There’s a reason why they call stress the silent killer. When we experience bouts of stress, it can increase our blood pressure, boost our heartrate, flood our bodies with feelings of anxiety, induce muscle tension, headaches, fatigue, digestion problems, and even sleep deprivation. It can have a serious impact on your work and studies as stress can impact your memory and cognition, making it harder to retain vital information.
The good news is that there are many ways you can reduce your stress levels. Try a few of these methods to de-stress yourself before you wreck yourself.
Get Some Exercise
One of the best things you can do to ease stress is to exercise. Our bodies are stress burning machines; they just need to get moving to do the work. Whether you enjoy running, swimming, weightlifting, yoga, cycling, or other forms of exercise, one thing they all have in common is that they pump up your production of endorphins. Endorphins are our brain’s “feel good” neurochemical, a hormone that increases feelings of happiness and well-being while also reducing feelings of pain. Endorphins help relieve stress while calming us down, shifting our bodies out of anxious states. Exercise also can lower our heart rate and blood pressure, which both can be negatively impacted by stress.
Eat a Healthy Diet
There’s a saying in programming that applies to how our bodies work as well: “garbage in, garbage out.” A poor diet can exacerbate stress; a healthy, nutrient-rich diet can improve your mood and overall sense of well-being. A lack of proper nutrition can "starve" your neurons, which can disrupt the production of neurochemicals like serotonin and lead to inflammation, impacted cognition, anxiety, and a host of other health problems.
A poor diet while being stressed can be a vicious circle because stress can cause us to over-eat. At first, stress can cut down on your appetite because your body releases the hormone epinephrine (aka adrenaline) which will shut down your appetite. If the stress doesn’t go away, however, your body will release another hormone: cortisol. Unlike epinephrine, cortisol INCREASES appetite. Chronic stress can lead to extended bouts of “stress eating,” which can make the situation worse if you’re over-eating unhealthy snacks.
If you’re feeling hungry while stressed, avoid junk food. Grab some superfoods like cherries, eggs, nuts, berries, or green tea. Try to pace yourself and track what you’re eating. It can be easy to over-eat if you’re not keeping track of how much you’re consuming on a regular basis.
Take a Deep Breath
A simple and effective way to alleviate stress is to do some focused breathwork. Breathing exercises can impact our autonomic nervous system, which helps regulate our "fight or flight" response. Breathing exercises calm us down, increasing oxygen flow to the body, calming our nervous system, and reducing the production of cortisol. You don’t have to be a yoga student to do breathwork; simply sitting down and doing a series of slow, long, deep breaths for 5-10 minutes can do you a world of good.
Prioritize Rest
Do you get a full night’s sleep in? The average human being needs between 7-9 hours of sleep every night to function at full capacity. Considering all the responsibilities we juggle between work, family, friends, education, and maintaining our health, it can be difficult at times to get those 7-9 every night. It’s essential to try, though. Few things can have a more negative long-term impact on your stress levels than sleep deprivation. Being well-rested reduces stress; missing a few hours could greatly exacerbate it.
If you need to catch some Z’s, consider taking a nap when time allows for it. A quick “cat nap” can be quite rejuvenating. It’s no substitute for a full night’s rest but it can help calm you down and re-energize you during the middle of the day.
Be With Loved Ones
Humans are social animals. Being around each other and spending time with each other feels good; part of the reason for that is that our brain releases a pleasurable, stress-relieving hormone called oxytocin when we’re experiencing moments of trust, love, and connection with others. Studies have shown that spending time with friends and family can ease stress. The irony of this is that oftentimes people will isolate when they feel anxious or depressed despite the fact that being around people could be the cure to what ails them. When you feel stressed, resist the urge to be a hermit. Take your friends up on their offers to hang out. Go do social things even if you don’t feel like them. You may be surprised at how good you’ll feel afterward.
Article by Austin Brietta
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