Stress can even cause heart palpitations. Less common physical symptoms of stress can include elevated blood pressure, rapid breathing, eyesight difficulty, thirst/hunger, dizziness, nausea, excessive sweating, weakness, fainting, and chills. Additionally, stress can also lead to mouth and jaw pain, especially for people with a tenancy to clench or grind their teeth.
To combat stress, there are many things you can do. The following are some ideas to help you better cope with stress and reduce the negative impact it can have on your body.
Get Enough Exercise
Yes, it’s true, exercise is the answer to many physical problems affecting women. In order to combat stress symptoms, aim for at least 20 minutes of continuous exercise per day, though 30 minutes is better. If you are busy after work with a family, consider re-purposing your lunchtime for a walk. If the weather is nice, get outside. Fresh air and sunlight can also help reduce overall stress symptoms. Ideal exercises will include walking, jogging, swimming, biking, and yoga, which release endorphins and increase your mood.
Learn to Meditate
Make time each day for meditation and breathing exercises. Yoga is an ideal way to blend exercise and meditation together. Through focusing on syncing breath and movement, yoga helps your brain release stressful thoughts. Additionally, yoga can be practiced at home on a variety of apps and YouTube channels. All you need is a yoga mat and comfy clothes. If yoga isn’t your thing, consider more stationary breathing or guided meditation practices. There are plenty of guided meditations available through apps or YouTube. Breathing exercises help your brain release stressful thoughts by switching your focus and concentration to breathing. Short three to five minutes deep breathing exercises can help relieve stress. If you have trouble turning off your brain for sleep, consider guided meditations designed for sleep.
Maintain a Healthy Diet
A healthy diet doesn’t mean you have to be on a “diet,” it means you have to make mindful choices every day. Choose whole foods such as fruit, vegetables, yogurt, and nuts instead of processed foods loaded with sugar. Sugar and caffeine both aggregate stress. While quitting cold turkey won’t work for everyone, consider limiting sugar and caffeine intake. Also, be mindful of the time of day you are ingesting sugar or caffeine. Eating dessert right before bed may lead to sleep issues because your body doesn’t have time to digest the food. If you rely on morning coffee, try to cut back on the amount of flavored syrup or added sugar over time.
Strive to Achieve a Work-life Balance
Look for small ways to find a better balance between your work and at-home life. For some women, these sectors of life may overlap due to working from home or owning your own business; however, finding ways to separate and compartmentalize these areas can reduce stress overall. Make a schedule and stick to it. Limit work to certain hours of the day, making time for your loved ones.
Limit Technology Use
As a society, we are connected to our phones, computers and tablets. Similar to defining a work-life balance, also work on developing a technology-life balance. Limit emails and calls to predetermined hours. Look for ways to incorporate and stick to technology-free periods. While texts and emails may appear to be of paramount importance, take a step back and examine what really matters in life. Spending time with loved ones will help reduce stress.
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What does your stress feel like? Is it a weight on your shoulders? A nervousness in your gut? A pounding in your head? What causes these feelings of stress? Work deadlines? The busy schedule that comes with being a mom? The pressure to make everyone around you happy and comfortable?
Believe it or not, you can reduce your stress levels, no matter what is causing them, and mitigate the stress symptoms that are bringing you down. Read on for nine mood busting tips that will help you take control of your mind, body, and soul, control your stress, and carry on with confidence.
- Deep Breathing. Breathing exercises are one of the most effective ways of learning to quiet your mind, calm your racing heart, and lower anxiety levels. When you feel your stress levels escalating, take a five-minute break and focus on your breathing. Place your hand on your belly, and slowly inhale through your nose and then exhale through your mouth, feeling your breath move from your abdomen to the top of your head. This simple exercise can help you learn to control your anxiety levels and reduce feelings of stress.
- Meditate. Meditation has been proven to help ease anxiety and improve your mood. Even a few minutes per day of quiet, inward reflection and focused breathing can help train your brain to better manage stressful moments when anxiety flares.
- Exercise Regularly. A regular fitness routine, especially one that involves cardio or yoga, can help you reduce stress. It may seem like the last thing you have the energy to do after a stressful day is haul yourself to the gym, but in reality, a quick sweat session can reduce stress, release tension, and help calm your nerves.
- Maintain a Healthy Diet. Well-nourished bodies are better able to cope with stress. Your diet has a profound impact of your mental and emotional health. If you smoke, regularly consume alcohol or illicit drugs, over-consume sugar, and/or drink caffeine, consider cutting back on these stress-boosting diet factors.
- Rely on Your Social Network. We don’t necessarily mean Facebook. When times get tough, reach out to the family and friends in your life who you can rely on for emotional support. Unburden your worries on a sympathetic ear. Talking through your problems can help you see solutions to your stresses and find your internal calm. Face-to-face support is always better and encourages you to get out, get moving, and enjoy a change of scenery.
- Stick to a Regular Sleep Schedule. Sleep deprivation can leave you feeling agitated, restless, and stressed the next day. Make sure you get enough sleep—whatever the right number of hours is for you—to allow you to wake up feeling refreshed, comfortable, and ready to take on the day.
- Find the Humor. The act of laughing helps your body fight stress and is an inexpensive, and effortless way to reduce stress. Put on your favorite comedy or get together for a girls’ night out. What’s most important is that you give your stress somewhere to go by emitting it as laughter.
- Sing and Dance. Music can have a powerful effect on our emotions. Crank up your favorite tunes and sing, or dance. Movement and song can help release tension, give you a reason to smile, and help you focus on less emotionally strenuous factors in your life. If you prefer soothing music to upbeat music, consider a playlist of classical tunes, or ocean sounds. Listen to it while you relax quietly, focusing on your breathing and heart rate.
- Manage Your Time. One of the biggest stress factors that many people face is an overburdened schedule. Remember that it’s okay to say no to requests and invitations. Rather than packing each and every day full of work, volunteer shifts, social engagements, and favors to others, make sure each day includes a period of time that is just for you to ensure self-care and a daily moment of stress-free mental and physical rest.
Remember, your mood can be controlled by you and the decisions that you make to choose a healthy life. Don’t feel overwhelmed if you’re wondering where to start. Choose just one of these mood-busters, and then add more to your daily routine one at a time until you feel you have taken control of your stress factors. Remember, you can always talk to your doctor. He or she can give you advice for how to further manage the stress factors in your life so you can be the best version of you for your family, your friends, and yourself.
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