Stress can have many negative impacts on one’s mind, body, and behavior. It causes symptoms like fatigue, headaches, sleep deprivation, mood swings, and social withdrawal. Unmanaged stress can lead to a variety of health issues, including elevated blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, or diabetes.
Luckily, there are ways that you can manage the stress on your own. Below are just five ways to destress:
- Stay Positive. Focus on keeping yourself around positive people and in a good environment that makes you happy. Laughter has been shown to lower stress hormone levels, decrease artery inflammation, and improve the healthy cholesterol in the body.
- Meditate and Relax. This habit of inward-focused thinking and steady breathing has been found to lower risk factors for heart failure, such as elevated blood pressure. Yoga and prayer, which are close associates of meditation, can both serve to calm the mind and body.
- Exercise. Any time you engage in physical activity, whether it’s a stroll on the beach or a game of tennis, your body produces mood-enhancing chemicals known as endorphins.
- Take a Break from Electronics. Stepping away from the electronic devices, even for ten minutes, can help the mind and body destress. Constant computer, cell phone, or tv use can put a strain on the eyes and brain.
- Maintaining a Healthy Diet. Focusing on a diet that contains foods such as dark chocolate, herbal tea, whole grains, and fish can help to manage and decrease stress in the mind and body. Dark chocolate has an ingredient rich in antioxidants and can also help reduce stress by lowering stress hormones in the body.
Breathing techniques, or just taking a few deep breaths, will help ease anxiety and stress by providing an additional boost of oxygen. If shallow breathing, a sign of tension, activates the sympathetic nervous system, deep breathing does the opposite: it stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which aids in relaxation.
Exercising relieves stress and protects against heart failure by reducing blood pressure, improving the heart muscle, and assisting you in maintaining a healthy weight.
Nowadays, people feel the pressure to check their cell phones or email constantly. Try not to overwhelm yourself by saying “no” more frequently. Remember that it is okay to take time for yourself to clear your mind and relax your body from stress.
Healthy carbs like whole grains can help raise serotonin levels, and avocados are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to alleviate stress and anxiety, increase concentration, and enhance mood.
For more nutritional information or health services provided in San Antonio, New Braunfels, Boerne, or any surrounding cities in Texas, call San Antonio Integrated Healthcare at (210) 341-5591.