things that were a cakewalk for me earlier have become unmanageable,” said Utkarsh.

What Utkarsh is suffering from is a common problem of a lot of working people in the capital, said a doctor. He is suffering from stress — a silent killer, the doctor added.

The advent of corporate culture in the capital has its flip side — more and more young and middle-aged people are falling victim to stress.

“A lot of young and middle-aged people are coming to us these days. Many of them are suffering from severe stress,” said Dr Sanjeev Kumar, cardiologist at Magadh Hospital.

Sanjeev added: “It is worrying that so many young people — with no record or family history of heart ailments — are coming to us with serious ailments like blockage of arteries and angina. These need to be treated early to prevent complications.”

Experts say people with hectic jobs find it very difficult to keep up with the pressure as they turn 40. “Most of us have a lifestyle which do not allow us to focus on ways to reduce stress in our lives,” said Avadesh Kumar, a city physician.

He added: “This is why most of the people in this age group find it difficult to manage stress. This is more evident in people working in the corporate environment, who are under constant pressure to perform.”

He said fatigue might be the result of nutritional deficiencies, long working hours, mental stress or lack of sleep.

“It can also be caused by invisible cell damage taking place inside your body. If fatigue goes unattended, it is bound to impact one’s performance at work. As people approach mid-30s their cellular metabolism starts to alter due to free radicals and our vital energy reserves start to decline,” he said

“Free radicals, causing cell damage, are produced in our body because of modern lifestyle, stress, environmental pollution, orientation towards fast food and lack of exercise,” he said. But there are ways to beat the stress, experts claim. “A combination of balanced nutrition and exercise can check stress. A positive frame of mind is also essential to keep one active and healthy,” said Avadesh.

He added most people take to alcohol and smoking as temporary stressbusters and these cause further complications. “Meditation and a few exercises a day can work wonders,” he said.