34 Stress Reduction Tips
Deep Breathing: Stress management is not new. Ancient civilizations recognized the
benefits of meditative techniques like deep breathing. Modern science confirms it. By
breathing slowly and deeply we send signals to our body to relax. If we find ourselves
particularly stressed we can take a deep breath and then release it very slowly. This will
immediately send a relaxation message to the body. Breathing deeply is meditation for
the body. Train yourself to do it until it becomes second nature.
Guided Imagery: If the brain imagines doing something relaxing the body becomes
relaxed. So take some time out to close your eyes and pretend you are on a beach, or in a
park or somewhere you've found relaxing. Try to do it for at least a minute. Let your
cares drift away.
Walking: Everyone knows that exercise is an effective way of reducing stress but few of
us actually like it. We sign up for exercise gyms, go once and then give up. Health
researchers now recommend however that a brisk half an hour walk once a day will
provide us with many of the stress reducing benefits. So go for a walk around you're
nearest park, walk to the shops for a newspaper, or walk to work once a day and exercise
without the effort. Of course initially if you're not used to walking it might seem like
effort, but this will disappear after about a week. Don't let excuses about the weather put
you off either.
Drink Water: Most people don't know that dehydration makes you more stressed but it's
a well-recognized fact. Drinking water prevents you from getting dehydrated. Drinking
water will also help flush toxins from you're body that are stress inducing. Additionally
it's great for you're skin which is a nice bonus. 6-8 glasses a day is the recommended
quantity. This seems like quite a lot but if you take one at breakfast, lunch and dinner
you're already making a good start. You don't necessarily have to be boring either. Add a
slice of lemon occasionally to enhance the flavor.
Body Posture: Bad body posture contributes to physical wear and tear, back pain
headaches, and mental stress. When standing or walking, keep your chin up, shoulders
back and down; when sleeping have a mattress which if firm but not too soft or hard,
when sitting make sure you don't slouch and use a chair which supports your back. Avoid
wearing platform shoes or high heels for long periods of time. It's particularly important
that you pay attention to you're body posture if you spend a lot of time at a desk. Most
people have some sort of posture problem, which can be adjusted to a more relaxing
position but it may take time to retrain your muscles so have patience.
Slow your speech down: When you're under stress, your voice, thoughts, and breathing
quicken, often leading to loss of control of a situation. We can help reduce the impact of
stress by slowing down our breathing and our voice. This helps us think clearer and more
reasonably.
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Get a plant: Plants are good things to have around to reduce stress. Not only do they
help filter the air but also most people find them very relaxing. Until they start dying of
course. So pick indoor plants that are quite hard to kill like Rubber Plants, Peace Lilies,
spider plants and cacti. These are all reasonably un-killable. They don't need much too
watering or light, and can usually last quite a long time when you forget.
Use natural light: Wherever possible, try to expose yourself to natural rather than
artificial light because it's better for your body clock. Try to keep daylight hours and
work near windows with blinds open.
Relaxation pictures: Carrying a photograph or picture of someone or something you
love in your wallet or purse can often be a handy stress reduction tool. Carry a postcard
of a painting you find relaxing, a beech you intend to visit, or a loved one. Place one
beside you're bedside, on your desk, on a wall. De-stress by surrounding yourself by
beautiful images.
Relaxation cards: Sometimes when you get stressed you forget how to reduce your
stress. Carry a "relaxation business card" with you in your wallet, which reminds you
how to relax and reduce stress. For example: drink water, breath deeply.
Bathe or shower: Depending on which you prefer have a bath or shower. This is a great
way of relaxing. Getting rid of grime and feeling clean makes us feel better. Some people
like to use shampoos, soaps, or bath salts with relaxing scents to enhance the sensation.
Remember of course that baths and showers can often dehydrate, so have a glass of water
afterwards.
Use your senses: You have five senses; relax with music, fragrant perfumes, comfortable
fitting clothes, paint rooms colors you find relaxing, and spend time eating food slowly
and enjoying every flavor.
Clear your head: Sometimes just stepping outside briefly for five minutes can do
wonders. Fresh air often clears the head and freshens the senses, after being in a stuffy
room. It refreshes you and allows you to return to what you are doing with recharged
batteries.
Less Caffeine: Although we sip coffee and tea mainly to relax, one of the reasons our
bodies like these drinks is that they are stimulants. They act by stimulating our arousal
system, which is the same system, our body channels it's stress through. When we
consume too much tea or coffee and we can find ourselves "wired" - unable to think
clearly or focus. Just like too much stress. So cutting down or eliminating caffeine very
often reduces are stress a lot. You can always drink caffeine free tea or coffee.
No Smoking: Smoking gives us the sensation of being relaxed while actually raising our
heartbeat and stressing the body. It's not worth lecturing you on this, you know all about
the bad effects already. If you manage to kick the habit, you'll quickly notice the rewards.
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Less Alcohol: In large amounts it causes, dehydration, disrupted sleep, hangovers, and
lack of clear reasonable thinking. You don't have to be a puritan, but do remember that if
reducing stress is important to you as a long-term strategy, then controlled drinking
should always be part of your approach.
Relax your muscles: A great way of relaxing your body is to tense up some of your
muscles for about five seconds before letting go, breathing out and relaxing for thirty
seconds. You can do it in rotation with your arms, fists, stomach, thighs, calf's and feet
for example. When the muscle relaxes it sends signals to the rest of the body to relax.
This is a very powerful way of getting the body to override conflicting stress signals
coming from the brain.
Get a stress ball: Having a juggling ball or a stress ball is a useful tool in the fight
against stress. By squeezing the ball and relaxing you are clenching and unclenching
muscles in your arm, which will send signals of relaxation throughout your body.
