Five Easy Ways to De-Stress
Most people have experienced stress – it is, after all, a fundamental part of modern life. But when stress becomes a problem, it is often referred to as distress.
Try out our five top tips below to unwind and relax
Me Time
- When you’re busy it’s important that you schedule some me time. It helps you to reduce stress and makes you feel good about yourself. A warm bath helps relax tensed nerves and makes you happier! What better way to end your weekend with a long relaxing bath and turn your own bathroom into a private spa by adding in some scented oil, a face mask and Use some fluffy towels that make you feel warm and comfortable.
Laugh
- Laughter reduces stress by increasing your intake of oxygen-rich air. This additional oxygen stimulates your heart, lungs, and muscles, and produces endorphins. It also fires up and cools down your stress response, which can elicit a relaxed feeling. So the next time you need to calm down, pull up your favourite funny YouTube video or watch a few minutes of a comedy set, and allow your body to benefit from a good laugh.
Break the Cycle
- It can be hard to think clearly when you feel anxious or stressed. Sometimes anxious thinking can make us believe harmful thoughts that are untrue or make us do things that make our anxiety worse. It can be helpful to break or interrupt your anxious thoughts so you can think clearly and react appropriately to your thoughts.
Here’s how to break your anxious thought cycle:
- Try different ways of interrupting your anxious thought process, such as:
- Singing a silly song about your anxiety to an upbeat tempo, or speaking your anxieties in a funny voice.
- Choose a nice thought to focus on instead of your anxiety. This could be a person you love, your happy place, or even something you look forward to doing later that day, such as eating a nice dinner.
- Listen to music or read a book.
- Be conscious when you shift your attention from your anxiety to a task at hand and notice how you feel.
Breath
- The key to deep breathing is to breathe deeply from the abdomen, getting as much fresh air as possible in your lungs. When you take deep breaths from the abdomen, rather than shallow breaths from your upper chest, you inhale more oxygen. The more oxygen you get, the less tense, short of breath, and anxious you feel.
- Sit comfortably with your back straight. Put one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach.
- Breathe in through your nose. The hand on your stomach should rise. The hand on your chest should move very little.
- Exhale through your mouth, pushing out as much air as you can while contracting your abdominal muscles. The hand on your stomach should move in as you exhale, but your other hand should move very little.
- Continue to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Try to inhale enough so that your lower abdomen rises and falls. Count slowly as you exhale.
If you find it difficult breathing from your abdomen while sitting up, try lying down. Put a small book on your stomach, and breathe so that the book rises as you inhale and falls as you exhale.
Exercise
The idea of exercising may not sound particularly soothing, but rhythmic exercise that gets you into a flow of repetitive movement can be very relaxing. Examples include: Running, Walking, Swimming, Dancing, Rowing and Climbing. Exercise and other physical activity produce endorphins chemicals in the brain that act as natural painkillers and also improve the ability to sleep, which in turn reduces stress. ... About five minutes of aerobic exercise can begin to stimulate anti-anxiety effects.
Some of our favourite de-stress products include Remedy Roots Inner Balance, The food medic for life simple recipes to help combat anxiety from the inside out and Faith in Nature body wash. Run this shampoo under the tap for a transporting aroma that is sure to clear your head!
If you have tried and tested any fo the tips above let us know :)
Love from
SBx