We have all heard and seen stress balls but do they really work? According to expert’s stress balls aren’t going to take away all of your stress, but they can certainly help.
When we experience acute stress, our body goes into a fight or flight response. During this natural state our muscles tense up in preparation for guarding ourselves, heart rate increases, our senses are sharpened, and all of this creates a tension that often has nowhere to go.
Stress balls work mainly by helping the release of this build up energy and tension.
According to Chinese medicines there are invisible energy pathways that run throughout our bodies and end at our feet or hands, those are called meridians.
When meridians are activated, energy flow through the body is uninterrupted and balanced, thus providing and providing numerous benefits and optimal health.
If we go back to the origin of the stress ball, the benefits provided by Baoding balls were due to the activation of meridians in the hands.
Baoding balls were created during Ming Dynasty, the name refers to two small hollow iron balls which were meant to be rotated in the palm and to activate energy meridians and improve health.
So, some experts are suggesting that in theory, a stress ball can have similar meridian activating potential, although it is expected to be less effective than other methods used for the same purpose like acupressure, acupuncture etc.
The squishy stress balls as we know them today date back to the 80s when TV writer, Alex Carswell was having a stressful moment in the office, and he threw his pen at a framed picture.
The impulsive action created a mess of broken glass, but in that moment, he realized that the action made him feel better, so he created the first official foam stress ball, which was meant to be thrown at a wall.
After that many people started creating a wide variety of stress balls, but they were meant to be squeezed, not thrown, yet they had the power to melt the stress away and make us feel better.
So, yes squeezing a little sphere of foam can help you release the accumulated pressure in your body and mind, and decrease your stress level, but stress balls can do much more than that: Stress balls can boost creativity, reduce anxiety and pain, improve you focus and memory, reduce blood pressure.
So put all of your dilemmas aside and go grab a stress ball now!