Stressed executives often use this simple repetitive act.
Make a to-Do list: Keep a small notebook and each day note down five things that you
want to get done. Keep focused on these objectives and strike them off one by one. You'll
find that by continuously using the to-do list you'll get more and more things done.
Tackle the unpleasant tasks first and you'll get a boost the minute you've got them out of
the way. Try not to write tasks that will take weeks or months. Break them into small
parts. Some people like to keep a personal to-Do list and a work to-Do list. Often they
make up the work to-Do list last thing in the evening so that they can come straight in and
start on it the next morning. Don't spend more than five minutes making the list. It doesn't
need to be detailed. Five words may be enough. All this reduces the stress by having
these tasks down on paper rather than circulating ads in your brain. You see what you
have achieved and what remains to be done.
Do nothing: Never avoid stress by avoiding action but do allow yourself quality time to
do nothing but relax. Sit in your garden, read a book, or close your eyes and think of
nothing. Make time in your day for relaxation. You deserve it.
Meditation: Mediation for about 20-30 minutes every day allows you to clear your mind
of stressful thoughts and to relax your body. There are many types of meditation but the
simplest one is just to shut your eyes and concentrate on nothing but your breathing. You
could alternatively meditate on the image of an object. Don't think about the breathing or
the object just focus on it. If a thought drifts into your mind you don't need to pursue it,
just keep focusing on your object or breathing. Experience meditation practitioners often
reach a state where they don't focus on anything at all. Set an alarm clock to rouse you
after 30 minutes.
Create a stress journal: By making a day to day record for a week or two of: the events
that cause you stress, how stressful they are (on a scale of 1-5), how you dealt with them,
how you should have dealt with them and whether you dealt with the cause of the stress
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or the symptom you can start to see your stress from an outside perspective. You should
be able to see what stresses you can handle and which you can't. Which strategies work
and which need adjusting.
Avoidance: One of the most abused strategies for reducing stressful situations is to avoid
them completely. This is also known as running away. Nevertheless sometimes it may be
useful if the situation that is stressful will be of no benefit to you what so ever. But make
sure you're not kidding yourself; if you find yourself repeating this strategy on a regular
basis then you should put it on the shelf for a few months.
Rehearsal: Stressful events can be made less stressful by rehearsing for them in advance.
Speeches, interviews or wedding events are good examples. Practice the speech out loud
or to a friend. Go through potential interview questions.
Get A Massage: Treat yourself once in a while to a massage. This can either be done
professionally or with a partner.
Have a vacation: Vacations are great ways of relaxing (usually once you get there).
Make use of federal holidays and long weekends to get away, even if it's only for a day or
two, on a regular basis. You don't have to leave the country. Take a bus ride to a
neighboring town or city and spend the night in a bed and breakfast. Just being away is
often very soothing.
Go to the Beach: Spending the day at the beach if you're lucky enough to live near one is
a good way to unwind. The combination of fresh sea air with the exercise gained from
swimming or walking is very therapeutic. It doesn't have to be beautiful weather before
you go. A nice breezy day even if it's overcast is just as good. There's something very
relaxing about just sitting by the sea and watching the waves.
Eat slowly and relax: Don't wolf down your meals. Chew your food slowly, tasting
every flavor. Sip a glass of water with it and take a short break afterward to relax and
allow your body to digest it.
Pick or buy some flowers: Placing flowers near you is a good habit to get into. Nature
has a way of calming us with its beauty and scents even when we are not consciously
paying attention to it. Often a single flower in a glass jar will do the trick.
Remove your shoes: Take of your shoes if sitting at home in the evening and see if this
relaxes you a bit. For some people it does, as it frees the feet a bit from the restrictions
imposed by tight footwear. Of course don't do it if the rooms too cold, but maybe slip into
a comfortable pair of slippers. Some people even remove their shoes at work from time to
time. If it isn't appropriate to remove your shoes at work, you can always consider looser
shoes like sandals.
Sing: Singing is an interesting and perhaps somewhat radical way of reducing stress.
Many people find that singing their favorite tune greatly relaxes them. Of course it tends
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to annoy other people if it's in an inappropriate location or out of tune so be careful. But
singing to your self around the house is a nice pastime. It's probably unnecessary to use a
hairbrush as a microphone. Humming a tune works as well.
Laugh: Buy a joke book and get laughing. Go to a comedy club. Watch a funny movie.
Enjoy a comedy sitcom. Humor will get you through some of life's most stressful events.
It boosts your energy and makes you feel good.
Get a foot massage: Foot massages are an increasingly popular way of relaxing and
distressing.
Anger Management: Reduce stress by the practice of anger management. Do not waste
energy getting angry at things, which are not worth it. Even if the issue seems important
you should try to make it your goal never to get worked up into a rage about it. Rise
above anger. Stay calm and philosophical about the problem at hand. Issues get resolved
easier this way. You will find that this approach will reduce your stress levels
dramatically.
Acupuncture: Another great stress reduction method is acupuncture. It's been around for
thousands of years and many people claim it can do a lot of good for a lot of things. My
only advice is: give it a go and see what you think. Make sure to find a qualified
specialist. If you feel it's a stress reliever keep using it. If it isn't dump it.
Over pleasing: Do you try to please all of the people all the time? Well that’s a nice idea
but it can be stressful trying to do it. Worse still, some people would say it's not possible.
Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying be rude. But sometimes you do have to be firm
with people and assertive. Sometimes you have to refuse them a request. Sometimes you
have to bring them bad news, or tell them something, which will displease or disappoint
them. Just politely tell them the truth and don't go getting worked up about how you've
ruined their day.
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