As life is full of stress, it is also full of simple, everyday solutions to alleviate the pressures of modern living. Take a look.
Listening to music
Do you listen to a great song and realize that you don’t feel as worse as a few minutes ago? It is because music is, and will always be therapeutic. It’s a great way to break away from your professional or personal troubles. It also helps you set a more positive mood. Listening to music triggers the release dopamine, which is linked to the brain’s pleasure and reward centers. Health-wise, listening to music lowers blood pressure and decreases the hormone connected with stress called cortisol.
Talking with someone
The more you keep it to yourself, the more mentally and emotionally strained you’ll feel. By being open, you let all those issues out of your system and allow yourself to be comforted by those close to you.
Healthy Eating
You are what you eat. When you eat right and healthy, it manifests physically and mentally. Eat junk foods continuously and see where it leads you. The truth is, stress levels and healthy diet are strongly linked. To get it right with the food you eat, fruits and vegetables are always the best way do so. Fish with high levels of omega-3 fatty acids have also been proven to lessen symptoms of stress.
Drinking Tea
Tea has been discovered to be a great soother. It has antioxidants and theanine. The latter is an amino acid known for its calming and soothing effects on the nervous system. When the burden becomes too much bear, don’t underestimate the power of tea.
Meditating
This method can be effective on a long-term basis. Its concept is a huge part of somatic and meditative approaches tasked with the goal of providing mental harmony. This has since become a universal technique in psychotherapy. For instance, yoga and Pilates incorporate mental and physical exercises that train our inner selves to live a stress-free life.
Working out
This can be as simple as taking your dog for a walk. The moment you decide to be mobile after hours of sitting, your blood continues its normal flow. When this happens, endorphins are released and your mood is improved. Amazing how not being lazy is great for emotional and physical health.
Getting a shut-eye
Stress can make it hard to sleep. On the other hand, lack of sleep makes stress possible in the first place. As we all know, 7-8 hours of daily sleep is the best. There may be various distractions, but if you have the will you can do it. Turning off the TV and computer earlier can be a good start. Keep in mind that you’re the master of your own life and not some electronic devices.
Breathing
You know how they say to ‘take a deep breath’ when you’re about to explode either from frustration or anger? It’s because breathing, especially breathing the right way can help alleviate our internal conundrums.
Buddhist monks are widely recognized for their conscious and deliberate breathing when meditating. Try exercising for a couple of minutes before practicing meditative breathing. This can help calm your nerves and decrease levels of stress. Breathe in and out slowly and deeply. Concentrate on your lungs as they completely expand in your chest. Shallow breathing causes stress, but deep breathing oxygenates your blood, which then clears your mind and helps your body relax.
Seeing bright colors
UCLA researchers have suggested that brightness and saturation creates an emotional response. According to the study, bright colors can provide more pleasure whilst saturated colors can boost the energy levels. Colors may just be as mundane as washing the dishes, but there are amazing physiological effects that are enabled by looking at the right color. This includes encouraging mood-changing hormones, improving awareness and influencing the central nervous system.
A good example of this is the installation of blue LED lights in several railway stations in Tokyo with the goal of reducing the country’s suicide rate. Some experts believe that that ‘blue’ can help calm commuters as it is linked to the color of the sky and the ocean.
Appreciating
We’ve grown accustomed to material things that it’s becoming harder to appreciate the things and the people we have. Easy on your life goals and dreams; they seem to be endless anyway. Take time to appreciate what you have and what you can do. You might be surprised that what’s causing you stress isn’t a problem after all. Sometimes it’s just a matter of perspective.
Less technology
Research at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden has discovered that modern technology is related to sleeping problems, stress and depression, particularly among young adults. This isn’t even surprising. Of course, too much of your attention on social media and technology in general can trigger these effects. Lights on computers and smartphones affect the production of melatonin and the stimulation of melanopsin, disrupting our circadian rhythms. This disrupts our sleep. Lack of sleep makes us more vulnerable to stress and depression.
Using the less dominant hand
Brains are organs that continuously grow and change. Mental stimulation can cause this. When neurons grow, brains adapt and rewire. It’s like having a new brain. It has been found in a study that using the less dominant hand can stimulate the non-dominant hemisphere of the brain since they’re connected. Thus, the previously inactivated non-dominant section of your brain will be activated, providing you to activated hemispheres and who knows what that will make you capable of. It’s like John Travolta in Phenomenon. He got a tumor that affected a section of his brain that made him a freaking genius he was able to learn how to speak Portuguese fluently within a day. He even invented a machine that could accurately predict earthquakes. It was super cool except for the tumor part.
