How to Manage STRESS!

There are so many people who experience stress a majority of the time. Whether it’s caused by school, work, sports, or exams, it’s exhausting and can make you feel unmotivated and pressured all the time. Any event can trigger the release of cortisol and adrenaline, which are stress hormones from your body. These hormones are what makes us feel the obligation to get something done as soon as possible. Although stress is natural in our bodies, an excess of it can have a negative impact on us, harming our health.

A couple of the negative effects stress can have on you are headaches, back pain, diabetes, high blood pressure, and insomnia. Stress also causes an increase in hunger during the night, leading to weight gain and obesity.

I decided to create a list of tips that can help you relieve stress, and just…relax. I have tried many of these myself and have found them useful and convenient whenever I’m experiencing a stressful event. I hope you try these ideas out and are able to gain several benefits out of them.

Healthy Foods

One of the most important things to know when you’re stressed out is to change your diet and start eating healthier foods that are packed with nutritious value. Doing so will have a significant effect not just on your body, but your brain and overall health too. It will make you feel more motivated and you will experience an increase in energy throughout the day. Make sure to eat a balanced breakfast in the morning, this will prevent a lot of hunger later in the day. A lot of people just skip breakfast in the morning, but it’s so important to keep this in mind and eat something to start your day. You’ll eventually notice you’re less stressed, and you will realize that this may be the cause of your problem. As tempting it may be, avoid any junk food and sugary foods. That bowl of ice cream and those chocolate chip cookies may sound appetizing, but you will regret it. Try to avoid foods that contain gluten as well. Eating unhealthy foods while you’re stressed can just make things worse, and that small moment of satisfaction is not worth the negative effects that will occur later on.

Here’s a list of some healthy snacks that you can incorporate in your diet to relieve stress:

Blueberries
Don’t underestimate these tiny berries, as they are a superfood rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and other nutrients that’ll help relieve your stress. They are also very low in calories and easy to get, so I think you’ll want to try them out.

Dark Chocolate
Eating dark chocolate in moderation will really help make you feel better when you’re stressed. It also helps relieve depression and anxiety, so that’s a bonus, and is known to lower blood pressure.

Spinach
Spinach and any other dark leafy greens have high levels of serotonin and dopamine, which are neurotransmitters that can help regulate your mood.

Other healthy foods helpful for stress are turkey breast, almonds, pistachios, and other nuts. Avocado is another healthy fat high in glutathione, vitamin E, folate, and beta carotene. Oatmeal can work as a delicious and filling breakfast, topped off with cinnamon and honey, it’ll make you calm and less stressed.

Music

Listening to soothing music is a wonderful way to calm and relax you. The best type of music to listen to while you’re stressed or studying are selective sounds, classical, or instrumental music. One of my favorite playlists to listen to on spotify when I’m stressed or I’m trying to focus on an assignment is rain sounds. This features a variety of soothing rain and they have a wide selection including white noise, which is one of my go to sounds while studying. Other music that works are coffee shop sounds; there are also lots of playlists on spotify or YouTube that are meant for focus, concentration, relaxation, sleep, stress, study, including meditation. I suggest giving these a try as I find them really helpful myself and may be one of my favorite tips for de stressing.

Candles 

Candles are a great way to relax and relieve your stress. Not only do they make your room smell amazing, but there are also candles that carry scents which are meant to make you less stressed, such as peppermint. They are also inexpensive and you can find them anywhere. Bath & Body Works has a great selection of good smelling scents you’ll want to try.

Bath Salts/Bath Bombs

Sometimes the best way to relax your body is to take a warm shower or bath and use bath salts, bath bombs, and good smelling soaps. Lush is the perfect place to find these things and they carry pretty much anything you’ll need. Their stuff are also natural and animal friendly!

Aromatherapy/Essential Oil Diffusers 

This is another one of my favorite options to use. Essential Oil diffusers are fantastic for relaxation, they’re also inexpensive and they have a lot that are available on Amazon. The oils are meant to be therapeutic and help stress, anxiety, etc. This is also a wonderful option if you don’t want to use candles. The oil diffuser sprays out mist in your room in certain intervals, they last long and some even have colorful LED lights if you want to use at night. I highly recommend buying one as it is really helpful!

Incense Burner

Another good investment to make would be incense burners. Many people use these for yoga or meditation and I recommend them if you’re trying to relax.

Meditation/Yoga

This is probably one of the oldest exercises people use to be more mindful, more relaxed, and less stressed. Try taking a class or find free videos on YouTube and do this when you have too much on your mind. I promise you will feel so much better afterwards.

Helpful Apps and Websites for Stress

Weavesilk.com (app available)

This is a fun interactive game type of thing where you draw in a galaxy thing and electric colors show up and spread and make lovely designs. You press and hold and it starts weaving together all these beautiful colors. It is a very enjoyable and cool game and I recommend it.

Pixelthoughts.com

I was so excited when I found this website. It is so nice and fun to use, the purpose of this app is to meditate and become more mindful. Your brain is always so busy and overwhelmed with everyday things that you sometimes forget how your body feels and interacts with the world. This helps you reach a state of peace and relax and just focus on your body. A galaxy appears and you write what you’re thinking about and literally watch all your problems float away. It lasts for about a minute but can be pretty effective.

Stopbreathethink.com

I think this is a wonderful app for anyone who is trying to meditate. This app makes a guided meditation for you based on what you are trying to focus on. It guides you along with all the steps you need and lets you focus. This is an awesome app/website and is available on the App store as well as Google Play.

Headspace

I absolutely love this app. For just 10 minutes per day you can meditate and become mindful and less stressed. I love the layout of the app because it is simple and easy to use. Each meditation is guided through and it helpful along the way. Highly instructive, simple, and free. The app also has an option to add “buddies” which allows you to meditate with your friends and motivates you and others.

Lay down/Sleep

Sometimes, the only option we have is to lay down, or take a nap, and sleep. Don’t be afraid to take a power nap, when you wake up you will feel much better, more energetic, and less stressed. It is so important to get around 6-8 hours of sleep per night so that your body and brain are functioning well throughout the day.

Well, I really hope that you found these tips useful for managing stress. It can be very difficult to live a stressful life and with school, work, pressure, etc; it can be a challenge to relax. Just remember, your health comes before anything and try not to worry too much and take a moment to breathe and calm yourself down. Let me know if you try any of these ideas out and if you have any other tips to share!

~Valery 💕