Are you feeling stressed?
I’d be surprised if you weren’t. Between the growing demands of our jobs, raising a family while working full-time, and the increasing need to stay connected all day every day, most of us feel stressed out more often than we like to admit. Add to it a chronic lack of sleep and exercise and you have a recipe for disaster.
Are you ready to actively do something to reduce stress on a daily basis? If not, I would like to encourage you to pick up and develop daily habits that help you to accomplish just that. Stress not only reduces your quality of life; it can also negatively affect your health. There’s a reason why they say stress is not good for us. Start doing something about it and embrace life to the fullest with some of these simple techniques that help you stress less, relax and enjoy life more.
Start Meditating
One of the best tools for reducing stress is meditation. You can start with a simple breathing meditation by getting comfortable in a quiet spot and focusing on relaxing and focusing on your breath. From there, work at being mindful in the moment by being really present and focused on what you are doing right now in the moment. Next you could hum a tune while you drive or shower Set aside 15 minutes each day to meditate and relax purposefully and see how that improves things.
Keep a Journal
This one may surprise you. A journal is an effective tool to help you let go of things and create new ways of thinking. The simple act of writing about 3 things that went well that day and why you feel that they went well can lead to a happier life, do this consistently for about 3 months and see how things improve. A journal is also a great tool to help you look back and regroup on things that have happened, this is directive journaling. Ask yourself these questions for events that did not go as planned or events that went poorly or didn’t go the way you wanted them too. Q1- What can I learn from that experience? Q2- What would I do differently if something like that were to happen again? Q3- What is one positive thing I can take away from this? Q4- How can I take this learning and apply it to other areas of my life? Once you have regrouped the experience let it go because you have gotten what you need from it. Rehashing it more is a waste of time and energy.
Go for A Walk
Another simple, but very powerful technique is to go for a walk. Get outside or out in nature if possible, but if that’s not a good option, hop on a treadmill or pace around your house. It doesn’t take a lot of walking before you start to see the benefits. If you only have ten minutes, walk. If you have an hour lunch break, walk for 20 minutes and spend the rest of the time relaxing and eating. Make it work and get in the habit of walking regularly.
Hug
That’s right. Something as simple as a hug can help you relax and feel better. Make sure the hug is genuine on both sides, and for best results hold the embrace for at least twenty seconds. Relax into the hug. You’ll start to feel yourself calm and those endorphins will flood your system. Don’t have anyone around to hug at the moment? Laughing out loud is pretty powerful too. Even fake laughing for a few minutes often leads to real laughing. Turn on a fun comedy or comedian that leaves you in stitches.
Clean Up Your Diet
Take a look at what you’re putting into your mouth. A clean diet of mostly whole foods that’s low in sugars and preservatives will nourish your body and create a better microbiome which has now been scientifically proven to affect how we feel and think. It will also help you feel calmer and more in control. Start making some small changes and notice how you start to feel better.
Sleeping Better
When we don’t sleep well we get grumpy, it’s harder to focus, and every little problem suddenly becomes insurmountable. You feel a lot more stressed throughout the day and it only gets worse if you end up sleeping poorly for several days in a row.
Some good habits to establish for better sleep! Start by establishing a bedtime routine. Go to bed at the same time every night, even on the weekends. It helps your body get into a rhythm that makes falling asleep and staying asleep easier. Cut distractions from your bedroom. That means leaving your phone in the living room. If you need an alarm, go buy an alarm clock. Those alerts and notifications are keeping you from getting into those all-important deep sleep zones. Turn off the lights and have a good look around your bedroom. Are there any small indicator lights or blinking lights? Remove them if possible. Listen for any sounds from electronics and the likes. Make your bedroom a calm, quiet, and dark place of rest. One of the most important, is to change your screen time at night. Our eyes and the way they process light, including the light waves from our screens have a big impact on how alert the body is. One of the worst habits we’ve all developed is to look at our phones while attempting to go to sleep. Biologically it’s the equivalent of watching the sunrise. Stop telling your body it’s time to get up while you’re trying to go to sleep. Instead, focus on calming activities like reading(a real book), talking with your partner, or meditating for at least 15 min. before going to sleep. Reduce screen time for a few hours before bed or at the very least invest in blue light filtered glasses or install an app that changes your display at night.
Watch A Session On Positive Prime
This is a relatively new technology that has been scientifically verified to assist you into getting into a flow state in 3 min. a day. Based in Neuroscience and Positive Psychology it is a tool that is easy to use with wonderful benefits. If you would like to test drive it for 30 days please click the link below as my gift to you. As with any tool it is only good if you use it! If you have questions about it or if you want a demonstration of how it works and how to get the most out of it please contact me.
Nadine Hanchar helps individuals and businesses build better relationships, discover new choices, new perspectives, and create success. Nadine is a counsellor, consultant, speaker, and trainer with over 35 years’ experience helping others professionally. She is a bestselling author and specializes in working with trauma, abuse, relationship issues, and communication. Learn more at ProgressivePlus.com and connect with Nadine on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.
Call to book a consultation 1-800-449-4657 in Canada 1-250-384-1341or Book Online