6 Stress Relieving Tips You Must Try Right Away
Stress can be a key motivator for many people and an essential mechanism for survival since it is stress that triggers a person's fight-or-flight instinct and tells them how to react to danger and threats. However, if there are too many stressors or if a person gets triggered too easily, stress can deteriorate the person's physical and mental health.
What is stress? Stress can be considered a natural defense mechanism against threats and danger. When a person is stressed, hormones are released in the body that prepares the system to either confront the danger or evade it. Commonly referred to as the fight-or-flight response.
This article will walk you through 6 effective stress-relieving tips to help you release all your stress and achieve an overall physically and mentally healthier life. But before we get to that, let us discuss how stress impacts the human body and which people are most affected by it.
The Fundamentals: How Does Stress Affect the Body?
Being in a constant state of stress, a condition known as chronic stress, can lead to various physical symptoms, which include headaches, nausea, high blood pressure, muscle pain, difficulty sleeping, and intimacy issues. Chronic stress can also induce mental and emotional issues, panic attacks, depression, and anxiety.
Whenever humans find themselves in the face of danger, their bodies have a natural and partially physical response. The body mobilizes resources that either compels you to flee and get to safety as fast as you can or stay and confront the danger.
Harvard Health Publishing reports in its article, "Understanding the stress response,” that the body responds to stress by releasing several hormones, including cortisol and epinephrine. A sudden increase in the concentration of these hormones triggers the following physical reactions:
● Heightened muscle preparedness
● Sweating
● High blood pressure
● Alertness
The American Psychological Association explains in its publication called “Stress effects on the body” that when a body is stressed, it automatically tightens the muscles in order to protect itself against pain and harm. When there is a rapid increase in stress, the muscles stiffen up all at once and then relax once the stress has subsided.
Chronic stress, however, causes the body's muscles to be more or less in a constant state of flex. Long-term muscle tension can potentially cause various bodily reactions and induce stress-related diseases. For instance, headaches and migraines are often the cause of extended muscle tension in the neck, shoulder, or head areas.
Stress can also potentially cause the airway between the lungs and nose to compress, resulting in problems such as shortness of breath or rapid breathing.
Momentary stress, also known as acute stress, releases the stress hormones cortisol, noradrenaline, and adrenaline which directly cause the heart rate to increase and the heart muscle contraction to become stronger. This causes the blood vessels to expand, in doing so, increasing the blood pressure.
Chronic stress, or persistent stress, on the other hand, can cause heart and blood vessel issues in the long run. The continual, steady rise in heart rate and the increased concentration of stress hormones elevate the likelihood of heart attacks and hypertension.
Persisting chronic stress or recurring acute stress can potentially also cause the circulatory system to swell, especially in the coronary arteries, and lead to heart attacks. Chronic stress can also disrupt the communication between the HPA axis and the immune system.
This disrupted communication has been found to cause problems such as chronic fatigue, immune disorders, depression, and metabolic disorders in the future.
By now, it should be clear that high levels of persisting or recurring stress can be extremely detrimental to a person's physical and mental health. Knowing this, our topmost priority should be to assess whether our behavior exhibits any signs of stress and if it does, we should adopt suitable measures for mitigating the stress in our lives.
Who Is Most Affected by Stress?
According to research and common observation, it is quite evident that the people most affected by stress are adults. The reasons for stress tend to vary from person to person, and quite often, we'll find that people are suffering from multiple stressors at any one time.
It is common knowledge that adults in America are affected by stress the most. The American Psychological Association reported in its publication “Stress and decision-making during the pandemic" that 32% of Americans, almost one-in-three, said that they were so stressed out by the COVID-19 pandemic sometimes that they struggled to make even basic decisions.
Another study conducted by the same organization found that 78% of Americans, almost eight out of ten, claimed that the COVID-19 pandemic was a source of significant stress in their lives. These results verify that the pandemic was one of the leading stress issues for American adults in the last few years.
However, as mentioned above, the pandemic is not the only stressor that people suffer from. The American Institute of Stress reports that some of the biggest contributors to stress in the American population currently include the rising prices of commodities such as energy, gas, and groceries due to inflation.
However, it doesn't stop here; some other major stressors are global uncertainty, supply chain issues, the Russia and Ukraine war, the potential retaliation from Russia in the form of nuclear threats or cyberattacks, and of course, unbearable workloads.
Signs of Stress
Various physical, emotional, and behavioral symptoms can be used to identify if you or someone close to you is suffering from stress. These common signs of stress include body pain, exhaustion, high blood pressure, depression and anxiety, lack of attention, and mood swings.
The first step to solving any problem or disease, be it physical or mental, is first to diagnose and identify the problem and then come up with suitable remedies for the issue. Similarly, you cannot just expect stress to disappear on its own magically. You first have to diagnose yourself or your loved one to see if they’re struggling with stress and then apply the appropriate remedies for it, which we’ll discuss later in this article.
