5 Simple Stress Reducers

5 Simple Stress Reducers

Who isn’t stressed these days? Technology is bombarding us from every direction, recent economic twists and turns have made layoffs far too common, and then, there’s our actual work: projects, deadlines, coworkers and bosses. And that’s just during business hours! Fortunately, there are things you can do can do to manage and decrease your stress, and some of them are so simple, it’ll surprise you.

Breathe

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, just go back to basics. Clear your head with a few minutes of deep breathing. This will help you restore balance, and maybe even a sense of calm. One trick is to inhale for five seconds, hold your breath, and then exhale through your nose for an equal five seconds. Some folks have claimed that this technique gives you the calm and focus of a yoga class in three minutes or less. And you don’t even have to change into workout wear!

Meditation is another great stress reliever. You can try the traditional “om” method, download some helpful meditation apps on your smart phone, or even just take a few minutes each day to focus on a simple activity like breathing, walking or eating a good meal. Mindfulness – a state in which you actively observe experiences and thoughts in the present without judgement – can also be a helpful way to relieve yourself of stress. Focusing with purpose on one activity without distraction helps you increase your ability to focus, which gets stronger with practice. And you’ll be able to apply this newfound calm and focus to multiple areas of your life.

Set Boundaries

It’s so easy to feel the pressure of emails, phone calls, unexpected visitors, instant messages and the sudden, urgent deadlines that we’re constantly bombarded with. When you can, establish some work-life boundaries for yourself. Maybe that means not checking email from home at night or not answering the phone during dinner. Setting some boundaries between work and personal life can absolutely help reduce stress.

And, when you can’t always control these interruptions, control your response. You choose whether you’re going to accept the interruption, cut it off, or evaluate how important it is and make a plan. For recurring interruptions, anticipate them. You can even train those around you by establishing office hours, closing the door when you need to focus, or answering emails during certain regularly scheduled times.

Establish a Support System

Make the most of what you’ve got. First, support yourself: Try keeping a journal for a couple of weeks to identify the most stressful situations in your life and how you respond to them. Check and see if you notice any patterns in what’s causing your stress and/or how you respond to that stress. Then, see if you can address the source and/or your response in a productive manner.

If you find that a regular source of stress is someone at work, confront the coworker or employee by stating the bad behavior in a respectful tone, describing the impact on the team and the individual, and requesting a change.

Also, consider meeting with your supervisor to come up with an effective plan for managing the stressors you’ve identified. This plan might include ways to help you improve your time management, or the conversation may alert you to employer-sponsored wellness resources you can tap into. It may be helpful to use this conversation to clarify what’s expected of you, so you know you’re not stressing about anything you shouldn’t be. Use it as an opportunity to get access to necessary resources or enlist support from colleagues. And you may be able to enrich your job by including more challenging or meaningful tasks, or making changes to your physical workspace that will leave you more comfortable and experiencing less strain.

Eat & Sleep

Remember that healthy choices always combat stress.

Getting high-quality sleep is extremely important for effective stress management. How can you make sure this happens? Limiting your caffeine intake late in the day, and minimizing stimulating activities right before bed. That means you might want to consider before-bed computer use, and even TV watching.

If you have trouble falling asleep, and you’ve run out of sheep to count, try this simple breathing trick: cover your right nostril and breathe through your left for three to five minutes.

And now that you’re having sweet dreams, consider cutting some sugar out of your diet. Eating foods low in sugar and high in protein will help keep your system operating at peak levels and keep your body from being stressed, so you can just focus on calming your mind.

Laugh

Sure, it sounds laughably simple, but it works. Just a few of the actual medical benefits of laughing include lowering blood pressure, increasing blood flow and oxygenation of the blood, reducing the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline, and improving alertness, creativity, and memory. So, when things look bleak, try to find the funny. A good laugh will reduce your stress and the stress of those around you. Just be careful not to take a laugh at someone else’s expense! Unless it’s this guy – he won’t mind.

 

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Written by DSD Business Systems

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