If you need to reduce stress in your life, it can be a challenge. Here are nine simple ways of relieving stress in your life.
Do you suffer from chronic stress?
While a little bit of pressure keeps you vigilant, chronic stress leads to disease. Stress-related health conditions include depression, insomnia, obesity, digestive problems, heart disease, and autoimmune disorders.
Read on to learn five effective ways to reduce stress so you can live your best life!
1. Practice Mindfulness
Live in the now with mindfulness. This means to keep yourself present at every moment.
Many people dwell on the past, leading to depression, or worry about the future, causing anxiety. Both conditions will amp up your cortisol levels, creating a stress response.
To practice mindfulness, give yourself a five senses check:
- Look at what you see around you
- Breathe in the presents scents
- Can you taste anything?
- Listen to the surrounding sounds
- Examine what you feel on your skin
When you immerse yourself in the present, you will experience less stress.
2. Exercise
When you exercise for at least 30 minutes, your body produces endorphins. These chemical messengers create a morphine-like effect that reduces stress.
Some great exercises to try include:
- Cycling
- Pilates
- Jogging
- Yoga
You might also get your exercise from team sports. The comradery amongst teammates may further reduce your stress levels in conjunction with the exercise itself.
3. Get Acupuncture
In Chinese medicine, they focus on how acupuncture needles break up the stagnation of Chi or vital energy and bring the body in to balance. This study explains how the tiny punctures release chemical messengers that relax the nervous system. Either way, one acupuncture point in particular will help you relax!
4. Change Your Diet
Your diet may affect your stress levels. For instance, caffeine and spicy food amp up the central nervous system, leading to chronic stress when consumed often. Eat foods that reduce stress instead.
Eat those that contain B vitamins as they will increase your energy and improve your mood. Healthy choices include eggs, salmon, beans, clams, and leafy greens.
The amino acid L-theanine reduces stress but comes from many tea leaves that provide caffeine. Matcha contains high levels of L-theanine with little caffeine, making it a great beverage for stress relief.
Complex carbohydrates provide energy currency for your body and help you feel satiated. By doing so, they reduce your body’s stress response. If you feel stressed, choose healthy foods like oatmeal, sweet potatoes, whole-wheat pasta, and whole-grain bread.
Fermented foods contain probiotics, which work through the gut to lower your stress levels. Regularly eating yogurt with live and active cultures, kimchi, sour krout, and kefir can help balance you out.
5. Breathe Better
Breathing oxygenates your cells, affecting body processes like heart rate and blood pressure. This in turn affects your stress levels. Use daily breathing exercises that stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system to promote your body to rest and digest.
Reduce Stress for a Better Life
Though stress serves a purpose, too much is detrimental to your health. Reduce stress by practicing these strategies regularly, and find yourself in higher spirits and better health.
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