Stress, as we know it can affect not just your body but also your thoughts, feelings and behaviour. Too much of it can cause serious health problems, including:
• Cardiovascular diseases, including heart disease, high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, heart attacks, and stroke.
• Mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and personality disorders.
What’s frightening about stress is that a lot of people are not aware that they are already suffering from it and some even deny to be experiencing it.
It is very important to be aware of what stress can do to your body and to be able to recognize its symptoms. Listening to the warning signs of stress can save you from its horrible prison. Here we list some of the early signs of stress:
– Anxiety
– Fatigue
– Irritability
– Short temper
– Loss of appetite or overeating “comfort foods”
– Headaches, muscle tension, neck or back pain
– Upset stomach
– Dry mouth
– Chest pains, rapid heartbeat
– Difficulty falling or staying asleep
– Increased frequency of colds
– Lack of concentration or focus
– Memory problems or forgetfulness
– Jitters
And to help you break the connection between you and stress, we have listed 8 simple ways to do so:
1. Meditate
Meditation can be a great way to relax, especially if you are under a lot of stress. Start practising deep-breathing and inward-focused thought-making. This is also best done in quiet and calming places, doing so helps your mind and body to relax.
2. Take a Walk in Nature
Brisk walking or a walk in the park can boost endorphins that help improve your mood, soothe your mind and lower stress and mild depression. The combination of exercise, (or any outdoor activity) solitude and the beauty of nature can be incredibly restorative and calming.
3. Try Yoga on the Beach or in Nature
Yoga has been found to improve balance, flexibility, strength and social functioning. During yoga, your cortisol level drops. These are natural stress hormones that are released by the body during periods of physical and emotional stress.
Doing this on the beach puts you in a meditative mood. The sound of the ocean waves does a lot of magic.
4. Go Scuba Diving
Scuba diving is said to improve the function of your circulatory system. When you go diving, all you hear is the bubbles you exhale, and the breath you take afterwards.
It’s an hour of underwater meditation where you can’t talk or focus on much else than your diving. Work is left on land, your phone is not within reach, the only gadget is your dive computer, that’s telling you your dive time and depth. Most people are completely stressed off once done with the dive of the week.
5. Drink Green Tea with a Good Friend
Green tea contains polyphenols that help reduce the formation of free radicals in the body, protecting cells, molecules, and other structures from damage.
This works like a restorative routine. How much more when you drink tea with a friend?
6. Exercise Daily
This is not rocket science to anyone. We all know that exercise helps your body in multiple ways. Daily exercise improves your brain function and protects memory and thinking skills.
After doing exercise, your brain releases more endorphins, which will elevate your mood for the day. This helps you gain a sound mind and a healthy body.
7. Listen to Music
Study shows that dopamine (the “feel-good” neurochemical) is released when we listen to good music. This helps with mood, memory, learning and basic brain function.
8. Get a Massage
Massage has been found to be an effective treatment for reducing stress, pain and muscle tension. Getting a massage helps your tissues relax and increases the flow of blood and oxygen essentially improving your brain function giving you better mood and boosting your energy.
Do not be improsoned under the devastating chains of stress. Life is too short and there’s much to explore. Be stress-free and live your life to the fullest!