The Vigilant Sprinter

You Know You're This When

You were up at 6am for Bootcamp and managed to send five emails, order a dress for your friend’s wedding, and make a smoothie in the time it's taken your roommate to brush her teeth.

You’re the early bird who’s super-focused on getting the worm. Vigilant types are watchful and constantly scanning their environment for possible threats. And your Sprinter side means your brain is monopolizing energy in the name of maintaining its watchfulness and responding to the perceived needs at hand. On the one hand, this means that you’re diligent and perceptive, on the other it means you can find it hard to take a beat or a breather. If you keep going this way, you’re going to wear, tear, and breakdown. So maybe skip the early AM coffee and go for a run and put the plusses of your stress type to work.

Where You Land in the World of Female Stress

So first things first: whether you feel “stressed” day-to-day or not, everyone has a Stress Signature. And there’s no such thing as a bad, wrong, or weird Signature. In a perfect world, we’d all want to be near the center of the grid, which means that you’ve found ways to minimize cumulative wear and tear on your mind and body.

Take the quiz to find out where on the chronic stress spectrum you fall today — and what you can do to move towards a state of balance.

How Stress Manifests in Your Body

In general:
Restlessness/over-activity · Tapping fingers and feet/leg shaking · Nervousness · Nail biting · Grinding teeth · Quick talking · Plagued by time and deadlines · Always on time · Excessive exercise
Over time you may be prone to:
Panic disorders · Anorexia · Early onset heart disease · Type 2 diabetes · High blood pressure · Ulcers · Chronic, frequent cold sores
Ok, what’s the plan?

Here are science-backed recommendations that may help Vigilant Sprinters manage chronic stress. To tailor these recommendations to your health history & lifestyle, talk to your provider at the Tia Clinic where you can connect your Stress Signature to care.

Your Mission Critical:
You don’t need the extra energy - so let’s skip the stimulants and find more calm daily, so you can stay focused and perceptive.
What to Eat:
  • Avoid coffee and stimulants that keep your brain on overdrive
  • Calm your overstimulated, always-on nervous system with foods rich in tryptophan and tyrosine: chicken, turkey, cheese, almonds, avocados, spinach, and carrots.
  • Eat low glycemic foods to minimize your higher risk of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, central obesity, and heart disease: whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
  • Eat high quality plant foods to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease.
  • Eat immune boosting foods that contain vitamin C and zinc: chickpeas, beans, nuts, eggs, spinach, oranges, peaches, and grapefruit.
  • Limit your alcohol intake, it degrades your already overworked immune system.
Daily Habits:
  • To regulate your body rhythms, have a hearty breakfast and small meals for lunch and dinner.
  • Avoid desktop dining! Eating away from your desk with friends helps with digestion and also just makes you feel better.
  • Move your body! Since you have a chronically mobilized fight or flight response, exercise is the natural antidote to your allostatic load — your workout is your sanity.
  • Practice time management techniques and prepare for your early morning the night before
  • Relax with a warm shower before bed.
Self Care:
  • Mindfulness meditation: try 15 minutes in the morning to clear your head for the day.
  • Connect with your girlfriends to stay sane, healthy, and live longer.
  • Use aromatherapy and reflexology. A 10 minute foot massage increases oxytocin production, a hormone that increases your feelings of well-being.
  • Go deep — tissue massage, that is.
  • Discover the benefits of acupuncture to balance the nervous system.
Sign up for the Tia Clinic to connect your Stress Signature to care.
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Stress SignaturesGlossary