YOU: Stress Less: The Owner's Manual for Regaining Balance in Your Life

by Michael F. Roizen

Stress is America’s #1 killer, aging people prematurely and compromising people’s health enormously. Culled from the pages of bestselling Staying Young , On a Diet , and Being Beautiful , this handy pocket guide that offers ninety-nine incredibly valuable tips to reverse the effects of stress is a must read.

There’s no question that stress can impact just about every part of your life—the way you look, how you feel, how long you live, how well you sleep, what you eat, everything. That’s why it is so important to have a good stress management plan in place, whether you’re used to juggling work, kids, gadgets, gizmos, or any of the hundreds of responsibilities that any of us have every day.

While there are three kinds of stress, you may not know that they aren’t all bad for you; some stress can actually work as a powerful motivator. The problem? When the wrong kinds of stress hammer you (and hammer you and hammer you), it can wear you down and cause lasting physical damage. Stress Less offers a 360-degree perspective on stress that combines the most up-to-date wisdom from the entire The Owner’s Manual series. Packed with meditation techniques, food recommendations, and lifestyle evaluation tools, this paperback is an essential guide to reducing your stress levels and improving your life—with some changes that you’ll feel immediately. This portable, comprehensive guide is a perfect investment in your health and your happiness.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction

96 pages, Paperback

First published October 4, 2011

About the author

Michael F. Roizen, MD

Reviews

[Sheri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciate that the tips are short and to the point cause when you're stressed you often do not have the time, energy, or motivation to read a book. Much of the book reads like you're reading short snippets from a magazine. The stuff we've all heard before -- eat right, exercise more, get your 8 hours of sleep, etc. Easy enough to flip through but don't expect to gain much new knowledge from these tips.

[Christie Skipper Ritchotte · Rating 1 out of 5]

This looked like fluff, and oh it was fluffy; like Garfield's fur after a tryst with the hairdryer, like a bunny farm right before Easter. But this fluffy and teeny book--72 pages--bears a comparatively large price tag (8.99 US). I'm all for shorter books being worth as much or more than one of those hardly-edited doorstopper books you see so much these days, but dudes (Drs. Roizen and Oz), there are rules about these things. If you're going to be concise, you'd damn well better rock it. And you didn't rock it. You pebbled it. Silicaed, even. I'll stop now.

The problems are numerous: the writing is trite, limned with many an eye-rolling clunker, providing tips that are more often laughably simplistic or obvious than they are useful. Oh, and there are recipes, three of em! Just what I was hoping for in a de-stress yourself book: cooking. Yoga and stretching are recommended. Get eight hours of sleep. Take naps. Take valerian, if it helps. Drink lots of water and green tea. There, I just saved you nine bucks.

I suppose I'm harshing on the authors a bit here, but I think they deserve it. This truly looked like the most slapped-together book I've ever seen, ready built for waiting rooms and Barnes and Noble bargain bins ... except it's not even good enough to hold your attention for 30 minutes until your name is called for the old turn-and-cough. Most of the stress-buster tips I already knew about, same goes for the factoids about the dangers of stress.

If anything, the book didn't go nearly far enough into how damaging stress is, treating it more or less as a frivolous subject.

About a year ago I watched a well done documentary called "National Geographic: Stress: Portrait of a Killer," which was infinitely more useful and informative than this diminutive dud. Am I recommending a film over a book on Goodreads?! For people truly interested in the subject matter, I guess I am.

I'm also currently reading "The Art of Happiness," which so far has helped me better understand (among other things) how de-stressing is sometimes as easy as changing your mind. Yeah, I know changing your mind isn't all that easy, but at least I'm trying. For sure I won't be changing my mind on how I feel about the most inconsequential book I've read in a while: "You: Stress Less."

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick read and mostly a rehash of the previous "You" books. This is the first one I've tackled and mainly because it was a quick read. There are 75 tips, many of them common sense and nothing you haven't heard before, a good bunch of them center around doing yoga.

Written in a breezy style that never quite sounds condescending but gets close.

What it doesn't do is tell you how to deal with stressful situations that you can't escape like a job or family connection. You're stuck with those and this can't solve those problems.

I'll just take another deep breath (page 24) and ponder how with the demands of an extra job, I can get that 8 hours of sleep nightly not to mention how to add more sex to my life. Hmmmm.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a good, short read on helpful ways to deal with stress. I haven't read other books by the authors, but it was mostly common-sense suggestions. Yet they mixed these suggestions with some simple biological explanations which basically anyone can understand. It was helpful, but not exhaustive. The tone of the book is conversational and therefore easy to read, but can sometimes sound a little bit hokey. I very much enjoyed the authors mixing of biological factors and others (environmental, social, emotional, spiritual, etc).

[Joojy Mohammed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice book I recommend to read in my class

[Traci · Rating 3 out of 5]

100 tips on how to keep your calm and cut down on stress.

[Maureen Medakovich · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a quick read. My problem is I felt the authors were biased. Men also have mental illness and stress.