We usually don’t think about stress and its effect on us until it begins to interfere in our lives – either on a day-to-day basis or at the moment it all comes to a head and we break down. While small amounts of stress can be beneficial (it’s a good motivator), the fact is that too much stress can bring on premature aging and poor health. Here are some tips to avoid stress and keep you sailing smooth over the waters of life.
Tips To Avoid Stress: Your Calendar
Prevention is the best stress-buster. If you find that you’re constantly kicking yourself mentally for forgetting an appointment, or the phone bill, or even those important meetings at work, then consider buying an organizer or day planner.
The goal is to have one place where you can keep track of all your appointments, to-do’s, bills due, and other important reminders. Having a calendar you can look at each week gets you thinking and planning ahead, which in turn, prevents a lot of stress that can come from not being on top of things. Also, the less you procrastinate, the less stress you invite into your life.
While we’re on the topic of calendar, here’s another one of our great tips to avoid stress: schedule yourself some downtime. Downtime, or free time, is either a day or a few hours where you simply relax and enjoy yourself. This is a work-free zone where errands, chores, to-dos, and work (even household work), is not allowed. This is time dedicated especially for rejuvenating your spirit and will do a lot to prevent excess stress build-up.
Tips To Avoid Stress: Get Your Body Moving
Exercise is great when it comes to enabling your body to deal with stress in a healthy way. Regular exercise encourages those endorphins to be released in your brain and thereby enhancing your mood. Hop on the treadmill, join a sports team or even hit the sheets with your significant other. The mini-workout provided by sex, plus the chance to build on an intimate connection with your partner, can diffuse and combat the effects of stress.
Tips To Avoid Stress: Nutritional Support
Your body’s ability to cope with stress is significantly diminished when your diet consists of processed foods, sugar and caffeine.
Make an effort to incorporate more fresh fruits and veggies into your daily diet. Switch your bread products to whole-grain versions. These are lower on the glycemic index, which means that they won’t give you the roller coaster up and downs that refined sugars and white breads do. Another one of our tips to avoid stress is to add more healthy-fats to your diet. These include fats like unsalted nuts, avocados, or lean proteins, which will help stabilize your blood sugar levels.
Cut back on caffeine as much as you can, especially if you’re sensitive to it. Caffeine can bring on muscle tension, and along with a racing pulse, can stress out your body before the stresses of your day even have a chance to kick in. It’s kind-of like shooting yourself in the foot before a marathon.
The last of our tips to avoid stress is to encourage you to hop on the vitamin wagon. Vitamin B is a particularly good one to pick up, as it specifically works towards enhancing mood and your ability to cope with stress. Find a supplement that covers the spectrum of various B vitamins.
There are many tips to avoid stress that you’ve probably already encountered. The main thing you need to keep in mind is balance. Living a balanced life, with balanced nutrition, and the right amount of exercise and down-time, will not only help keep stress at bay, but it will help to keep you healthy.
