7 ways to tame those daily stressors
Studies show that dealing with chronic stress can wreak havoc on your health and happiness.
Here are seven healthy ways to manage those daily stressors and feel better and lighter, now.
1. Catch it immediately
The first step in taming stress is becoming aware of your triggers, and taking steps to calm yourself right away.
Weblog Lifehacker advises being aware of your own “stress reflex” as soon as it starts, especially when you stress over mundane things.
Feel your pulse quickening at the sight of your overflowing inbox? Make a plan before you check your e-mail, says Lifehacker, and think logically over whether it is worth getting stressed over.
2. Change your posture
According to Lifehacker, people who stand taller with their shoulders back and chests open, not slumped, have found their stress levels reduced, even if they change their posture for just a few minutes.
3. Turn off your phone, go outside
Several studies show that spending time in nature improves general well-being, lowers anxiety, stress and depression, and even boosts self-confidence, especially in women, advises The Greatest website.
4. Exercise
Working up a good sweat not only boosts your mood, but research finds that it can soothe anxiety and better prep you for a stressful or emotional event or experience.
If you need a quick break at work, run a few times up and down a flight of stairs, or walk around the block.
5. Laugh it out
People who laugh “the most heartily” at a comedy sketch also enjoy the highest drops in stress levels, according to WebMD website.
Tune in to a comedy, or watch a YouTube video of one of your favourite comedians.
6. Make a decision
Being in limbo over a decision can cause stress. If the decision you need to make is relatively small, just decide and move on.
Even if you make the “wrong” decision, your brain has a way of “synthesising happiness”, says Lifehacker.
7. Set new goals
Set yourself goals or challenges, just for you, the British National Health Service suggests on its website. The rationale: developing yourself arms you with knowledge and confidence, which can help you negotiate life’s stresses all the better.
Source: AFP
Category: Wellness and Complementary Therapies