Five Easy Stress Relievers You Can Do Right Now!

Is stress making your life chaotic and irritable? Implementing stress relievers can restore calm in your life and bring you serenity. You don’t have to invest a ton or think a lot about stress relievers. Just learn a few tips and activities that work best for you and make your stress level more manageable.

Initially, most people don’t notice when they are stressed, until they start to experience the physical side effects of stress. The automatic response of your nerves, muscles, and mind is essential for your survival. Long ago, when facing a threatening situation, our forefathers relied on stress to raise blood pressure, flood the body with hormones, increase heart rate and prepare them to flee or fight.

But since we now no longer need to worry about a hungry lion or looming predators, stress has now become more of a burden than a boon.

Let’s first see the dangers of chronic stress before debunking the benefits of relieving stress.

Health Risks Caused by Stress

If you think you are prone to stress, we fear we have to negate your thought. Stress affects everyone and its effects can range from a minor nuisance to a debilitating condition making daily life difficult. Stress over a long period turns chronic and can cause lasting damage to the mind, body, and soul promoting fatigue, distraction, and irritability. Severe forms of stress provoke depression resulting in cardiovascular diseases, heartburn, headaches, and high blood and sugar levels.

Wait, as this isn’t it. Stress causes more destruction in the form of disparaging behaviors. As people try to cope with their unpleasant attitudes due to stress, they indulge in other unhealthy activities like smoking, drinking, substance abuse, and overeating.

5 Benefits of Reducing Stress:

If you can reduce your stress, you will feel a heavyweight lifted off your shoulders. Your lower stress levels will protect your body and your health in the long run. Read below to see how stress relievers can help your mind and body:

Stress-relieving will give you better sleep

Insomnia is a common ailment among adults and if try to find its roots, you won’t be surprised to find stress and anxiety as the main culprit. If you manage to practice simple stress management techniques before going to bed, they will surely improve your quality of life.

Stress-relieving will lower your blood pressure

We all know high blood pressure is the mother of all diseases. If you don’t pay attention, it may lead to serious illnesses. It is therefore advised to partake in stress-reducing activities especially yoga or deep breathing techniques for lowering your blood pressure in intense, high-stress moments. This must be practiced over and over to reduce your stress.

Stress-relieving will improve your appetite and digestion

It is a matter of common observation that people suffering from stress and anxiety report loss in appetite leading to poor digestion. There is a huge connection between stress and GI disorders.  Practicing mindfulness meditation can help lower inflammation in the gut which ultimately helps in relaxing the digestive system.

Stress-relieving reduces muscle tension

Muscle tension is one of the most common symptoms of stress. One of the best ways to reduce muscle tension is the progressive muscle relaxation technique which is a highly popular method to meditate. It aims at the core muscle groups of the body and relaxes them one by one.

Stress-relieving boosts the immune system

With a distorted appetite and poor digestion, one can easily envision a compromised immune system. Chronic stress is the number one killer for the immune system in variable ways. If you indulge in regular self-care routines, this will boost your mental wellness and you can also keep your immune system in the best form.

There are many other ways to help you beat stress which include building better relationships with your finds, family, and colleagues. They provide an outlet for support that you cannot afford to lose. Furthermore, your ability to handle stressful situations is vital in minimizing the negative effects of stress.

5 Easy Stress Relievers:

Now let’s see the 5 easiest ways to bust stress and make you relieved.

1. Get active: Almost any form of physical activity which can get you on your toes can serve as a stress reliever for you. Doesn’t matter if you are out of shape or lack the athletic gene, a simple exercise can serve the purpose well. Biking, jogging, yoga swimming, running, gardening, and housekeeping all serve the same purpose. The feel-good hormone ‘endorphins’ are released when you do any physical activity. This enhances your mental well-being and allows your brain to refocus on other things besides the stress trigger. My personal favorite stress reliever is restorative yoga. I find restorative yoga to be more relaxing than traditional downward dog sequences. Here’s a free restorative yoga video on YouTube.
2. Eat healthier: Your diet has a reaffirming way of affecting your mood. Therefore eating a healthy diet is an important extension of self-care. You can use your diet to reduce your stress. Include a variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in your diet to stay help manage your stress. Avoid or limit your consumption of caffeine. Caffeine can make your stress level seem more prominent.
3. Refrain from unhealthy traits: Some people deal with stress and anxiety by overeating, drinking, or smoking. These toxic traits can provide you temporary relief from your stress, but prove hazardous for your health in the long run. And overindulging in these types of habits can lead you to be more stressed out.
4. Meditation/Breathing Exercise: Meditation refocuses your mind and attention away from jumbled thoughts that may be cramming your brain causing stress. It can encourage a sense of calmness and peace in your mind and balance your emotional well-being and overall health. Once you learn to meditate or practice breathing exercises you can do these stress-relieving activities anywhere. Here’s a free-breathing exercises video on YouTube. This video has over 1 million views, so I think it’s pretty safe to say many people use this technique to help with their stress and anxiety.
5. Laugh often: A good sense of humor can’t cure ailments, but can surely make you feel better. It won’t hurt to laugh and heal your grumpiness. When you laugh you not only lighten your mental load but also cause physical changes in your body. Laughter cools down your stress. So why don’t you go out and watch a comedy movie, hang out with funny friends, or just read some jokes off the internet?

Take away

Stress gives a major setback to health and life in general. Taking steps, no matter how small, will help clear the muddy waters of poor health and allow you to live and enjoy your life to the fullest. Try some of the stress relievers above to help manage your stress and improve your wellbeing.

If you have any other stress relievers you practice, leave them in the comments below.