How to relieve stress comes down to a healthy lifestyle, dietary changes, and changing your thought process.

There is no fast-fix cure for stress, and no method is a universal solution. Stress is a product of long-standing stimuli that have slowly but surely broken your body. Hence, resolution strategies take time to work as well.

However, you can help ease stress through simple steps, such as relaxation, walking, exercising and having a positive conversation. Stress is a fact of life, and while certain stressors are normal and even necessary, too much can affect your health.

Here are some simple things you can employ to reduce stress:

Engage in regular moderate exercise

• Walking, yoga or swimming has been shown to reduce stress because exercise releases positive stress-busting endorphins, which can boost self-confidence and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Diet

• Eating a healthy diet rich in dark greens and chlorophyll-containing food is beneficial for stress relief.
• Because chronic stress can deplete your body of essential B vitamins, as well as magnesium and calcium, it is critical to obtain these nutrients through diet or supplementation.
• Caffeine and sugar should be avoided in excess because these stimulants can contribute to stress and depression.

Get adequate sleep

• Undisturbed sleep is critical for stress reduction.
• Stress can physically exhaust your body, and you will feel the impacts of stress even more if you don’t get enough sleep.

Think positively

• Work to reduce stress by learning different ways of thinking, such as knowing when to let something go to help avoid getting upset about minor things.

Deep breathing exercises

• Controlling your breathing to counteract stress activates your parasympathetic nervous system and assists relaxation. Deep breathing helps concentrate your attention on breathing, and you breathe slower and deeper.
• Deep breathing exercises come in a variety of forms. Learning to control your breathing is extremely beneficial in combating stress-related attacks.
• Deep breathing techniques are frequently included in mindfulness and yoga classes.

Increase physical contact with your loved ones

• Positive physical touch promotes the release of oxytocin and reduces cortisol levels. As a result, blood pressure and pulse rate are lower, and tension and anxiety are less frequent.

Meditate

• Meditation is a technique to cultivate a relaxation response. Brain scans of regular mediators show reduced activity in pain-related regions of the brain and increased activity in emotion-regulation regions.
• Several people reported that pain and stress had less impact on them. They may still be there, but they matter less and are less distressing.

Pursue hobbies

• Gardening, baking, painting, and reading can be therapeutic.
• Make some time for yourself and indulge in your hobbies.

Supervising your thought process is only half the battle, but if you work on reducing stress through a healthy lifestyle and dietary changes, you can avoid escalating stress-related issues. A professional can tailor strategies based on your specific stressors and personality to help you deal with stress. Don’t put off seeing a psychologist until your health and quality of life get better.

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Medically Reviewed on 8/25/2021

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