Who isn’t feeling some form of pressure or tension in today’s uncertain economic climate? Rarely a day goes by when the news fails to report more job layoffs or plummeting stock market earnings.

Times are uncertain. And, leaders who let times like these affect their physical, mental, emotional or spiritual well-being also torpedo their ability to problem solve, think creatively, and gain insights when these skills are needed most.

Neuroscientists at a November 2008 conference in Washington presented new research findings that support the notion that even short term stress can alter how people think and the brain itself.

According to Bruce McEwen of Rockefeller University, stress creates wear and tear on the body that causes brain cells to shrink resulting in changes within the nervous system.

For example, one study subjected mice to five hours of loud rock music and concluded that the ordeal reduced the number of nerve transmitters that carry messages between nerve cells. In another 21 day study where mice were subjected to prolonged stress, the portion of the mice brain that is involved with learning and memory shank by 3 percent.

Maybe this is why leaders who are unable to control their response to stress over a long period of time also suffer memory lapse and problems with decision-making.

The human studies were also interesting. A Cornell Medical School study looked at the behavior and brain scans of children adopted from foreign orphanages who exhibited anxiety and emotional control problems. The scans showed that the stressful upbringing altered the portion of the brain responsible for emotion (the amygdala). The study showed that these children experienced a long-lasting brain change that made it difficult for them to control their emotions.

Maybe this is why seriously stressed people tend to lash out more at others, are irritable or withdrawn and fearful.

According to McEwen, stress begins in the brain and influences thoughts and body functions such as heart rate, hormones, and blood vessel constriction.

Maybe this is why seriously stressed people often experience increased blood pressure, sleep problems, increased weight gain, depression, and digestive problems or loss of friends.

Given this, are there things a leader can do to reduce the mind twisting, body zapping stress response?

In the self-paced action guide, Melting Your Stress within 30 Days, published by TIGERS Success Series, Bend, OR, several simple, common sense solutions neutralize the stress response by calming the nervous system and expanding the brain’s problem-solving center. Based on scientific research, the action guide leads the reader through self-paced exercises and self assessments that facilitate the reader’s physical, mental and emotional stress coping strategies.

One strategy that influences physical, mental and emotional responses to stress focuses on the power of gratitude and compassion to release endorphins that calm the nervous system by neutralizing harmful stress hormones released when people are alarmed.

Based on research from the Heart Math Institute of California, feeling gratitude creates a mental and emotional shift that balances perceptions, emotions and hormones. It is a simple process of mind strengthening so that stress loses the power to fog perceptions and cloud reasoning. When practiced daily, feeling grateful can neutralize the adverse hormonal effects of stress within 60 seconds.

Another strategy that helps the brain cells to work better is to incorporate omega-3 fatty acids into the diet. Consuming omega-3 supplements, eating salmon and other cold water fish, walnuts, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds and green leafy vegetables keep the cell membranes flexible, creating a healthier and more resilient mind and body.

For leaders, learning how to neutralize brain twising, body zappy stress in the moment will reduce wear and tear on your mind and body and keep you open and alert to the multiple opportunities awaiting you in 2009.