Springtime means a lot of spring cleaning and fresh starts. But don’t just free up your closet space, free yourself from stress! April is Stress Awareness Month!
Here are 10 tips to help woo-sah a little bit easier!
1. Meditation
Meditation can give a sense of calmness, peace, and balance. The emotional benefits of meditation include:
- Gaining a new perspective
- Building skills to manage stress
- Increasing self-awareness
- Helps you to focus on the present
- Reduces negative emotion
- Increase imagination and creativity
- Increase patience and tolerance
2. Focus on Breathing
Deep breathing is a good way to alleviate stress because it helps the body lower stress. When you breathe deeply it sends a message to your brain to calm down and relax. Next, the brain sends the message to your body. It’s not a glass of wine but doesn’t the job equally well.
3. Take a Walk
Walking can help relieve stress and give you time to think and get away from stressors. #ProtectYourPeace. Feeling your body move is a natural stress reliever. So, just walk away.
4. Exercise
Aside from preppin’ us for the #hotgirlsummer, exercise helps to increase your overall health and well-being. It has some direct stress-relieving benefits such as endorphins increase, which are chemicals produced by the body to relieve stress and pain. Also exercising can improve your mood and meditation. And it just feels good to sweat!
5. Aromatherapy
Candles, essential oils, bath products, whatever you need to catch your zen. Aromatherapy can reduce the perception of stress, increase contentment, and lower levels of cortisol (stress hormone). However, different scents have different effects on people, so watch what you sniff!
6. Pick up a Hobby
Choosing a hobby that is enjoyable can lower blood pressure. Also, a hobby can lower the levels of depression and negative effects.
7. Give a Hug
Hugs have a calming and relaxing effect. This is because of the cuddle hormone called oxytocin, When the cuddle hormone is released it can reduce inflammation, lessen cravings for drugs, alcohol, and sweets, and decrease depression.
8. Listen to Music
It is a known fact that music has an effect on every living thing on Earth. However, plants are still up for debate. Upbeat music can make you feel optimistic and positive, while a slower tempo can quiet the mind, relax the muscles, and relieve stress.
9. Dance
Dancing causes the body to release endorphins in the brain and can act as a natural painkiller. Also, dancing can improve the ability to sleep.
10. Laughter
Moreover, we all have heard the saying “laughter is good for the soul”. Well, that saying is actually true. Laughter can relieve stress as well as decrease heart rate and blood pressure. Also, laughter can stimulate circulation and muscle relaxation and reduce some of the physical symptoms of stress.
So if you are ever feeling stressed, don’t be afraid to break out some aromatherapy, a hobby, dance, and laugh a little more. Because if life doesn’t teach us anything, it’s too short to be stressed all the time!
