Stress management: 7 ways to reduce stress & find relief
Clinically reviewed by Dr. Chris Mosunic, PhD, RD, CDCES, MBA
Stress is inevitable. And while a little stress can be positive, too much takes a toll on the body and mind. Try these seven tips to keep stress in check.
For anyone who’s working or raising a family or just trying to navigate the ups and downs of the daily grind, stress is a part of life. To have a goal to entirely eliminate stress is pretty much impossible. Rather than trying to run away from stress entirely, you can find suitable ways to reduce it where possible and take time to recover from the stressors of daily life whenever you can.
By finding short windows wherein you can ground yourself, breathe, and reset, you can manage stress, and prioritize your mental health, thereby having happier and more productive days.
Here are some tips to get you started. For a more in-depth approach, check out our Managing Stress Workbook, which has plenty of practical tools and wisdom to help you decrease your stress levels.
7 stress management tips to find relief
The good news is that proven stress management techniques can help you stay grounded in the face of challenges.
1. Take a minute (often)
“Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.” — Etty Hillesum
When life gets busy, and the tasks pile up, there can be a snowball effect. Busyness begets busyness. And if we don’t take some time every day to interrupt the “snowball” from rolling, it gets bigger, faster, and harder to stop, leading to burning out or, to keep with the snowball analogy, crashing into a wall. This is prevented by regularly and intentionally pausing and taking time for yourself with a micro-break (even just a minute).
The truth is that just taking a minute away from your daily tasks, won’t often give you the relief you crave. You want to utilize that minute or two the best way you can by implementing purposeful mindfulness practices, or breathing exercises. When you use these practices with intention and give yourself just a few moments to reset in the middle of your day can help you to feel more grounded, calm, and energized.
Here are some relaxation techniques you can use for stress management that will only take a few minutes.
💙 Try this 60-second Reboot when your stress levels feel unmanageable.
2. Build awareness
The first step to solving any problem is knowing that there is one. Take a moment to acknowledge how much you do day-in and day-out. Now consider how much that requires of your body, mind, and heart.
Deepening our awareness of how stress impacts our wellbeing can motivate us to interrupt the stress cycle and prioritize rejuvenation. When things pile up and you start to feel overwhelmed, ask yourself, “is this something I need to handle right now or can it wait?”
Many people find it helpful to sort their tasks into two categories. Priority A and Priority B. Put anything that isn’t time sensitive into the B category, and focus on the tasks that need your attention soonest.
💙 Build your awareness by trying these mindfulness techniques recommended by the U.S. Surgeon General.
3. Recognize when you’re in fight-or-flight
The brain moving into fight-or-flight mode is something that once protected us from predators. Back when humans were dwelling in nature along with potential predators and threads, the brain firing up in this way likely saved us from harm.
Nowadays, most people don’t live among threatening animal predators day in and day out, but the brain hasn’t entirely caught up with the times. When stress and anxiety hit, the brain doesn’t know the difference between a stressful task and a bear coming to attack you. So when you feel overwhelmed or under pressure, it’s easy to go into overdrive and find yourself in fight-or-flight mode.
When you’re in this state, you may feel agitated, anxious, and overwhelmed. To regulate your central nervous system, and reduce feelings of acute stress, studies show that mindfulness practices and breathing exercises can help.
Deep breathing has been shown to help calm the central nervous system and bring you back to a state of feeling relaxed.
💙 This 10 minute guided meditation will help you work on breathing to release tension.
4. Set boundaries
Time is a limited and precious resource, so we feel best when we spend it wisely. If there are elements of your daily life that are causing acute stress, or negatively affecting your overall wellbeing, it may be time to re-think some of them. It’s not always possible to totally eliminate daily stressors, but you can choose how many of them you’ll take on in one day. That’s where setting boundaries comes in.
The trick is not taking on everything that needs to get done at your place of work, or in your household. Implement practices of asking for help when needed, and delegating responsibilities when appropriate.
Remember creating a boundary that supports you can start with something as simple as reminding yourself of your value and asking for what you need.
5. Make time for stress-relief
It might feel silly to schedule time for stress-relief, but building it into your day is important.
Working in relaxation techniques and stress-relief into your daily routine can help you to feel more focused, relaxed, and productive during the stressful parts of your day. This means making time to move your body, breathe, and practice mindfulness.
If you don’t have an hour to spend in the gym, or in a yoga class, try taking a walk on your lunch break, or carving out five to ten minutes to breathe during a break in your day.
Building short relaxation breaks into your day is cumulative and will steer you away from falling into patterns of chronic stress.
💙 To keep stress at bay, tune into the 7 Days of Managing Stress and learn the tools you need to find relief.
6. Take time to nourish your body
One of the best ways to manage your stress levels is to care for your body. This means fueling it with healthy meals and plenty of water. When we’re stressed it can be tempting to ignore our body’s needs in favor of getting the task done, but the body needs fuel to function. Take those breaks for lunch and snacks, and don’t forget to stay hydrated.
Try to be mindful when you’re consuming your water and meals. The tricky thing about stress is that it impacts the body’s ability to effectively do its job. For example, you might choose to eat a healthy lunch, but if you’re eating it while stressed (perhaps feeling like you don’t have time to eat and that you should be working), the body is less able to digest and absorb all of the nutrients you consumed.
When it comes time to eat, take a moment and really savor your food. Consider the aromas, the flavors, and textures. By practicing mindfulness when you’re eating you’ll set the body up for better digestion, and you’ll be able to better recognize when you’re full.
💙 Learn to eat more mindfully with our Mindful Eating series.
7. Wind down properly
How you end your day is just as important as how you spend the rest of it. It can be tempting to get into bed and start mindlessly scrolling through your phone, but you may want to re-think it.
Even if your phone is in night mode and you’re not getting walloped with blue light, the overstimulation that comes from screens can make you feel more alert and more awake.
Scrolling can often stress or overstimulate the mind, so if you can avoid it, try something that relaxes the body better like stretching, breathing, and meditating.
When you wind down mindfully, you’ll sleep better and more deeply. Sleeping well has been shown to help us manage daily stress and also our emotions, so the better you sleep, the better your tomorrow will be.
💙 If you still have the impulse to have your phone in your hand, try listening to a mindfulness practice, relaxing music, or even Sleep Story.
By implementing these tips for reducing stress you will hopefully find yourself feeling less stress, anxiety, and overwhelm in your day to day life. By making a few simple changes you can create space for relaxation, and reset.
Know how much you can take on and respect your body’s ability to take on the stress of daily tasks, and don’t overdo it. Create clear boundaries, ask for help when you need it, take breaks often and create time for mindfulness whenever you can.
By valuing yourself, your time and your mind, you can not only reduce but also befriend stress, and feel happier, healthier, and freer from the burdens of overwhelm.
Calm your mind. Change your life.
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