Beat Stress with These 9 Activities

Laugh out loud

Watch a funny movie, a favorite comedian, or tell some funny stories and you will start to feel better almost immediately.

These is so easy, you should invite a stressed out friend, too. Laughing is a great way to reduce stress and increase healthy reactions all through your body.

Having a friend with you while you laugh increases the benefits for the both of you. As you laugh, you increase the oxygen intake in your lungs, which increases oxygen levels throughout the body.

Blood flow increases and brings fresh oxygen to all the cells, increasing energy and immunity.

Sing

Belting out a song can make you feel happier. No matter how good or bad you sing, singing out loud improves your posture and helps your lungs expand to bring in oxygen to the blood stream. Singing loud reduces your stress levels, lowers your blood pressure, and benefits your immune system.

Pet your dog or cat

Petting an animal, of any kind, increases your serotonin levels and elevates your mood. It also releases other feel good hormones like oxytocin and prolactin. It lowers blood pressure, decreases cortisol, a stress hormone, and boost your immunity levels. And your pet benefits as well!

Breathe Away Stress

Take a tip from aromatherapy by inhaling essential oils, like lavender or bergamot, can leave you relaxed and refreshed. Smelling newly cut grass will also make you feel better as a chemical released by the grass blocked cortisol production in your brain.

Deep breathing alone helps oxygenate your brain and the cells in your body. As your lungs fill with air they exchange with carbon dioxide which is the waste from your cells. If you only breathe shallow, it is harder for the body to eliminate this and other toxins.

Deep breathing more often will accelerate the exchange and pep you up as the cells themselves are energized with oxygen.

Get Intimate

Sometimes you just want to fool around. This is a known stress beater and mood elevator. Lovemaking relieves tension and release stress. It also lowers your blood pressure, boosts your self-esteem and reconnects you to your partner, which helps you to not to feel alone. And it helps you sleep better, which is just what you when you are stressed out.

Chew

The act of chewing help ease stress and anxiety levels. Chewing crunchy items like pretzels and chips gives us a good feeling when we are angry or stressed. But if you eat when emotional you are also fostering a bad habit and can gain unwanted weight.

So why not satisfy that chewing urge with gum. It gives the same sensations and you can blow bubbles and crack them to simulate the crunch of a chip, almost. As a side benefit, chewing gum also increases mental focus and performance.

Take a Hike

Walking is the simplest form of exercise there is and is a great stress buster. Having time to think, or not think, benefits the mind. Clearing thoughts and focusing on walking helps your brain produce the neurotransmitters called endorphins, which make you feel good. You’ll forget what is making you tense and get in your exercise for the day if you walk for at least 30 minutes.

Get more Vitamin C

Drinking a glass a day of some OJ or grapefruit juice, or eating raw peppers or strawberries, all vitamin C rich foods, will help you manage your stress and anxiety better. Vitamin C helps lower the stress hormone cortisol as well.

Clear out Clutter

Having more space by organizing and cleaning clutter out of your life will certainly help in mitigating your stress and overwhelm. It you take it a section at a time, you will not overtax yourself and you’ll start to make real progress bit by bit. Your confidence will increase, too.

Question: what helps you to beat stress? Write your comment below: