When a deadline looms or something throws a wrench in your plans, how do you respond? You might do your best to appear confident on the outside, but chances are, internally, you feel stressed during these situations. Stress is a normal human reaction that occurs when you encounter a situation that creates pressure and brings negative emotions. While stress can be a healthy reaction in some cases, it has unfortunately become an all too common negative influence on many people's lives. According to an Associated Press study, more than 1/3 of Americans live with extreme stress and more than half of the country's adults believe their stress levels have increased over the past 5 years. Everyone has their own ways of dealing with stress, each with varying success. In the following article, we outline 10 helpful tips that can help you reduce stress and improve your overall health.
The causes of stress can differ from person to person. A situation that may cause someone to feel stressed and tired can be a complete non-problem for another. For instance, a traffic jam that may cause one person to worry about missing an important appointment may be a mild inconvenience for another driver. The most common causes of stress include the following:
Although there are countless ways to relieve stress, there are a few that are more popular than others. It is important to choose the strategy that you feel most comfortable with and are most likely to maintain over a long period of time.
1. Exercise
Regular exercise has myriad benefits beyond just relieving stress. Studies have shown that it can prolong lifespan, increase overall health, and improve your mental health, in addition to lowering stress. The best stress-reducing exercise for you depends on your exercise preferences and abilities. Some people find that heavier exercises like boxing and sprinting help reduce stress by allowing them to focus on the exercise. Others prefer to engage in a form of light exercise like walking or jogging.
2. Spend Time With Family And Friends
When people feel stressed, they often tend to hyper focus on their duties and responsibilities and may temporarily dismiss the help of friends and family. Simply put, this is not the most healthy nor effective strategy for dealing with stress. Spending time with people you love and enjoy being around, even if you don’t initially feel like doing so, can be extraordinarily helpful
One study found that spending just two hours a week with loved ones can cut stress levels and the frequency of stress reactions in half.
3. Meditate Daily
Meditation can bring short-term stress relief as well as lasting stress management benefits. There are many different forms of meditation to try, each of which has a different appeal and benefit.
You might develop a mantra that you repeat in your mind as you take slow deep breaths. Or, you might take a few minutes to practice mindfulness, which involves being in the moment and trying to forget any fears of the future or past. The most simple form of meditation can simply involve paying attention to what you see, hear, taste, touch, and smell, and shifting your focus away from your internal thoughts.
4. Engage Your Creative Side
Creativity is an underutilized quality that, when practiced consistently, can work wonders to reduce stress and improve your outlook on life. There is ample evidence that engaging in artistic and creative activities, like music, visual art, movement or creative writing, can help you feel more relaxed. Many creative activities have been linked to lower rates of depression and a reduced heart rate as well.
Sometimes, however, engaging in creative activities is the last thing on your mind when you feel stressed. You may think to yourself "I have a million things to do, how do I have time to be creative?" In these cases, it is often best to reassert control over your own schedule and activities. Stress often arises when one feels out of control or helpless under a mountain of pressure and deadlines. Planning purposeful creative activities can help you take back control of your schedule and thereby reduce your stress levels.
5. Stop Smoking And Drinking
People who use nicotine often refer to it as a stress reliever. However, nicotine actually places more stress on your body by increasing physical arousal and reducing blood flow throughout the body. It can worsen chronic pain, so if you’re experiencing prolonged tension and body aches, smoking likely will not help.
Many people also look to cigarettes and alcohol as a way to connect and socialize with others. While socializing can be an effective stress reduction method, we recommend trying to find more healthy social outlets to reduce stress. A few of our favorite productive and body positive social ideas include playing sports, having a meal with friends, and playing a board game or video game.
6. Practice Deep Breathing
Stopping and taking a few deep breaths can take your mind off the pressure and stress you are feeling. Once you have practiced deep breathing techniques, you may be surprised with how well they work. To practice deep breathing, we recommend following these 5 simple steps:
7. Slow Down
To effectively handle stress, you need to plan some real downtime in your daily routine. Most people live on the edge of their next task, constantly rushing to handle their next problem or challenge. To help slow down your routine, we recommend trying the following techniques
8. Talk To A Friend
When you’re feeling stressed, take a break to call a friend and talk about your problems. Good relationships with friends and loved ones are important to any healthy lifestyle. Friends are especially important when you’re under a lot of stress. A reassuring voice, even for a minute, can put everything in perspective.
9. Improve Your Sleep Habits
Everyone knows stress can cause you to lose sleep. Unfortunately, these two have a mutual relationship, as lack of sleep is also a key cause of stress. This vicious cycle causes the brain and body to get out of whack and only gets worse with time.
To help lower stress levels, try your best to get the doctor-recommended seven to eight hours of sleep. Turn the TV off earlier, dim the lights, and give yourself time to relax before going to bed. Improving your sleep habits may be the most effective stress prevention method on this list.
10. Take Medication, If Necessary
Some people feel more comfortable if they are able to reduce stress through the use of the above methods in addition to prescription medications. In serious cases of stress, the medication sertraline may be effective at mitigating side effects and improving mood.
Sertraline is a prescription medication that can be purchased from Cloud9 Healthcare. Studies show that sertraline is more effective at reducing common symptoms of stress, such as nervousness and irritability, than other prescription medications.
The causes of stress can differ from person to person. A situation that may cause someone to feel stressed and tired can be a complete non-problem for another. Although there are many ways in which one can reduce stress, a few of the most helpful include practicing mindfulness, exercising, and talking about how you are feeling with a friend or family member.
