HEALTH + WELLNESS
STRESS LESS THIS SEASON cont.
Chamomile Tea
Chamomile tea has long been known to be an aid to relaxation, and even to be an aid to a good night’ s sleep( which, as you’ ll read later on, is another good way to de-stress). Take a little time to brew up a cup of chamomile and sit somewhere comfortable and relaxing to drink it. Just taking this little moment of peace could well be enough to calm you and remove at least some of the stress that has been plaguing your day.
It’ s not just the process of making tea and sipping it slowly that helps though; the herbs in the chamomile infusion work as an antiinflammatory, relaxing muscles( and the rest of you) as you drink it.
Get More Exercise
When you’ re feeling stressed and overwhelmed, trying to add any more activities into your day can seem like the worst idea in the world. However, if you can possibly manage just a little exercise( ten minutes is fine to start with, although try to bump that up to half an hour or more eventually) you’ ll be glad you did. Exercise releases serotonin, the‘ happy hormone’ into your body, making everything seem a lot less worrisome than it did before. As a bonus, serotonin actively fights against cortisol, the stress hormone, which is another reason you’ ll feel so great once you’ ve done some working out.
You don’ t even have to do anything too vigorous – a brisk-ish walk around the block could be enough to clear the cobwebs and make you feel more like yourself again.
Reduce Your Caffeine Intake
This stress buster might be a harder one to deal with than some of the others in this list, but if you really want to feel good again, drinking less tea and coffee( and other drinks containing caffeine, including the dreaded energy drinks) will help. We’ re not saying you have to eliminate caffeine from your life entirely, unless that’ s what you want to do, but if you find that you have quite a lot of it during the day, it might be time to cut down because, amongst other things, it can certainly be contributing to your stress levels.
Studies show that coffee in particular actually makes your stress response much more exaggerated, so something that might cause you a little bit of concern if you hadn’ t had a cup of coffee( or three) could cause you big problems, perhaps even panic attacks, if you have consumed coffee throughout the day. This is because you will already be in a high state of alert with high blood pressure and extra cortisol flooding your body – any extra stress on top of the effects of caffeine will affect you negatively.
Eat More Ginger
Ginger is a fantastic spice – it’ s known to be a homeopathic stress reliever, and it can be consumed in tea( you can even get chamomile and ginger tea, solving many problems at once), used in baking, sprinkled on stirfrys, even eaten raw. Not only will it help to combat stress, but ginger also settles a tempestuous tummy too.
Disconnect
Your stress may be caused, or at least exacerbated, by the technology you use on a daily basis. Social media can have a profoundly negative effect on someone’ s mood and how they look at the world, giving them a negative outlook. Seeing only the bad things that are happening means that your stress levels will increase, but it also means that you miss out on all the good that is around you too.
If possible, disconnect from technology. If there are things that you don’ t like seeing on Facebook or reading about on Twitter, stop
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