The Practical-Pocket guide: Top 10 practical tips to manage stress

While a little stress can motivate and even improve performance, excessive and chronic cortisol levels can lead to physical, emotional, and mental health problems.

Stress has a biological impact that causes your body to release specific hormones and chemicals that activate your brain in certain ways. For example, when we are highly stressed, our heart rate and blood pressure can go up, and our adrenal gland begins producing cortisol, also known as “the stress hormone.”

You can read more about how cortisol influences our health condition and overall feeling of well-being in the previous post.

How does it feel to be chronically stressed?

Physical Symptoms-

Headaches
Muscle tension
Fatigue
Stomach problems
Sleep difficulties

Emotional & Cognitive Symptoms -

Anxiety
Depression
Irritability, and restlessness
Anger
Forgetfulness
Poor concentration ability
Indecisiveness
Negative thinking

So now that we understand the importance of managing stress in our lives to maintain our physical and mental health - we want to make a change, right?

Life is busy, what can we actually do about it?

Yes, I know life is busy, demanding, full of exciting events, and overloaded with tasks.

I'm not telling you to quit your job and sit all day in a hammock on the beach.

Rather, by incorporating these small, cost-free changes in your daily routine, you can really feel the difference.

Here are some useful and relatively easy tips for reducing stress in our daily lives. The order does not indicate the level of importance and you will be surprised to see how intertwined they are, so that they can be even done at the same time :)

Tip #1 - Mindful breathing:

Take a few moments to focus on your breath, inhaling and exhaling deeply through your nose. Focus on the sensations in you're body. This can be done anytime and anywhere, whether you're at home, at work, or out running chores. You can perform this with your eyes open or closed, the main thing is that the only thing you do in those moments is - breathe.

The breathing pattern greatly affects our autonomic nervous system by influencing the vagus nerve and the heart rate, and I will have an individual post just for breathing.

Tip #2 - Move and Exercise

Engaging in physical activity can help reduce stress by releasing endorphins, which are natural mood boosters.

Whether it's going for a walk, a jog, practicing yoga or pilateas or hitting the gym, find a form of exercise that you enjoy and make it a regular part of your routine. If the weather permits, the activity can be outside, in the open air and in the sunlight, and even with other people, so we also apply tips 3+5.

More on Physical activities can be read HERE.

Tip #3 - Connect with others

A sense of belonging and social support are among the most powerful antidote to stress.

Make time for fun and quality social activities, whether it's dinner, going to a party, or grabbing a cup of coffee together.

Speak honestly, share whatever is on your mind, and I believe you will be pleasantly surprised.

Tip #4 - Take a break from technology

We are constantly flooded with notifications and messages from our devices that are greatly contributing to elevated stress levels.

Take a break from technology for a few hours each day, or even a whole day if possible.

Use that time to do something you enjoy, like reading a book or spending time with friends and family. (Here again, are tips 2+3+5).

Tip #5 - Go outside

Try to be outside as much as possible, in the fresh air, in the sun and in the natural environment. We were not born to be under fluorescent or LED lights and see only concrete colors.

I won't exaggerate with more words because I'm just so confident that you'll feel the difference right away.

Here too it is possible and even desirable to practice breathing, be mindful and surrounded by our loved ones.

"Taking at least 20 minutes out of your day to stroll or sit in a place that makes you feel in contact with nature will significantly lower your stress hormone levels " - Science Daily

Tip #6 - Practice gratitude

Take a few moments each day to reflect on the things you are grateful for and the things that bring you meaning.

You can even make a list and specify at least 5-10 items daily. You can say it out loud to yourself and you can share it with friends.

Being on a frequency of gratitude will help shift your focus away from stressors and towards the positive, wholesome, pleasant things in your life.

Tip #7 - Prioritize self-care

Make time for self-care activities such as taking a relaxing bath, getting a massage, or taking a nap. It's important to prioritize your own well-being and take care of yourself to manage stress effectively.

Tip #8 - Listen to music

A lot has been discussed about music and its beneficial effects. Recently there's a whole literature of psychological and neuroscience research that shows how music can reduce cortisol levels and induce a state of joy.

"Music listening is strongly associated with stress reduction by the decrease of physiological arousal as indicated by reduced cortisol levels, lowered heart rate, and decreases in mean arterial pressure. Music can also reduce negative emotions and feelings, such as subjective worry, state anxiety, restlessness or nervousness, and increase positive emotions and feelings, such as happiness" - HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW

Tip #9 -Create and compose

Expressing ourselves through creative and artistic activities can help to relieve stress and anxiety and lessen shame, anger, and depression after experiencing traumatic events. Using our creativity, we can also practice releasing and letting go of what could potentially become toxic to our mind, heart, soul, and body. Engage yourself in activities such as writing, painting, dancing, singing, photographing, and even gardening.

Tip #10 - Get perspective

This is a trick I learned when I was a little girl and used to get really upset and stressed pretty much about everything.

It's the 5-5-5 rule:

I try to imagine how this "really stressful situation" is going to impact me in five minutes, five days, and five years from now. If I find the answer to ALL of these 5-5-5 is "actually, not such a big impact" - (and believe me, it is 95% of the time) it is easier for me to let go of the harsh feelings and get the real perspective of the current event, without letting the stress feeling overwhelm me.

So here I shared with you my ways of reducing stress without making any radical changes that interfere with our daily (and stressful) routine. They are also scientifically proven to reduce cortisol levels and improve the side effects associated with chronic stress.

I hope you will soon start adapting these tips and feel the difference, and let me know how it goes!

Main Scientific Resources for this blog post

The Practical-Pocket guide to Manage stress