5 Things You Can Do Right Now To Beat Stress
It’s 2021, and people are no longer afraid to show you when they stressed out. In fact, social media is rife with posts about how stressful this past year has been. Venting about how stressed you are is healthy, but what isn’t healthy is when you’re not trying to do something about it.
If you’re stressed out and want to find quick and easy ways to de-stress right now, we made a short list of the 5 best things you can do to manage stress better.
1. Get physical
You know how exercise is good for the body, because of the health benefits especially with weight loss? Exercise is also really healthy for the mind which is good news if you’re stressed out. Exercising (or just really sweating a lot while doing something physical) can be a form of stress release and stress relief at the same time.
When we do something moderately strenuous, it makes us tense our muscles and focuses our brain to do this one task. This muscle tensing and mind focusing is actually a really effective way of de-stressing or de-cluttering our senses, as you’re ultimately asking your body to forget about the stress for a while and focus on something that is more important.
That explains why so many people who work out feel good even though their bodies just took a beating for an hour or more.
2. Re-arrange your work room or desk
One of the most overlooked things that is stressing us out is the place we work. Work by itself is a really huge source of stress and you don’t want your workplace or desk to add to that stress.
Find ways to rearrange some of the items that can help you feel more relaxed or make it visually more motivating. Try adding family photos, photos of your friends, maybe a cute photo of your puppy or just some random funny animal picture.
You can also spice things up by adding one of those portable oil diffusers, preferably scented with something relaxing like lavender.
3. Watch a funny video
Laughter is one of the best medicines, and there are scientists and doctors who agree with this. Laughing is a way of relieving unnecessary tension and stress which clears up the mind and lets the body relax.
Laughter also makes you breathe in and out more, which is essentially why breathing exercises for stress work.
4. Go out for a long walk
One of the best things you can do right now to de-stress is to simply get up and go for a walk.
If you live in an area with lots of parks or trees, good! Nature has a way of calming us down and just making us feel less stressed. If it’s night, take this opportunity to look at the sky and count some stars.
If you live in the city or in a place with not so much greenery, still take a stroll. Take a quick tour of your neighborhood. The goal is to essentially remove yourself from a place of stress temporarily so your brain can have the time to process and prepare for whatever it is that is stressing you out.
5. Take a nap
If all else fails, just take a quick nap. A simple 15-minute nap can do wonders to help the mind take a break and adjust to a stressor better after you wake up.
Takeaway…
Stress is always there and it will never go away. Letting stress takeover our lives is something we all should prevent. We have to take charge of our mental health and stress isn’t really impossible to manage if you do any of the stress management activities we’ve listed.
