Reduce Stress for a More Relaxed Life

It’s no surprise we are all under high levels of stress nowadays, specially considering we are living during a pandemic. Our routines have been thrown out the window, our social face to face time reduced. Lockdowns have kept kids at home from school, putting parents under pressure and many have lost jobs. It unfortunately has hit low income populations even worse, since in many cases they could not afford the luxury of working from home. This has taken a toll on everyone’s mental health. There are things you can do, however, to reduce your levels of stress.

What is stress and how bad can it be

A definition of stress from The Merriam-Webster dictionary is “a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation”.

Stress works for us when we need to resolve an immediate emergency situation that requires our fight or flight senses, as it releases cortisol hormones in your body that helps us momentarily have more energy to react. Once the situation has passed, our levels of cortisol go back down and the rest of our body resumes regular activities.

Elevated levels of cortisol over an extended period of time, however, increases the incidence of harmful effects such as anxiety, high blood pressure, digestive issues, headaches, weight gain, heart disease, and others. We are not built to retain high levels of cortisol in our systems for a prolonged period of time.

What you can do to reduce stress in your life to live a happier life? We collected some practical advice you can actually implement below.

Reassess your workload

You are probably thinking you cannot possibly give up any of your workload at the moment, and that everything on your to-do list is absolutely essential.

Even if we assume that to be true, you can certainly identify there are some timing requirement differences, in other words, different priorities. What is it you need to accomplish today, and what can wait till tomorrow or next week? Can you delegate any of it? A good candidate is that task you have been procrastinating on because you really don’t care too much about doing it (no shame, we all have those!). Can you drop or make any of it simpler? Can you ask for help, or pay someone to have it done for you? Let go of the idea that you need to do all the things.

Whatever is on your list right now and stressing you out, remember your health is more important and without it you won’t be able to get any of them done.

Check your sleep routine

It may seem counterintuitive to devote more time for sleeping, but if you have been depriving yourself of sleep to “get more done”, this may actually be counter productive.

When you are tired from lack of sleep, it causes all sort of negative effects over your body and mind. Not to mention, you will be less productive during the day due to losing your focus and decision making power – because you didn’t give yourself enough sleep. So, if you can, give a good night sleep a try. If you don’t get one regularly you will feel the difference for the better.

You can probably tell if you think back to a day after you had a good night’s sleep versus one when you didn’t, in how you were able to tackle your commitments.

If you are having difficulties establishing a good sleep routine, check this article for tips on how to improve your sleeping (and other) habits.

Engage in relaxing activities

Insert here meditation, yoga, journaling, laughing, giving hugs, and really any other activities which feel relaxing to you.
I was surprised to rediscover that playing Solitaire (with real cards, not the computer!) is really relaxing to me, as well to my son, who learned about it and loves playing it. One of my other favorite relaxing activities is assembling jigsaw puzzles!

Exercise regularly

You probably know at this point that exercising releases endorphins, which naturally combat stress by making you feel happier and more relaxed. Recent studies have actually found that it keeps your brain healthier longer and prevents degenerative diseases in the long run.
So here’s just one more reminder that yes, you should (if you are not already) be working out on a regular basis. If you have been inactive, start slow. Causing an injury because you forced yourself too hard in the beginning will just be another stress you don’t need in your life.

Have some fun

When a lot of the activities we did to have fun have been limited or eliminated, this may require a little bit of creativity.
It should not be a difficult thing to do, though. It could actually help you uncover a new hobby you had never considered, that you will grow to love and will help decrease your levels of stress regularly. Give yourself a break and have some fun!

Here are some ideas of activities people have engaged in since the pandemic started to have some fun: learning to play an instrument, coloring, listening to music, singing, dancing, knitting, playing cards (or other games), cooking, reading, and many other creative activities.

You don’t have to forego social activities: even if your area is in lockdown, you can go out for a walk to exercise as that is generally allowed. I have met friends for walks to replace our dining out meetups, and met many times in our backyard or other open areas (weather permitting). My family has regular videoconference calls and I’ve even participated in remote birthday parties and happy hours. The key is to stay open to new things and new ways. Keep in mind things are going to improve, many restrictions will be lifted and a lot of what was normal will come back to our lives.

In the meantime, don’t put your life on a limbo – find things that help you relax, and have fun, today!

Eat healthier

Here is another one you probably already knew was coming – but it is a fact. When you feed your body the nutrients it needs, it has better ability to function properly. You not only have more energy but also less stress. A cleaner diet will help fight the damage caused by stress at a cellular level.
As in with exercising, make incremental changes. I, for example, eat a piece of chocolate almost everyday. As long as it’s a small piece, and in general of dark chocolate (which is healthier and has less sugar), I feel it is a good compromise.

Don’t wait for this or that to happen first, your life is up to the decisions you make today. External circumstances may affect you but ultimately you are the one who determines how you react to them. These are some of the things you can do to reduce stress in your life. Which one will start with today?