Simple Starting Tips to Reduce Stress During your Workday:
Submitted by on January 26, 2010 - 1:11pm.
- Take 100 deep breaths every day. Try 15 each hour; set your computer to notify you for a self-care minute!
- Chew your food well. This takes a load off of your digestive tract and also makes the nutrients more assimilable (also enhances memory).
- Be sure to sit while eating and not while driving! By sitting, you are sending signals to the brain to relax. Not doing this while eating can increase stress levels.
- Drink adequate water throughout the day (i.e. 75 oz for a 150 lb person). Our brains are mostly water and a stress response is initiated when we are dehydrated (not to mention that brain function is impaired).
- Make sure your nighttime sleep is maximally restful, deep, and refreshing. Adequate sleep lowers daytime stress levels and regulates hormones.
- Get outside every day, even if only for 15 minutes, even if it is raining. Studies show that even during rainy weather, time outside elevates mood and reduces stress levels.
