(NaturalNews) Allergy sufferers may want to focus on positive thoughts and stress reduction to find relief for their runny noses and itchy, watery eyes.

According to researchers at Ohio State University, there's a link between people's stress levels and bad moods and the frequency of their allergy flare-ups, or flares. (1) In the study, 179 patients were analyzed for three months by experts at the university, 39 percent of whom had more than one allergy flare. This group experienced higher stress than the group without allergy symptoms, and, all told, 64 percent of them had more than four flares over the course of 28 days. (1) Typically, the flares came within just a few short days of exposure to stress.

This is not to say that stress and mood can cause allergies but, rather, may be a contributing factor that increases the amount of flares a person with allergies has. "Stress can cause several negative effects on the body, including causing more symptoms for allergy sufferers," said Amber Patterson, MD, an allergist who was the lead study author. (1) "Our study also found those with more frequent allergy flares also have a greater negative mood, which may be leading to these flares. While alleviating stress won't cure allergies, it may help decrease episodes of intense symptoms." The findings were published in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

The effects of stress on the body and tips to fight it

According to the Mayo Clinic, stress plays a role in how the mind and body functions, and can even impact behavior. (2) Fatigue, changes in sex drive, depression and anger outbursts are just some of the ways stress can impact the body. While many people are aware of the connection between stress and the fact that it can impede overall health, not everyone heeds such warning signs. Now, people may want to add more frequent allergy flare-ups to the list and take steps to reduce stress in their life.

Ways to help reduce stress include getting proper amounts of sleep, staying hydrated, trying new activities that may act as an outlet for stress such as journaling or other methods of self-expression, developing positive mantras and exercising. Foods that help combat stress include dark leafy greens like kale or other foods with anti-stress minerals such as bananas, quinoa and almonds. (3)

Sources for this article include:

(1) http://www.sciencedaily.com

(2) http://www.mayoclinic.org

(3) http://www.mindbodygreen.com

About the author:
A science enthusiast with a keen interest in health nutrition, Antonia has been intensely researching various dieting routines for several years now, weighing their highs and their lows, to bring readers the most interesting info and news in the field. While she is very excited about a high raw diet, she likes to keep a fair and balanced approach towards non-raw methods of food preparation as well. >>> Click here to see more by Antonia