Outlined below are some of the most common physical signs of stress to help you identify it:
● Muscle pains and headaches
● Digestive problems
● Autoimmune diseases
● Heart disease
● Skin conditions, such as eczema
● High blood pressure.
● Weight problems
● Muscle tension or jaw clenching.
● Thinking and memory problems
● Reproductive issues
However, as we know, stress can rear its head in the form of emotional and behavioral symptoms as well. Outlined below are some of the most common emotional and behavioral signs of stress:
● Depression & Anxiety
● Inability to concentrate or make simple decisions
● Becoming rather vague
● Memory lapses
● Easily distracted
● Undue worrying/racing thoughts
● Less intuitive & creative
● Feeling overwhelmed, unmotivated, or unfocused
● Negative thinking
● Insomnia or waking still tired
● Clumsiness
● Irritable
● Extra sensitive to criticism
● Mood swings
● Defensive and insecure
● Lack of motivation
● Angry and frustrated
● Lack of confidence
● Lack of self-esteem
6 Effective Stress-Relieving Tips to Help You Achieve a Healthier Life
One of the most effective ways to reduce stress and achieve a physically and mentally healthier life is to engage in more physical activities, do yoga, and reduce procrastination.
However, these aren't the only stress-relieving tips we have for you. Here are some other effective stress-relieving tips to help you out:
1. Get on a Healthy Diet
There is a very common yet potent saying in the nutrition and fitness world that falls along the lines of "You Are What You Eat," and we believe this couldn't be any truer. This is because the food we eat, our diet in general, influences every part of our body and health; this includes mental health as well.
A study published by the National Library of Medicine, called “Diet quality, stress and common mental health problems: A cohort study of 121,008 adults," found that people who consume a lot of processed and sugar-containing foods have higher chances of experiencing high levels of perceived stress.
By reducing your consumption of sugary and processed foods and beverages and following a more organic and whole-food-based diet can help ensure that your body is properly nourished. This can potentially enhance your resilience to stress.
2. Reduce Your Screen Time
Smartphones, tablets, and computers are an essential part of our daily life; however, overusing them can lead to stress. Numerous studies have reinforced these claims and have even proved that using smartphones for extended periods of time has been linked to poor psychological well-being and higher levels of stress in kids and adults both.
Moreover, frequent usage of electronic devices has also been known to deteriorate sleep quality and duration, both of which can lead to high-stress levels.
3. Practice Self-Care
One of the most effective stress-relieving tips is adopting self-care habits and practices in your day-to-day life. You should set aside some time in your day and dedicate it to taking care of yourself and doing things that help you relax and unwind. Some practical examples include:
● going for a walk outside
● reading a good book
● taking a bath
● exercising
● getting a massage
● stretching before bed
● practicing yoga
Neglecting self-care has been known to be a major cause of high-stress levels and burnout. Knowing this, you should make sure to take out some time each day and treat yourself to things and activities you find soothing.
4. Reduce Your Caffeine Consumption
Caffeine is a substance that is generally found and consumed in the form of tea, coffee, chocolate, and energy drinks. While caffeine has several benefits in and of itself, such as improving metabolism and boosting your energy levels, too much consumption of this substance can ruin your sleep routine and quality by not allowing you to fall asleep.
A lack of proper sleep is a very common and strong stress inducer. Furthermore, excessive caffeine consumption has also been associated with worsening anxiety.
The maximum amount of caffeine that each person can tolerate varies. Consider reducing your intake of caffeine by substituting your coffee and energy drinks with decaffeinated herbal tea or water, especially if you find that caffeine makes you behave anxious and jittery.
5. Spend Time in Nature
The National Library of Medicine claims in its study called “Levels of Nature and Stress Response,” that immersing oneself in nature and spending time in green spaces such as forests and parks is an effective remedy for managing and releasing stress.
It is believed that spending even only 10 minutes in a natural environment can drastically improve the physiological and psychological well-being of a person and help reduce perceived stress. Camping and hiking are great options for spending time with nature. However, many people don't have access to these activities.
In such a case, you could instead retreat to public parks or botanic gardens in your area.
6. Practice Deep and Controlled Breathing
We have already discussed how stress triggers the fight or flight instinct in a person and causes the muscles to tense up, the heartbeat to grow faster, and quicker and shorter breaths due to constricted blood vessels.
Taking deep and controlled breaths is an excellent way to counter these symptoms by activating your parasympathetic nervous system. Doing so helps relax your muscles and blood vessels and allows your body to normalize its heart rate and blood flow circulation.
Key Takeaways
Chronic and acute stress is one of the most common problems faced by American adults today. There are a number of reasons that have contributed to this stress, such as inflation, global uncertainty, and of course, heavy workloads. However, there are also a number of ways to release all the accumulated stress, such as taking deep breaths, spending time in nature, doing more physical activities, yoga, reducing caffeine intake, and following a healthy diet.
Implementing all the stress-relieving tips outlined above should help you achieve an overall healthier and happier life where you and your loved ones can feel fulfilled. That being said, your topmost priority should be to avoid activities and habits that bring you stress in the first place.