Nowadays term stress is considered to be a new phenomenon with its own psychological and physical features. However, the study of the occurrence and development of such a phenomenon has been started already in the last century.
In 2003, it was shown that chronic and lasting stress is linked to seven of the ten leading causes of death in the world for both men and women.
On the other hand, scientists explore that our brain makes valuable and important decisions under some pressure. Providing a state of mild stress, people work with maximal efficiency. If this condition does not last long, it is harmless to the human body.
Reducing the stress is necessary
Nevertheless, your productivity depends on your ability to manage emotions and stay calm in
stressful situations. The control of your stress levels is necessary for maintaining a vital body
constancy. When you feel the danger, there is a surge of cortisol, rising of the blood sugar level,
acceleration of the heart rate, rapid breathing. All this allows us to withstand the impending threat,
but the body changes must return to their original state as soon as the crisis has passed.
If you think, stress will pass by itself and you do not need to pay attention to it – you are wrong. In
fact, constant pressure only accumulates. It can prevent cardiovascular diseases, obesity, alcohol
addiction, depression, and other pathological conditions.
Wrong ways to deal with stress!
One of the major mistakes is following the wrong ways to deal with stress:
– Buy new things. Strung or upset condition is a favored ground for rash purchases
– Stress eating. You should remember that later these extra kilos would be another reason for frustration and unhealthy food as a threat to our immune system
– Drink alcohol to reduce stress. There is nothing to talk about – alcohol is an enemy of beauty and health.
10 effective ways to reduce stress
Thus, there are 10 effective ways to reduce stress and deal with it in a healthy way!
1. Physical activity
In the case of training in a fitness club or extreme sports, this life is vibrant, healthy, full of new experiences and acquaintances. Every time when you face the choice “to feel sorry for yourself or to become a little more beautiful”, remember about endorphins – hormones of happiness. Even a half-hour walk provides mental purification and thoughts structuring.
2. R & R
Get enough rest and recuperation. Choose any type of activity aimed at relaxing and dopamine synthesizing. For example, hatha yoga, massages, and body wraps, floating, a warm bath with sea salt will definitely relax you and free your mind from obsessions.
3. Sleep
Unless you sleep enough, your body is much more susceptible to stress due to the instability of the nervous system. For being in good shape you need to sleep at least from six to eight hours per day (very rarely people can sleep five and fewer hours). In addition to monitoring the quantity, you need to track the quality. Perfectly, you need to go to bed and get up at the same time because of melatonin synthesis. This hormone has an anti-stress and anti-tumor focus and carries out over-control of the other body systems.
4. Control your coffee intake
In the human organism, it stimulates the central nervous system, enhances the cardiac activity and accelerates the pulse. It has adrenaline-like and exciting effects. Therefore, at first, your brain buzzes with ideas, and then it cannot get rid of obsessive thoughts and let you relax. This state provokes stressful conditions. It is better not to drink coffee 10 hours before bedtime, otherwise, night cycle disturbances entail lack of sleep, confusion, latent anger, and apathy.
5. Healthy food
When you eat fast food, junk food, a lot of carbohydrates and poor with minerals food, your microbiome does not get enough fiber. Your brain does not receive a signal about the serotonin and dopamine synthesis. As a result, elevated levels of cortisol predominate and the immune system is suppressed, depression and chronic diseases ensue. You should eat meat, milk, dried fruits, and chocolate, which stimulate the production of serotonin and remove mood swings due to unbalanced food. There are a lot of natural remedies for anxiety like Vitamin B that you can include in your everyday life.
6. Meditation
Meditation is not a prayer, not a dream, or a representation of something. Meditation is a thought process. If you are nervous and you cannot calm down, stop for 5 minutes no matter sitting or standing and try not to think about anything and breathe deeply. If you think that meditation needs preparation, this is not true. To do this, you just need a daily repeat. Even a one-time meditation helps to calm thoughts, reduce anxiety and prevent the occurrence of chronic stress.
7. Write it down
Impossible to keep everything in mind. Try to write down your obsessions. If you keep everything in your mind, then you will scroll it in your head hundreds of times and repeat. This leads to irritation, bad mood and you ultimately cannot fulfill your intentions. Writing down ideas will help you relieve your brain and stop worrying all the time that you forget something important.
8. Art therapy
It is not about going to the theater or to a concert, but about creating your own works. Treatment with art includes painting, sculpture, installations, playing musical instruments, dancing. Choose the appropriate option and get rid of fears, low self-esteem, and bad mood.
9. Aromatherapy
Sometimes a single breath can change the way you look at the world. If inhaled essential oils-relaxants – lavender, rose, citrus, mint, ylang-ylang are especially effective. Add oil to the bath and body lotions or choose a perfume with these notes. Use light candles and aroma lamps, put a diffuser on the desktop, put sachets in the cabinet.
10. Reading
No matter how obvious this method seems, try to find 15 minutes in the afternoon for reading a printed book, not online, in your busy schedule. Your eyes will rest, thoughts switch and you will feel a new flow of power and energy. Such activity change helps to reduce stress during the day.