One of the most underrated types of stress that many people experience every single day is work-related (pressure at work), financial (financial pressures), social (having too much social pressure), and time (whether or not people are getting their messages on different platforms such as WhatsApp and Instagram). A small amount of stress can keep you awake; however, prolonged exposure to stress can lead to a decline in mental and physical health.
While a small amount of stress allows for the momentum to complete productive tasks, excessive amounts of stress can be damaging to both the mental and physical aspects of your life. Several studies conducted by organizations such as the World Health Organization have indicated that long term exposure to stress could lead to anxiety, sleeplessness, heart related illnesses, etc.
Identifying Daily Stressors
Normal everyday stressors will ultimately lead to stress accumulating in the body; however understanding what is causing your stressors in the day and identifying healthy and effective ways to combat them is the best way to help manage your stress. Not only do we not notice the prevalence of many of our stressors, we often don’t see how they affect our mood and energy levels either.
Examples of daily stressors that can create added burden and ultimately elevate your mental pressure without you knowing, are checking your phone right away in the morning or constantly switching back and forth with tasks (multitasking). Some more examples of potentially chronic stressors are having very tight schedules, having no control of the situation, and poor communication within your professional or personal networks.
Reducing Stress in Daily Life
During times of high stress, you would be surprised by how much your stress level can be reduced by simply establishing boundaries, taking some short breaks, and limiting your exposure to distractions. It’s important to be aware of the stressors around us, but it’s more important to know how to deal with that stress.
Many people will tell you they started their day with an unhappy experience. For some it has been a long commute and dealing with morning traffic.
Breathing Techniques
According to scientists such as those associated with Harvard Medical School, when you breathe slowly and with deeper depths, you can trigger the body’s relaxation response, lowering your heart rate, decreasing tension in the body, and promoting an overall feeling of serenity in just minutes.
Methods You Can Do Now
- Slow exhale (through your mouth)
Exercise and Stress Relief
The release of endorphins calms and makes you feel better than you will without exercising. Just doing something such as walking, stretching, or doing gentle exercise can make a big difference when it comes to your stress level.
Many entities, including the American Heart Association, demonstrate that routine physical activity not only helps to maintain a healthy body but also contributes to the mental component of a person. Many people believe that in order for exercise to have an impact on reducing stress, it must be vigorous in nature, but if you are consistently exercising with a moderate level of intensity, the outcome can drastically reduce your level of stress and produce greater energy levels.
Simple Techniques to Be Active
Simple Techniques to Be Active Being physically active doesn’t require an expensive gym membership or a rigid workout schedule to be able to become physically active. Small daily changes in your lifestyle will provide a cumulative effect with time that will give you success in maintaining your activity level without feeling overwhelmed.
Examples
- walk to where you want to go for less than five minutes
- climb up stairs rather than use an elevator
- stretch when you are at home
You can find fast workouts designed for beginners on trusted sites like Nike Training Club that will fit into your hectic lifestyle.
Sleep and Stress Management
One of the most important things to consider about the way your body processes stress is the quantity and quality of sleep that you get. Lack of adequate sleep will cause an increase in sensitivity to stress.
Sleep Environment
Creating a good sleep environment plays a very important role in the creation of restorative quality sleep.
Tips
- Avoid using your devices and/or scrolling through apps shortly before going to sleep
Impact of Sleep on Stress Long-term Sleep has a positive effect on the body’s energy to deal with day-to-day stress as it provides good health through both quality and quantity, allowing us to have increased ability to be attentive, patient, and emotionally stable.
Long-term sleep will assist in building resilience and coping with daily stressors calmly. Good sleep habits also provide a better chance of making good decisions and will improve one’s overall life experience.
Mindfulness
Considerable amounts of mindfulness can be achieved by spending a few minutes each day and will create a significant amount of calmness in a person. Mindfulness has been advocated by many experts and public figures, including Jon Kabat-Zinn, as a powerful tool for reducing stress.
There are no special tools or long periods of practice needed; becoming aware of your breathing, your surroundings or your thoughts on an non-judgmental basis will accomplish a large amount of mindfulness.
Daily Practices
- Look at your thoughts without reacting to them
- Be present while doing something simple
- Don’t over-multitask if possible
Gratitude
Building Gratitude into Your Life as a Habit Practicing daily gratitude will eventually change how one experiences stress; we will start to look for the positive experiences we have even when we are experiencing challenges; and, as our perspective on daily stressors improves, we develop stronger emotional resiliency.
Start by thinking of three things for which you are grateful for every day; these can be something as simple as having a good conversation with someone, having a restful experience (long hot bath) or anything that you feel thankful for. After a period of time habitually writing three simple things every day will develop a feeling of contentment instead of being overwhelmed.
Summary
The key to incorporating the above is to begin with one small change. You don’t have to make all the changes at the same time; one or two small changes can have a significant impact on your level of happiness.
As you incorporate more of the above recommended changes into your life, you will have created small modifications which will eventually be long-term habits you rely on to help maintain and promote your physical and emotional health. When you recognize your daily stressors and develop a plan to accomplish a greater amount of peace and relaxation in your life through purposeful and intentional choices daily, you will create a more enjoyable life.
