Bite Sized Lifestyle Tip #3 Stress Management Techniques I Swear By
Let’s face it, we all face some stress in our day to day lives. In fact, some stress is a good thing, as it can keep us motivated towards achieving our personal goals. However, when good (eustress) and bad (distress) are imbalanced this can wreck havoc on both our mind and body.
I might argue that stress management may exceed nutrition and physical activity in importance for optimal health. As many of you can likely relate, stress can transpire into physical symptoms in our bodies. Have you ever lost your appetite for days on end or experienced a complete dysregulation of your digestion? There’s a good chance stress may have played some role here.
I’ve also watched stress transpire into poor sleep patterns and halt weight loss due to an uptick in sugar cravings.
Because my mission is to help YOU with easy, effective solutions to optimize your health, I want to share my favorite stress reductions tools:
Paced Breathing- It’s physiologically proven that slow, deep breathing can stimulate our vagus nerve, activating our parasympathetic nervous system (the opposite of our “fight or flight” sympathetic system associated with stress). Paced breathing is not a complicated technique. It involves inhaling for 2-4 seconds, pausing, and exhaling for 4-6 seconds. Try multiple cycles of this until you notice a feeling of calm.
Use an App or Tracker for Breathing- The Fitbit actually comes with a feature called Relax that will guide you through a breathing exercise. This can be an easy way to reduce stress on the go. Apple Watch also has an equivalent Breathe app.
Guided Meditation- Meditation can be an incredibly valuable tool to bring mindfulness into all aspects of our day to day lives. Many don’t realize that it does not have to be a formal practice and can be done in a variety of ways. I highly recommend the Headspace app for newbies as it will actually teach you how to meditate. I LOVE the Insight Timer app for more on-demand meditations for specific situations. In fact, its sleep feature has been a game changer for both myself and my husband (more to come in the future).
Coloring- Anyone who knows me well can attest to my love of coloring as a means of stress relief. Yes, I have one of those coloring books for adults and a pen selection that has already run out of ink several times. There’s something about coloring that gets me out of my head and into the moment. It also has the added benefit of occupying our hands from the use of our phones or mindless munching in front of the TV. Link to my favorite coloring book and set of pens.
Write in on Paper: At times, our minds can be swimming with so many thoughts that the pure sum of information is enough to make us stressed. I find that pulling out a pen and paper (or the notes app on my phone) and writing down my thoughts/to-dos/stressors is incredibly helpful. I’m able to see my worries objectively and free some clutter from my mind.
Therapy- It’s unfortunate how much stigma surrounds the act of enlisting a professional. I can’t say enough good things about having an unbiased, objective individual to help guide you through the twists and turns of life. It’s certainly been invaluable to me. Finding it difficult to get linked up with an in-person option? Several clients have really enjoyed Talk Space as an easy, accessible way to gain access to a licensed therapist online.
What tools do you find to be effective in reducing stress?