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How to Manage Stress

Managing stress is one of the most difficult challenges people face. However, if you’re not doing some form of stress management, you will end up sabotaging all of your best efforts with diet, exercise, and supplements — it’s just that essential.

Stress is an inevitable part of life, and some stress is actually good for you. While too much stress can cause anxiety and poor health, too little can lead to boredom and depression. The right amount of acute stress can actually tune up the brain and improve performance and health. It can increase your awareness in difficult situations and allow you to act quickly. Without stress, humans wouldn’t have survived this long!

When the total amount of stress you are experiencing at a given moment exceeds your ability to cope with it, that’s when it can wreak havoc on your health.

Taking time for yourself is not selfish — it helps you to become a better parent, spouse, friend, coworker, and overall human being. Though this should be obvious, it is often overlooked.

Since it’s impossible to avoid all the stress in life, you can try to minimize its impact by doing the following:

Limit things that stress you out!

  • Learn to say no. Know your limits and be aware of over-committing yourself.
  • Avoid people who stress you out or at least limit your time with people who are prone to drama or conflict if you cannot avoid them completely.
  • Turn off the news or at least limit your exposure.
  • Give up pointless arguments. Ask yourself, is it really worth fighting about?
  • Edit your to-do list. Ask yourself which items are essential and see if you can cross off anything on your list.
  • Reduce your exposure to online stress. Try not to look at work emails after hours and turn off notifications when you're off the clock!

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Change Your Thought Process

  • Reframe your situation and look for a more positive light. For example, if you find yourself stuck in traffic, instead of letting your frustration get the best of you, think of it as an opportunity to enjoy a podcast or call a friend you've been wanting to catch up with.
  • Lower your expectations and standards. Don't let perfection be the enemy of good. Let good be good enough.
  • Practice acceptance and learn to accept the things you cannot change.
  • Try keeping a gratitude journal and write down three things each day that you are grateful for rather than focusing on the negative.
  • Cultivate empathy.
  • Be mindful of your time and set healthy boundaries for how much time you devote to certain activities and people.

Try Meditation & Relaxation Techniques

  • Meditation can be a great stress reliever. If you are new to meditation, start with just 5 minutes each day and gradually increase the time as you become more accustomed to the practice.
  • Be gentle with yourself. It's ok to miss a day and it's also ok if you don't think you're "good" at it. Make it a priority and consider putting it on your calendar like you would any other important task of the day.
  • Try progressive relaxation or mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). There are free body scans and relaxation apps like Insight Timer.

Make Sleep a Priority

  • Sleep affects almost every function of your body, and improving the quality of your sleep is one of the single most powerful things you can do to improve your health.
  • Research suggests that most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep each night. Start by setting aside at least seven hours each night for sleep, and consider increasing this amount if you don't feel like you're getting enough.
  • Control your exposure to light. Both natural and artificial light can have a significant impact on your circadian rhythm.
  • Avoid or minimize using computers and tablets within two to three hours of your bedtime.
  • Dim, cover, or remove anything in your bedroom that emits light such as your alarm clock.
  • Consider using blackout shades to make your bedroom as dark as possible. Another option is to wear an eye mask while you sleep to block any light.
  • Increase your exposure to light first thing in the morning and throughout the day. Try going for a 15-20 minute walk in the morning if its light outside. Alternatively, consider buying a light machine and sitting in front of it for 15-20 minutes.
  • Optimize your sleep nutrition. It's best to be neither overly full nor hungry at bedtime. Carbohydrates help increase the production of serotonin and melatonin (both of which help you sleep). If you eat a low-carb diet and struggle with falling asleep, try eating a few more carbs with dinner. Try introducing bone broth and fattier meats into your diet to help balance your intake of amino acids, which also help with the production of serotonin and melatonin.
  • Beware of stimulants like caffeine! If you have trouble sleeping, try removing caffeine completely for at least 30 days (coffee, tea, and sadly, chocolate all contain caffeine).
  • Create an environment conducive to sleep. Use your bedroom only for sleep and sex. Make it a relaxing environment and free from outside noises and disturbances. Consider using white noise machines or earplugs to minimize outside noises if necessary, and it's best to keep your bedroom on the cooler side for optimal sleep.

Go Outside

  • Research has proven that spending time outdoors, including time in nature, is just as important to your health and well-being as sleep, exercise and a healthy diet.
  • Get outside when you can and aim for 15-20 minutes of midday exposure (without sunscreen if possible) at least two to three days each week.
  • Spend as much time in nature each week as your schedule and lifestyle permit. Aim for at least two excursions in nature which could include something like going for a hike or spending time at a neighborhood park.
  • Bring the outside in and surround yourself with plants in your home and workspace.
  • Exercise outdoors whenever possible and on varied terrain like hills, trails, rocks.

Play More

  • Research suggests that play may contribute to living longer and healthier lives. Try adding more time for play into your life. Think about what you enjoyed doing as a child and see if you can bring that joy back into your life.
  • Write down a list of ways you love to play and put the list somewhere that you'll see it every day. It's easy to forget about playing when we are caught up in everyday life trying to get through our to-do lists. So, put your "play list" in a place where it will remind you to set aside some play time!
  • Ideas for play could be as simple as playing fetch with your dog or playing hide-and-seek with your kids, or even going for an aimless walk in your local park.

Move Your Body

  • Don't just think exercise, it's even more important to reduce your sedentary time and increase your movement throughout the day.
  • Take standing and walking breaks throughout the day and incorporate stretching. Even if you can only do it for 5 minutes at a time, it will still be beneficial to your heath and help with stress relief.
  • Exercising in healthy amounts is a positive form of stress on the body, as well as being helpful with stress relief. However, inappropriate amounts of exercise can break the body down and increase the risk of disease and ailments.
  • When it comes to exercise, listen to your body and be mindful of overtraining. Difficulty recovering from workouts, fat gain, insomnia, restlessness, anxiety, fatigue, muscle or joint pain can all be signs that you're overdoing it!

In our ever-demanding world, stress management has become more critical than ever for our overall well-being. If you would like help in implementing stress management tools, schedule a FREE introductory session with me to see how coaching can help.

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