🌻10 Things to Do to De-Stress Your Life

Don’t let stress eat away at your happiness

10 things to do to de-stress your life

“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” — William James, an American philosopher

Our lives are filled with stress.

Whatever is making you stressed is holding you back from happiness.

Stress impacts our bodies and minds and is a feeling of emotional and physical tension. It can play a part in high blood pressure, headaches, skin conditions, depression, and anxiety.

Stress is your body’s reaction to an event, thought, challenge, or demand. In short intervals, it can be positive, but when it lasts for a while, it can harm your health. Long-term or chronic stress can even shorten our lives.

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“Stress acts as an accelerator: it will push you either forward or backward, but you choose which direction.” — Chelsea Erieau, an actress

What can you do to relieve the stress you have in your life?

Here are 10 simple yet powerful tips to help you reduce stress in your personal and professional life. Let’s dive in.

#1. Take Some Deep Breaths and Close Your Eyes

When you are stressed, breathe deeply and close your eyes. Deep breaking will help you focus on your awareness and just being. When you take deep breaths, you slow your heart rate, calming you down.

You can take deeper and slower breaths when you close your eyes. Shutting your eyes will let you be more alone with your thoughts and give you visual stimulation that will help you relax.

Stress can set your nervous system into a fight-or-flight state where your heart will beat faster, and you will breathe quicker. Deep breathing and closing your eyes will help you feel at peace and focus on your awareness of breathing in and out.

#2. Listen to Music

Listening to music can be relaxing and help you stay optimistic about things. It can help you calm your mind and slow down your breathing. Listening to music, especially at work, will help free your mind from negative and stressful thoughts.

Music can help you decrease your anxiety. Music is very effective for stress management and relaxation. Research has found that music significantly reduces stress, relieves pain, and improves focus. Listening to your favorite music has more benefits than you may realize.

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#3. Exercise Regularly

Exercise is powerful to help you de-stress your mind. Exercising daily can help you reduce your stress levels and increase your happiness. People who are good at taking care of their stress levels are the ones who regularly work out.

Exercise boosts the “happy” chemicals in your body and keeps you energic throughout the day. All you need is 20 minutes each day to experience the benefits associated with exercise. If you are not getting enough exercise, there are some subtle warning signs that you should make daily exercise a bigger priority.

#4. Lower the Amount of Screen Time

Minimizing screen time can help you reduce stress and improve your sleep at night, which is vital in reenergizing you. Digital technology such as smartphones, computers, and tablets are a part of modern life, but sometimes we can use them too much.

Screen time can increase our stress levels

Research has found that smartphone addiction can increase your levels of stress. Spending too much time on screens can cause higher stress levels and negatively impact sleep at night.

#5. Take a Walk and Enjoy Nature

Going for a walk is an excellent way to get outside and reduce stress. Walking helps your mind wander and gets you outside where you can get sun. Sunlight boosts your “happy” chemicals that stabilize your mood, feelings, and happiness.

Taking a walk also helps you enjoy nature more

Research says that Americans spend 93% of their time indoors or a half day per week. That’s not enough time. The outdoors makes you stronger and happier. It also helps you reduce stress.

Enjoying nature and spending more time outside helps you clear your mind, take a break from things such as work and lower your stress. Spending as little as 10 to 15 minutes outside can help you improve your mental health.

If you live in an urban area, seek out green spaces such as a park and if you are in a rural area, go hiking and camping.

#6. Be Alone and Have “Me Time”

Sometimes we need to be alone. Escape the environment that is causing you stress and be by yourself. Go somewhere where you feel comfortable and have a quiet time with your thoughts.

Add “me time” to your daily and weekly schedule. Do whatever makes you happy such as a hobby or sport, or go to a place where you can sit in the quiet and think. You can lower your stress when you make time for yourself — and you only.

#7. Declutter and Get Organized

Clutter and disorganization can make you feel stressed. It holds you back from focusing. When you can’t concentrate, you feel hopeless and frazzled. Take time to simplify your life and get rid of things you no longer use.

Strive to live a minimalist lifestyle where less is more, and you’ll be less stressed

You can feel less stress when you declutter your home and work area. Only keep things around that you use consistently and add value to your life. Develop a system to keep you organized so you can find something you are looking for.

#8. Create Boundaries and Say “No”

It would help if you created healthy boundaries in your daily life. When you take on more than you can handle, you get stressed. Saying “no” can help you control your stress levels.

To de-stress your life be more selective on what you take on and develop boundaries with others

Saying “no” is a powerful word to keep your stress levels lower and ensure you concentrate on self-care. Taking control of your life by setting boundaries and saying “no” more often can reduce stress and improve your mental health.

#9. Talk to Your Social Support Group

Your support group is critical to lowering your stress. Create a group of people who you can talk about your stressors, such as your family, significant other, friends, and colleagues.

Consider a therapist if you are dealing with difficult life situations and need help setting boundaries. You could volunteer, join a gym, sign up to participate in a team sport, or take a class to help you expand your support network.

Having a social support group can help you rely on people that can help you lower your stress.

#10. Reduce the Amount of Caffeine You Consume

When you drink significant amounts of caffeine, you can increase your stress levels. Caffeine is a chemical found in coffee, tea, chocolate, and other food and drinks that can stimulate your central nervous system.

Caffeine is healthy in moderation, so discover how much your ideal amount of consumption

When you consume too much caffeine, you can increase your feelings of anxiety. People have different thresholds for how much caffeine they can have in their system.

Also, caffeine can harm your sleep. Research has found it takes 12 hours for your body to remove caffeine from your bloodstream.

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Bringing It All Together

There are 10 things you can do today to de-stress your life. Take some deep breaths and close your eyes. Listen to music, exercise regularly, and lower the amount of screen time. Take a walk and enjoy nature. Be alone and have “me time.” Declutter and get organized. Create boundaries and say “no.” Talk to your support social support group and reduce the amount of caffeine you consume.

Don’t let stress hold you back from your happiness. To reduce the stress in your life, these tips can help you improve your physical and mental health. Stress is an avoidable part of life that we all experience, so we must find ways to minimize it.

“There is no such thing as a stress-free life. No evidence has ever been presented which suggests that a stress-free life can ever be achieved. Stress can be managed, relieved and lessened, but never eliminated.” — Gudjon Bergmann, an author

CONTRIBUTED BY Matthew Royse

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