Modern life is stressful. Naturally, then, most of us will find ourselves actively seeking respite at one time or another. Or, more commonly, at least once a week.
Of course, it pays to improve your work-life balance and generally reduce your exposure to stress. However, you cannot eliminate it from your world, which is why you must find ways to tackle it head on. Here are eight great options at your disposal.
Play Relaxing Games
If you’re looking for a way to de-stress, the goal is to take yourself away from the stressors in your life. Putting your focus on a game is one of the most effective solutions, not least because the results are instant. But you will want to avoid that title where you’re stuck on a level.
Instead, you should focus on simplistic and calming games. A quick word search could be the ideal choice. You can play at your own pace, do not need to worry about other players, and win every game. The latter feature is particularly important as it puts you in a positive mind.
Whether playing on a laptop, mobile, or console doesn’t matter. Gaming is ideal.
Complete A Workout
Stress reduction isn’t just about distracting yourself from stressors. When feeling stressed, it’s at least partly attributed to elevated cortisol levels. Working out is the best and quickest way to fight this through the release of endorphins. You can notice the rewards within minutes.
A home workout could involve using home gym features like a treadmill or stationary bike. Or you could complete body weight exercises. Yoga and related exercises that inject the benefits of meditation put your mind at ease with even greater impact.
Make it a part of your routine and general stress levels should also fall.
Clean The Home
When stress levels are spiked, cluttered and organized home surroundings make things far worse. Therefore, any of the other steps may deliver limited results until you have addressed this issue. It’s one you’ll dread before starting, but enjoy once you’ve started.
As well as cleaning the floors and surfaces, this is a chance to remove unwanted items. This creates more space to instantly make your home feel better. When coupled with a playlist of positive music, you should find that stress dissipates in next to no time.
Aside from making you less stressed, clean surroundings should keep you that way.
Take A Bath
Stress doesn’t only impact your state of mind. It may cause a variety of physical symptoms like headaches, digestive problems, chest pains, and high blood pressure. It can also impact your body’s natural defense systems. A hot bath can quickly soothe you to calm the symptoms.
If you truly want to remove yourself from stressful situations, you should go the extra mile. Bathing salts, calming music, and scented candles will elevate the experience. Above all else, you need some time to yourself. Distractions would stop true relaxation.
Showers are fine too, but a bath is where a truly relaxed state can be found.
Get A Good Night’s Rest
Sleep takes up one-third of your life. So, it would be very naive to underestimate its importance on your health. It gives your body a chance to physically repair itself, thus reducing physical stress. Moreover, it controls cortisol levels to bolster overall mental wellness.
Even one good night’s rest has an impact. But a winning routine is required if you want to see the best results. Sleeping at around the same time every night aids circadian rhythm. The right choice of mattress for your firmness level preferences will aid the cause too.
Sleep well and you will feel significantly less stressed.
Read
As already mentioned, you probably want to distract yourself from whatever has caused stress. Then again, you will not want to take on any task that is overly taxing or mentally challenging. Reading is the perfect option that provides escapism without negative impacts.
You already know which book genres you love. Opting for a Kindle rather than a device with blue light can be useful. Alternatively, you could choose a traditional book. Physically turning the pages adds an almost therapeutic element that helps you get lost for an hour or two.
When you return to whatever task caused stress with fresh eyes, you should feel a difference.
Call A Loved One
Thanks to modern tech and social media, we can follow the lives of our loved ones with greater ease than ever before. However, there’s nothing quite like talking to them. It creates a far more authentic bond, which leads to increased happiness and reduced stress.
The DMs or Whatsapp messages are fine. For the most impactful results, though, you want to hold an audio call or video call. Even a 30-minute conversation with a friend or relative transforms your state of mind. Not least when you live far apart and don’t see them often.
You will enrich their day in the process too. Perfect.
Embrace The Garden
A little sunshine and fresh air is sure to bring a little peace to your world. The chance to do this in the privacy of your own backyard takes things to another level. Not least because you avoid any potential stress linked to travel or being surrounded by loud or disrespectful people.
Building a deck or patio offers the perfect spot to relax. Whether eating BBQ food or growing plants in raised flowerbeds doesn’t matter. The chance to spend time out in your own little nature spot is a wonderful thing. The slow pace is sure to help relax your mindset too.
From managing a bout of stress to generally preventing it, the garden is your secret weapon.
The Final Word
Stress should never be ignored. The change of scenery from work or public settings back to the home certainly helps. Nevertheless, it is vital that you actively seek ways to calm your nerves and keep stress at bay. Now that you have several options available, staying ahead of this challenge should be far simpler.
