How to Relieve Stress – 6 Ways to Feel Better

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When you’re feeling stressed, these six suggestions for how to relieve stress will sure come in handy.

Life is so fast paced, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and stressed on a daily basis.

Whenever I am under stress and recognize the signs, I pull out this list to remind myself of simple techniques to reduce the stress, feel calmer and more relaxed.

Why Stress is Harmful:

When I was younger, I never used to think about stress and its effect on me. But now, stress seems to impact me more and I feel much better using some techniques to help minimize it.

Stress, especially over longer periods of time can be really harmful to your health. It has been found to weaken the immune system making you more susceptible to viruses and infections. Stress also increases inflammation in the body, reduces your body’s ability to detoxify, and can disrupt sex hormone production. It has also been linked to causing headaches, skin conditions, high blood pressure, and heart problems.

Benefits of Doing these Remedies:

These simple anti-stress remedies will help you to de-stress and help prevent the harmful effects on your body.

I’ve found that using these methods for how to relieve stress help me feel calmer and sleep better at night. Whenever I am under a lot of stress I always have difficulty sleeping or get a headache. Luckily, these methods for relieving stress usually help. It’s surprising how much better you can feel after just taking some deep breaths or a magnesium bath.

The 6 Ways for How to Relieve Stress:

1. Drink a glass of warm water with salt- The sea salt contains trace minerals that help calm your nervous system. Using warm water instead of cold or room temperature water is also very calming. Salt also helps reduce cortisol, the stress hormone and adrenaline. I use water a little warmer than room temperature and stir in ½ teaspoon of this sea salt and drink it. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, this is my first go to way to relieve stress. Typically, within minutes of drinking the water, I feel calmer and more relaxed.

2. Take 5 deep breaths- Sit or lie down in a quiet place, close your eyes, and slowly breathe in through your nose as you let your lower abdomen fully expand and breathe out through your mouth. Deep breathing is great way to help you relax and instantly feel calmer. It physiologically lowers your blood pressure and heart rate, reduces the production of stress hormones, and balances the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in your blood. This is one of my go to ways to relieve stress when I am out because you can do it anyway and you feel better immediately.

3. Take a magnesium bath- Just taking a bath in warm water helps relax your body and reduce stress, but you can get added stress relief by adding either Epsom salts or magnesium flakes to your bath. I add about ½ cup to 1 cup to the bath. When added to a bath, both Epsom salts and magnesium flakes boost your body’s level of magnesium. The magnesium is absorbed through your skin transdermally. Magnesium is the ultimate mineral for relaxation! When you’re under stress, your magnesium gets quickly depleted from your body. When you have less magnesium, it can also worsen your stress symptoms causing irritability, palpitations, and anxiety. So, anytime you’re under stress, it’s important to replace your magnesium.

4. Do some light exercise- Go for a walk outside and focus your thoughts on nature. Light exercise will increase your endorphins, the feel good chemicals in brain to reduce stress and boost your mood.

5. Listen to calming music– Studies have found that listening to music can help reduce stress hormones and lower both your blood pressure and heart rate.

6. Laugh, even “fake” laughing helps reduce stress! Researchers found that laughing reduces cortisol, the stress hormone and also increases your dopamine, which is known as the “feel good” chemical.

How Often Should You Do Them:

I pretty much use all of these methods for how to relieve stress on a daily basis to help reduce my stress levels. But, I especially make sure to do them any time I’m feeling extra stressed. They really help me to relax within minutes.