Ways to reduce stress

Waking up late in the morning, dealing with heavy traffic, having a heavy workload – that’s the common stress we encounter every day. While it seems like we cannot avoid stress, we can take control by managing it. Here’s some of simple ways how to deal with it every day.

1. Get some sleep

Studies have shown that partial sleep deprivation has a significant effect on mood. According to University of Pennsylvania researchers, they found that persons who were limited to only 4.5 hours of sleep a night for one week reported feeling more stressed. 

When you are feeling stressed, your body produces stress hormones that can keep you awake. On the other hand, a good night’s sleep can have the opposite effect in your body, it can relax your systems that are responsible for the stress response.

Set a sleeping schedule and as much possible go to bed on time and get at least 8 hours of good quality sleep. This will help you be well-rested and give you enough energy for the day. You’ll feel more refreshed and can do more active things.

2. Plan your tasks well

Sit back and think of the things that you need to do for the day. Make a to-do list of your tasks and set a deadline for each of them to help manage your time. Sort these tasks according to priority or deadlines.

If there’s a task that seems overwhelming to you do not multi-task. Multi-tasking can be more stressful because it requires you to spread your attention across many tasks. Focus on one task at a time so you will get things done more quickly with better results.

Having tasks that you are not familiar with can increase you stress level. So, if there are tasks you are having trouble with, try asking your coworkers for help. They might have some ideas or suggestions on how to handle the task and their help can save time in figuring out the easiest process of completing the work. In return, make sure you also help out your co-worker when they are in need. Having a good rapport in workplace can reduce your stress level as well.

3. Have a support system

One of the best stress reliever is having a support system. Having good relationships with friends and family is important in managing your stress. Set a time to meet up with your friends and talk about the good things and achievements of each other. Have a good dinner with your family and share your thoughts and experiences to them. If you isolate yourself to other people, you are more vulnerable to experience stress

4. Take a pause

Meditation can help reduce stress and can increase your well-being. Find a comfortable place to sit, close your eyes for a minute, clear your mind and take a deep breath. You will feel more relaxed, refreshed and recharged. Pausing for a moment will also give us time to evaluate ourselves on what we accomplished so far.

We are living in the world where stress is becoming more common. There’s a lot of demands in our life – our finances, work, relationships, and other circumstances. There’s nothing we can do about that. What we can do is to deal with our stress in a healthy way – have a good quality sleep, manage your time well and find ways to relax your mind. These points are not limited and you are free to do things that will work for you.