Control Your Stress

Tips to Help Control Stress

Healthy Diet

A balanced diet can support a healthy immune system and the repair of damaged cells. It provides the extra energy needed to cope with stressful events.

Mindful Eating

When we “stress-eat,” we eat quickly without noticing what or how much we’re eating, which can lead to weight gain. Mindful eating practices counteract stress by encouraging deep breaths, making thoughtful food choices, focusing attention on the meal, and chewing food slowly and thoroughly. This increases enjoyment of the meal and improves digestion.

Regular exercise

Physical activity will help to lower blood pressure and stress hormone levels. Aerobic exercise like walking and dancing increases breathing and heart rate so that more oxygen reaches cells throughout the body. This reduces tension in muscles, including the heart.

Meditation or deep breathing techniques

Fast, shallow breathing and erratic thoughts occur in response to stress. Therefore, take slow deep breaths to reduce muscular tension, lower the heart rate, and calm the mind. Whenever you feel stressed, breathe slowly, focusing on each in- and out-breath. Through this simple act, your parasympathetic nervous system kicks in and can help you calm down.

Mental health counseling or other social support

Feeling alone can add to stress. It can help to talk through feelings and concerns with a trusted individual. Often, just realizing that you are not alone and that your feelings are not unusual can help lower stress.

Practicing work-life balance

Use vacation and personal time, or just set aside an hour a day. A periodic escape from the pressures of work can do wonders to reduce stress, increase productivity, and decrease the risk of physical and mental illnesses that are associated with workplace burnout.

Schedule fun activities or hobbies at least once a week

Gardening, reading, enjoying music, getting a massage, hiking in nature, and cooking a favorite recipe are examples of welcome stress relievers.

Good sleep hygiene

Stress can cause a heightened sense of alertness, which delays the onset of sleep as well as cause interrupted sleep throughout the night. This can prevent one from entering the deeper sleep stages in which the body repairs and grows tissue and supports a healthy immune system.