8 Surprising Stress-Busters!

We’ve all heard this before – find ways to reduce stress in your life! Slow things down or “weed the garden.” But the reality is that day-to-day life is busy, and it’s not that easy to weed things out of our schedules. Sometimes it seems even harder to carve out a few minutes to take a deep breath and gather our thoughts. For some people, stress creeps into their lives slowly, and for others, it seems that a day doesn’t go by that stressful events don’t hammer away at their well-being.

The effects of stressful circumstances are due to chemicals or hormones released by our bodies in response to negative or positive occurrences. There is a difference between distress and eustress, but our bodies respond the same. For example, starting a new job is a positive experience but nerve-wracking at the same time. Welcoming a baby into your life, whether through adoption or childbirth, is a life-changing event met with mixed emotions. On the one hand, you most likely feel blessed to be charged with raising a child yet feel the pressures of the territory.

Life is a combination of ups and downs and the longest roller coaster ride you will ever be on. As a health and wellness professional, there are some things I have learned about mitigating the effects of stress. These tips are not just from my own experiences but others as well. Maybe one of these stress-busting suggestions will work for you!

Forgive

Forgiveness is a huge part of our mental and physical health. It’s inevitable that someone in our lives, a colleague, child, spouse, friend, or neighbor, will let us down. Anger or bitterness can accumulate in our hearts and not just affect us emotionally but also physiologically.

Dr. Murray A. Mittleman, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, says that “anger causes an outpouring of stress hormones like adrenaline, making your heart beat faster and blood pressure rise.” Holding on to anger or bitterness may cause your body to remain in a heightened state of stress. Something that has worked for me in the past is to set parameters. For example, if a relationship needs mending, actively choose to make amends but perhaps use caution moving forward. Boundaries are important. Whatever the circumstance may be, free yourself from the confines of your hurt. Your health depends on it.

Play

The benefits of play are endless! Remember the exuberant feelings you felt as a kid after hours of a game in the neighborhood? The physiological joy we all felt as kids comes from releasing endorphins, or feel-good hormones, from our brain and nervous system. As adults, we still need to entertain our creative selves, exercise our minds and bodies, and connect with other humans. As an adult, you may not be able to pick up a kickball game in the neighborhood, but I say, why not! Grab some of your closest friends, find an open field, and kick away!

There are no rules when it comes to having fun and playing. The opportunities to reduce stress through play are plentiful – coloring, crafting, creating, racing, competing, or doing anything else you once loved. Just get after it!

Laugh

I recently met two girlfriends out for dinner. We hadn’t seen each other for a very long time. We have six boys active in sports, their schools, clubs, and community events between three of us. You can imagine the laughter that we shared among us. We laughed so hard at our funny boy stories ranging from puberty to funny quirks, that my abdominal muscles were sore the next day! But even better, I left the restaurant feeling light and exuberant. The reason for this is that laughter truly is the best medicine! Laughter is good for your social relationships and beneficial to your heart and brain.

Dr. Michael Miller of the University of Maryland reported on this topic at the American College of Cardiology meeting in 2016. He provided hard evidence that laughter does as good for your arteries as aerobic exercise. He explains that laughter is vital to maintaining a healthy endothelium (a layer of cells that line blood vessels) to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. You may want to call your funniest friend or watch a comedy weekly as part of a heart-healthy, stress-reducing wellness regimen.

Construct

In my experience, men naturally know how to escape the pressures of the daily grind through construction of some sort. Whether designing or building furniture or woodworking, this seems to be a go-to stress buster for many men. But men aren’t the only ones adept at building and constructing. Women Build is an organization that empowers and teaches women to learn a new skill set and build homes through Habitat for Humanity. Women and men come together to do good in their communities. Talk about feeling good all around! Seeing the joy on a future Habitat owner’s face or even donating to a charity like this can down your stress level.

Adults aren’t the only ones who will benefit from creating something new. Constructing or building is naturally a therapeutic activity that can calm even the most spirited child. Children naturally are inclined to take apart or put something together with their hands. I’ve seen countless children use this strategy to relax for a very long time and demonstrate the stamina needed to build a brick creation. Occupying our minds and hands is therapeutic and provides a sense of accomplishment. Build away and feel the stress leave your body.

Hug

Not everyone likes to be touched; however, there is a physiological reaction when humans feel each other. For some, it causes stress; for others, it alleviates it. Hugging someone we know and love is a powerful, non-verbal way to communicate your emotions. A hug silences our thoughts and our words and activates emotions in a way that calms the body.

Hugging isn’t for everyone, mainly if it is not customary in your religion or culture, so this stress-buster may not be for you.

Give

Through the years, many people have told me how good it feels to have a sense of purpose. Giving to other people, whether through giving your time or contributing monetarily, actually has a positive biological effect on our bodies.

Numerous studies support the notion that giving creates a sense of worth or purpose and elicits feelings of happiness. Michael Norton, assistant professor of business administration in the marketing unit at the Harvard Business School (HBS), conducted a series of studies with his colleagues Elizabeth Dunn and Lara Aknin at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Together they showed that people are happier when they spend money on others versus on themselves. In my opinion, this particular study provides enough compelling evidence to make me want to do even more good for others.

Learn

A year ago, I talked with my friend about setting training goals for myself. I was interested in learning to box. I wanted to train for another half-marathon. And I wanted to take my strength program in a different direction. I was so focused on whether or not I could meet these goals that I was slowly talking myself out of them. My friend said, “you don’t always have to have an endgame in mind; just learn and get better.” After that, I felt free from my restrictions. I had fun boxing. I improved my running time significantly without running the race, and I was happy with my strength training program. I realized I was causing stress when all I wanted to do was learn something new.

Gaining new knowledge or trying something new could be what you need to reduce stress in your life. Staying productive is the key.

Exercise

I know what you’re thinking. This option is not so surprising, but it certainly is one of the most effective ways to reduce stress. Simply put, the human body is built to move. The case for exercising your body is strong. The evidence is overwhelming, but I think everyone needs a little spot from time to time. Perhaps you need a nudge to take your workout to the next level. This is your nudge. Get started today!

Your body releases chemicals that positively impact your mood and overall outlook on life after exercising. Who doesn’t want that?

As for me, I’m already a hugger, I laugh all the time, and I already workout regularly, but there’s always room for doing more good and playing a little more. What’s your stress-buster going to be?