Healthy, Practical Ways To Combat Stress
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It may not feel like it, but some stress is good. It kicks in when we need it most, and focuses our mind when we’re about to have an important meeting, sit an exam, or something similar. Then, we have stress that isn’t so good. This can be a serious drain on our physical, mental and emotional health, and cause sudden, emotional outbursts, fluctuation in weight, and erratic mood swings. Here’s a few proven tips for combatting it.
Fit Some Exercise In
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Okay, you’re probably bored to tears of hearing this advice come up again and again. However, there’s a reason why everyone seems to be nagging everyone else to get more exercise. Aside from keeping your weight under control, it also makes you feel great! Getting your body moving is absolutely essential to mitigating excessive, stressful chemical reactions in your body, and prevent these from cropping up in the future. When you’re getting regular, vigorous exercise, it can serve to make you feel much more light, nimble and energized, ensuring you’re much better-prepared to take life’s trials and stresses as they come. You don’t have to go from little physical activity to full-blown Rocky montages. Just moving your body a little, on a regular basis, can make a world of difference to how well you manage stress.
Give Yourself Rewards to Look Forward To
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If you have a hard time dealing with stress, it’s likely that you have a pretty busy schedule, with few things breaking it up. when you’ve got a mountain of a to-do list, it can easily cause you to rush through things, or start multitasking, which can make stress even worse. Scattering some rewards throughout your calendar can be a highly effective way to mitigate your stress. Every month, try to plan something that will keep your spirits up when things get tough. Take a three-day weekend, visit somewhere you haven’t been to in too long, or check out the gear you can see on this website, and go camping with some friends or family. By giving yourself some kind of reward to look forward to, you’ll always have something to push yourself onward whenever you’re so stressed you want to give up. Even smaller rewards at the end of the day can be a very powerful motivator.
Get More Sleep
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If you’re not getting enough sleep at night, then this could certainly be at the root of your struggles with stress. Deep sleep is essential for us to keep healthy and functional, and when you neglect it, it can make it so much harder to approach stressful situations with a calm, collected mind. Obviously, we’d all like a little longer in bed, and you might think that your schedule simply doesn’t allow for more sleep. However, going to bed just half an hour earlier can make a big difference, helping you to become much more alert and competent in waking life. You’ll be able to concentrate better on tasks, allowing you to get more done in less time, which often makes up for the time you’ll lose to sleeping.