In a world where we are always on the run trying to make ends meet and create a better life for ourselves and that of our dependents, we are sure to build-ups stress and always experience tiredness. Creating time for relaxation seems nearly impossible, especially if our only ideas of relaxation revolve around taking vacations or days off work to stay back at home. Although these are great ways to calm your nerves and get a breather, there are several other ways we can reduce or handle stress.
It’s key to know that, we cannot completely avoid the sources of stress in our lives, but we can do better to develop healthier ways of responding to them.
Take a walk:
It may not sound like it, but taking a long slow walk could help you release some stress, as it allows you to enjoy the scenery or environment around you. This can be super effective if you walk in a vegetative environment. The park is also a great place to take a walk around. Just seeing new faces and children and adults having fun could be relaxing for the mind.
Ask a loved one for a long hug:
As adults who often want to appear strong and have it all together, it may be hard for us to ask for hugs when going through tough patches or experiencing stress because we do not want to appear weak. But trust me, hugs could be essentially relaxing. When you hug someone, oxytocin, which is also known as the “cuddle hormone” is released. This “cuddle hormone” is associated with higher levels of happiness, which reduces stress.
Practice progressive muscle relaxation:
This involves flexing all the muscles in your body. Moving your arm in a circular motion, stretching out your legs, coiling your feet, taking deep breaths, etc. Each time you tighten and relax each muscle, you get to feel a relaxed feeling sweeping through your entire body. These simple movements when done in a relaxed manner can contribute to reducing stress levels.
Meditation:
The mind is one part of our body that is always at work. Whether you realize it, it is always at work. Think of what to eat, your brain is at it already, thinking through getting one flavor of ice cream or another, the brain is at it. The act of meditation helps to not only calm the brain nerves but helps with the relaxation of our entire body. There are several ways to meditate. Mindfulness has proven to help many people. You could try that or research other techniques that could be of great help to you.
Read more; 5 FOODS THAT HELP WITH BOOSTING YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEMS
Create time for leisure activities;
Your life cannot be too busy for hobbies or games or other fun activities. Although it sounds so simple, it is never the case especially in our world today. Which is why you must consciously make time for leisure activities. For instance, when you find joy in reading fiction novels, create time for it. I have heard several people say they enjoy reading fiction novels because they take away from their current world for a moment. They take to another world. Frankly, that makes sense because you need to envision all the scenes you are reading and as you read, you become a character yourself. This might reduce your stress level.
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