4 Natural Ways To Reduce Stress Today
Stress has its purpose and place - like when you need to push through to win the race, hit the deadline, or birth the baby. It can push us to peak performance and get us out of our comfort zone to succeed. The problem is, too many of us have stress constantly lingering around and building up over time. This is when stress can start to do some serious damage to both our mental and physical health.
Stress is inevitable so it is important to be able to manage it effectively when it is thrown your way. We will discuss some of the best stress management techniques that are simple, effective, and you can begin today.
1) Sleep
This shouldn’t come as a surprise, yet almost 70 million Americans report insufficient sleep. It’s imperative to get between 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night. Inadequate sleep raises your cortisol levels (stress hormone), and an elevated cortisol level leads to inadequate sleep! It can be a vicious downhill spiral that so many are trapped in today.
There are multiple ways to improve sleep with some of the most necessary being:
Have a consistent sleep routine. Wake up and go to bed at the same time every day. Prepare for bed doing the same activities each night (i.e. bath, brush teeth, read, bed)
Wind down before bed with meditation, breathwork, Epsom salt bath
Avoid screens (TV, phone, tablet, etc.) for at least an hour before going to sleep
2) Breathing Techniques
Did you know that we can actually forget to breathe correctly when we’re stressed?! It’s true. Our breathing often becomes faster, more shallow, and we aren’t getting the proper oxygen we need. Controlling the speed and depth of our breath is one thing that we can do to not only reduce stress, but to also lower blood pressure, lower heart rate, and even improve cognitive function.
Try this breathing technique: Square Breathing:
Begin by slowly exhaling all of your air out.
Then, gently inhale through your nose to a slow count of 4.
Hold at the top of the breath for a count of 4.
Then gently exhale through your mouth for a count of 4.
At the bottom of the breath, pause and hold for the count of 4.
Repeat for at least 2 minutes and continue for as long as needed until you feel calm.
3) Meditation
Meditation can be a very powerful tool to reduce stress, and it may also to help reduce inflammation, improve cognitive processing, reduce pain, and more. Meditation takes many different forms, however the overarching purpose is to bring attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally stable state. Those that practice the most often receive the most benefits.
For beginners: There are many apps available that use guided meditations to help you achieve the desired state of calmness. Some I recommend are Insight Timer, Headspace, Calm, and BrainTap.
4) Mindset
Did you know that stress is all perception? In other words, the only reason we are stressed out about a situation is that we perceive it to be stressful. So, if we constantly tell ourselves that we are stressed out, our brain sees that as a threat and heightens the stress response even further.
If we can reframe the way we see stress, we may be able to reduce it all together. The next time you perceive a situation as stressful, try to reframe that thought into simply thinking of it as a healthy challenge rather than a threat.
Here’s How:
Notice the thought going in on your head
Is this thought true or is it something you created?
Reframe the thought to the positive so that you perceive it as a challenge and opportunity to learn or grow.
Summary
Stress is not going anywhere anytime soon. We need to have the tools available to manage it effectively. This takes practice, but know that the more you engage in the techniques listed above, the quicker your body will learn to manage. So the next time you are stressed, try getting adequate sleep, doing a guided meditation, a few minutes of Square breathing, or shift your thinking about stress altogether.
