Easy ways to relieve stress

This article talks about ways to manage and relieve stress.

• Music: Listening to music can help you relax and has a positive effect on your body and brain as calm music helps to reduce cortisol levels and lowers blood pressure.
• Meet Friends: If you feel stressed then talking about your problems to a friend can help a lot. Good healthy relationships are important in one’s life as they can put a lot of things in perspective when you feel stressed.
• Eat Right: Your diet and stress levels are related to each other. And you skip a meal then eating fatty and sugary things become a go-to snack, so it’s important to plan. Vegetables, fruits and high levels of omega-3 fatty acids are linked to reducing the symptoms of stress.
• Laugh: When you laugh it releases endorphins that decrease the levels of cortisol and adrenaline (stress-causing hormones) and tricks your nervous system into making you happy. It relaxes your muscles and relieves your stress response. Laughing helps to improve your mood and immune system.
• Green Tea: It contains less caffeine in comparison to coffee and has healthy antioxidants along with theanine (amino acid) which has a calming effect.
• Exercise: It helps to get your blood circulation going and releases endorphins that can improve your mood. It helps to lower the stress hormones like cortisol and improves sleep quality. So try to walk, stretch and exercise every day.
• Sleep: Lack of good quality sleep causes stress which slowly affects your body and brain. So make sure to relax before going to bed and sleep for 7-8 hours every night.
• Reduce Caffeine: High caffeine intake increases anxiety and stress. So limit your intake of caffeine from tea, coffee, energy drinks and chocolates.
• Breathe: Deep breathing helps to oxygenate your blood, centres your body and clears your mind. So when you feel stressed try to sit up straight, breathe in and out deeply and slowly to relax.
• Be mindful: “Mindfulness” is a part of a somatic and meditative approach to mental health. Meditation and yoga together incorporate both mental and physical exercises that help to prevent stress.

In conclusion, stress is something which is a part of our daily life, but it should not be ignored as too much-untreated stress can cause serious mental and physical health problems. Any kind of stress can be managed with these few strategies and patience.

Reference

• Beem., A.L., et al. (2006).Regular exercise, anxiety, depression and personality: A population-based study.Preventive Medicine.42(4).273-279
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2005.12.002

• Pascoe, M. C. et al. (2015). A systematic review of randomised control trials on the effects of yoga on stress measures and mood. 68.270-282

• Maxwell, Lindsay. Duff, Elsie. (2016).Mindfulness: An Effective Prescription for Depression and Anxiety
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2016.02.009

• Lara D. R. (2010). Caffeine, mental health, and psychiatric disorders. Journal of Alzheimer’s disease: JAD, 20 Suppl 1, S239–S248. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-2010-1378