5 Tips to Help De-Stress
Everyone knows that life can be stressful sometimes. However, when stress becomes a part of your day to day life, it can result in a number of problems that can affect the body physically and mentally. The best way to counteract this is through taking time out of your everyday routine to de-stress and relax; anything that helps you to feel calm and switch off from your daily routine can have significant benefits to your health and well-being, including:
Meditation
Meditation is often advised when you are feeling under pressure, as it has been shown to be effective at lowering your heart rate and blood pressure. Meditating is very simple and doesn’t take up much time in your day and can be done anywhere. All you have to do is find a comfortable spot, close your eyes, relax your muscles and focus your mind, for at least 10 minutes, on a specific object or even breathing. Being ‘in the zone’ and not letting any stresses distract you is the key to meditation and can really help to alleviate any stressful thoughts. Alternatively, if you have more time, yoga is another great way to relax as it incorporates meditation as well as taking part in physical movements.
Green Tea
Green tea contains an ingredient called ‘theanine’, which is an amino acid that helps give green tea its flavour – this is the very component that encourages your body to relax. The drink is a popular option for an evening beverage before heading to bed as theanine counteracts the effects of caffeine, which is known to enhance stress and keep people up at night. In the evenings, sit down with a cup of green tea and distance yourself away from any electronic devices; completely switch off. Relax with a book or magazine with a green tea in hand, to clear your mind of any distractions.
Tr(eat) yourself
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When we are feeling stressed or nervous, it isn’t uncommon to crave indulgent foods that are rich in sugar, fat or starch. Despite being unhealthy, self-indulgence can have a soothing effect on some people – particularly those who have low serotonin levels. Eating unhealthy snacks can increase the amount of serotonin released into the body, to make us feel relaxed and content. However, as much as these foods may help in the short-term, it is important to not over-indulge – consider 100-calorie packs for a quick, refreshing treat, or even fruit.
Listen to Music
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Listening to music is one of the easiest and most popular ways of relaxing and winding down, as it can help to slow down breathing and your heart rate, lower your blood pressure and relax your muscles. In turn, this can induce a calm state-of-mind and a positive outlook on events that may be causing stress in your life. For instance, listening to comforting music can be beneficial when you’re lying in bed trying to free your mind of stressful thoughts, or even when preparing for a tough day at work.
Exercise
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It is a known fact that exercise helps to boost endorphins and reduce stress. According to Public Health England, adults in England should aim to take part in at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity each week, in bouts of 10 minutes or more. With spring here, and summer just around the corner, now is the perfect time to encourage yourself to take up a new sport. Hitting balls with golf drivers and booting footballs into the goal can have a positive impact on our bodies and significantly help reduce the feelings of stress.
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This is such a necessary post, destressing is so important. I always treat myself and listen to music. Learned more now
Wow! Great tips those are. I swear by exercise and chamilomile tea. They work like charm!
These are so helpful. With two boys it’s really hard to find time for myself. I think if I get them involved in doing their own exercises or dance to music that might help give me some time.
You’ve got some great tips for de-stressing here. I personally find yoga (and exercise generally) really helps – I try and do some every day. I find if I do it first thing in the morning I’m more likely to stick to it.
these are great tips and thank you for sharing. I love listening to music, cooking, exercising for de-stressing and relaxing 🙂
These tips are pure gold. De-stressing is such a relieving feeling and we all need to do it more!
Listening to music is such a huge stress reliever to me! I put my headphones on and go for a nice long walk~
I like to treat myself most of the time. But going to try some of these to save me some money lol
It’s so hard to find the time to relax in our busy workaholic society. Thank you for reminding us that simple things like green tea, music, exercice etc… can help destress.
I like the 5 pointers, for me i listen to music while working it has been since my graduation days, cooking of course is my favorite and lately meditating which really helps..:-) in calming you down and searching inner self. Thanks for sharing
I love this post! It’s so important to take time out of our days to de-stress and make sure we have a good foundation!
xx Jen
I love this list! I do listen to music when I’m stressed. It helps. Reading also helps me since it’s one of my favorite things to do.
The tips are so easy and simple and can be practiced without any hassle. On top of all, you can de-stress yourself almost anywhere. I was just finding such tips to follow as lately I have been feeling so much stressed out. Thank you.