How To De-Stress And Relax Easily
Welcome to the 21st century where we literally eat, drink and breathe fresh stress in and out of the air 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Every aspect of our once beautiful human lives has evolved to get accustomed to stress, and our everyday activities constantly leave us exhausted and needing to de-stress. Stress has now become a normal part of life. From having to multitask at work while dealing with a troublesome boss to having to study all night to ace that Calculus test, start a family, raise kids; life, in general, can be stressful.
At times, stress serves a useful purpose, like helping to motivate you to achieve certain goals and objectives. But if you let the stress take over, it can be detrimental. That’s why you must learn how to De-stress, relax your body and mind, and keep the stress under control.
According to a report published in the American Psychology Association, many Americans suffer from moderate to high stress. About 44% of Americans reported that their stress levels have increased over the past five years as a result of concerns about money, fears about job stability topping the list of stress triggers.
8 Sure Ways To De-Stress And Relax Easily
The big question on your mind is, How can I De-stress easily and relax effectively? When it comes to the issue of dealing with stress, there are a million and one guides and health manuals out there that claim to help you overcome stress. Well, you’ve come to the right place for answers.
Stress can, however, be classified into 3: Acute stress, episodic acute stress, and chronic stress. Below are the 8 proven, tried, and tested ways to relax the mind, unwind and De-stress.
1. Take Long Deep Breaths
Practicing breathing exercises (also called pranayama in yoga) has been proven by science to help the body relax.
When you inhale deeply, you take in large volumes of oxygen, which is an essential fuel for cells. Hence, you feed your cells with oxygen and create a vital life force and eliminate toxins generated in the body after a stressful day. Trying to keep your body as still and relaxed as possible.
2. Identify And Get Rid Of Your Stress Triggers
Every single person in the world today has different stress triggers. It could be the death of a loved one, divorce, loss of a job, an increase in financial obligations, getting married, moving to a new home, chronic illness, or just plain emotional problems.
There are a million possible stress triggers, and it’s important to identify what your triggers are and try as much as possible to stay away from them.
3. Take A Day Off To Unplug From Your Activities
Do you say your life activities are leaving you drained and stressed? Why not unplug from everything and take a day, week, or month off. Go on that vacation that you’ve been planning for ages and just relax and enjoy life.
4. Eat Healthy Mood Boosters
When they say health is wealth, they really do mean it. Your diet is linked to just about every condition your body deals with especially stress.
Getting rid of caffeine, refined sugars, and alcohol, and replacing them with fruits, vegetables, clean proteins, and healthy fats can help your body regulate hormone levels.
5. Get A Good Night’s Sleep
The significance of a good night’s sleep cannot be overemphasized, and many health problems arise when you simply don’t have enough sleep at night.
Both stress and lack of sleep can lead to lasting physical and mental health problems. It is therefore important to practice good sleep hygiene to help the body recover from the accumulated stress of the day.
6. Practice Relaxation Exercises
Regular exercise helps to boost endorphins and reduce stress. Endorphins are hormones secreted in the body which produce a kind of analgesic effect. Meaning it gets rid of pain and you feel more relaxed.
You don’t have to exercise until you look all muscular like Arnold Schwarzenegger, just 20 minutes of relaxing exercise a day will surely keep the doctor away.
7. Stop Beating Yourself Up
Most of the time, people suffer from the emotional stress that could arise from depression and disappointment in themselves for not being able to achieve a set goal or attain certain heights in their lives.
It’s important to remember that you’re human and while it’s important to have set goals and dreams, you don’t have to beat yourself up all the time when you fall or don’t achieve them. Simply dust yourself, pick yourself up, and try again.
8. Practice Gratitude
Instead of beating yourself up for failing to achieve something, why not try to practice gratitude. If you look at your life, there are a million things to be grateful for.
The air that you breathe, the water you drink, the fact that you are alive and healthy, just take some minutes every day to relax and breathe. Close your eyes and imagine, think about all the good things in your life to be grateful for, and watch as stress melts away like wax on a flame.
Final Thoughts
There you have it, 8 sure ways to relax and de-stress your mind, body, and soul. A wise woman once said, “Don’t make things too complicated. Try to relax, enjoy every moment, get used to everything.” All these are important so that you can live a happy, stress-free, and fulfilling life.
