5 Things To Do Every Day to Reduce Stress and Find Relaxation

Stress is almost a daily occurrence and can quickly consume our lives. Finding ways to manage stress and find relaxation for your mind and body are important. Many times, being proactive and incorporating a few things into your daily life can have a big impact on stress and relaxation.

1: Breath:

Breathing is a great way to calm your heart, mind, and body. Breath from your stomach, inhale through your nose, pause to feel your heart beat, and exhale through pursed lips for twice as long as you inhale, then pause to feel your heart beat, and repeat.  This will help calm your body and help ground you in the present moment. 

2. Perception: 

There are many ways to look at things and many philosophies based around how, what, and why we think the way we do.  Perhaps we have complete control or maybe things happen to us and we have no control other than our perception. We can look at the glass half empty, half full, or just drink it because you enjoy the surprises life gives you.  Changing your perception and taking difference angles can help bring relaxation and stress reduction.

3. Movement:

Movement is key to survival, the slowest and weakest are eaten first, as we see it in the food chain daily.  We also know that movement produces hormones and other chemicals in our bodies that bring on all sorts of benefits.  Movement is key to stress reduction and relaxation, helping your body function better, so it can better handle stress and reach relaxation.

4. Nutrition: 

You are what you eat, if you eat junk your body will respond in a very unhealthy way. From healthy and natural foods, to water and vitamins, putting good things into your body helps your body function better. Having the right kind of fuel, less stress is placed on the body all together. Better functioning also means you can better handle your day!

5. Sleep: 

The last part of the day is our last step to truly function optimally, studies show that getting around 7 hours of sleep a night is critical to a well-functioning day.  There are lots of different sleep resources, sleep rituals, and more to help ensure you have a good night’s rest.  Do what works for you to get 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep to feel good and take on your day!

-Dr. Kurt Van Veldhuizen