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Updated 09/05/2010 05:51 PM

Smart Living: Surprising signs of stress

By: Ivanhoe Broadcast News

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We all experience stress. Too much anxiety from your boss or boyfriend, and your body may start sending you an S.O.S.

Too much stress can cause symptoms you never realized were related.

A few surprising signs could mean you're in desperate need of some rest and relaxation.

The first sign of stress is getting headaches on the weekend. A drop in stress on your days off can cause migraines.

To minimize your risk, try maintaining your weekday sleep and eating schedule as closely as possible.

Another sign of stress is when your mouth aches. It could mean you're grinding your teeth. Studies show wearing a mouth guard at night can help cut grinding by 70 percent.

And lastly, you have weird dreams. Dreams typically get more positive as you sleep. When you're stressed out though, you wake up more often, which means less pleasant dreams.

Avoid caffeine and alcohol close to bedtime, and aim for seven to eight hours of rest a night.

So if you're experiencing any of these symptoms, it could be a good excuse to start planning that next vacation.

Need a simple way to de-stress? Sniff a lemon. Japanese researchers found animals exposed to linalool - a fragrant substance in lemons, mangos, lavender, basil and some teas - had lower levels of inflammatory chemicals in their blood.

Inhaling the smell also reduced the activity of 100 genes activated by stress.