Stress Management Activities
By Trevor Dumbleton
Stress management is becoming an important part of our modern day lifestyle. It’s so important that you should have a number of stress management activities that you perform on a regular basis to keep the stress and strain of everyday life in check.
Below is a list of quick and easy stress management activities that you can fit into your hectic daily routine.
Cut the clutter. Have a tidy up or spring clean. Or simply clear your desk at work. You’ll be amazed at how much you can relieve your stress with this simple activity.
Notice your breathing. When we’re stressed we tend to breathe in shallow breaths. Once you start to notice your breathing, you can start to manage it. Take deeper, slower breaths. This simple stress management activity can be performed anywhere, any time.
Play your favorite music. You already know which tunes in your music collection are ones that relax you and which songs set the hairs on the back of your hand twitching. Choose a relaxing song and play it. If you’re in the office or commuting, play it on your iPod or MP3 player, which in itself will help create a separate “world” for you.
Get regular exercise. We tend to neglect ourselves when we’re stressed, so increasing our exercise can be a good way of reducing stress. You don’t have to go to the gym to get exercise. Parking your car further away in the parking lot will work. So will taking the stairs rather than the lift or elevator.
Take a break. It doesn’t have to be a long break - even a walk to the water cooler and back can do the trick. This gives your mind a break and often means that you come back to whatever it was that you were working on with a new level of enthusiasm.
Eat well. When we’re stressed, our diet can often suffer as well. Choose healthy, nutritious food. And make sure that you are actually “conscious” when you are eating. Too often we eat on auto pilot, stuffing food into our mouth without thinking about it. Eat consciously. Don’t eat whilst walking, driving, reading or watching television. Treat eating as it’s own important activity.
Sleep well. Don’t drink coffee or other caffeinated drinks close to bed time.
If you drink, cut down on your alcohol consumption. Alcohol is a depressant drug. Drinking alcohol before you sleep will reduce the quality of your sleep.
Take time to pamper yourself occasionally. Like the other simple stress management activities discussed here, this is easy to do yet we often neglect the simple things.
Get a free ebook to help with stress management activities. For plenty of other stress management tips, go to Lower Your Stress
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