Make stress relief a habit
Honestly, we hardly need an awareness month for stress. Most of us know it all too well.
These days there’s a lot more of it going around (and starting younger — oh those once-carefree days of youth!). Mostly that boils down to technology. Since the advent of the internet, there’s too much information to sift through and more platforms to bombard us with it.
Smart phones and watches constantly interrupt life. Every interruption reduces focus and stresses the brain.
Bright screens dominate both work and entertainment. Data unfiltered for value, as well as marketing — or ads disguised as data, bombard us all day.
New technologies make it all something we have to actively research and verify before knowing whether it’s true or useful. Another headache and anxiety inducer.
As science has proven, it all exacerbates stress and interferes with sleep. Which causes health decline.
So what do we do? The usual destressing techniques help, but in modern life it’s a matter of prioritizing and making them habitual. So, in that sense, April’s Stress Awareness Month is as good excuse as any to reinforce them.
Laugh! Why not start with the best? Laughter reduces blood pressure, increases oxygen, boosts the immune system and relaxes muscles. That adds up to great stress relief with the added bonus of boosting quality of life.
It doesn’t matter how you get the giggles, any excuse will do. Relish a child’s joy whenever you’re lucky enough to witness it. Do something silly each day; better yet, involve a pal or household member.
Sign up for daily joke emails (Google “joke email of the day”) and share with family and friends to encourage them to return the favor (research indicates laughter improves relationships). Smile at the antics of a squirrel or watch a comedy. Whatever tickles your funny bone.
Seek and maintain live, positive connections. Research confirms again and again that healthy in-person social connections, whether friend, family, colleague, or neighbor, improve life and reduce stress.
Even small exchanges such as a friendly conversation at the grocery store provides a boost, so if you see someone older or sad-looking shopping alone, maybe find something to say with a smile. I still remember a fun conversation with a friendly lady in New Orleans that started with a gripe about prices and led to laughter.
Yes, maintaining communication with more people is an investment of time, but it pays off. Better yet, share a laugh and get a two-fer.
Turn it all off an hour before bed. Every gadget and screen. No exceptions. Research has documented sleep disturbance when we don’t. The better we sleep, the less stressed is the body and the better is potential health.
Exercise, any kind. Regardless of health condition, every person is affected without regular exercise. Mood is lower. It’s harder to smile. Bodies ache and circulation is lower, and all of that impacts stress (and vice versa). Quite simply, movement lengthens life and improves its quality.
Doing it in nature (also a stress reliever and so easy to access in the beautiful Pacific Northwest) doubles the benefit.
Include daily quiet time. Meditation is a great stress reliever, but even simple quiet time each day — no talking, texting, music or TV — helps reset the body and lower blood pressure.
You might sit and close your eyes or watch the wind rustle the trees through the window. Take a walk outside. Let any thoughts pass by in the background without analysis, judgment or (much) emotion.
Be an objective observer and try to dispassionately, but attentively, focus on what you see outside of you, instead of what’s inside. You might be amazed at how relaxing that can be.
Make it a priority routine, even if you have to get up a little earlier or go to bed later.
Conscious breathing. This can be very helpful before sleep or when you feel upset. Diaphragmatic breathing — from the lungs and diaphragm, rather than the stomach — actually helps shift the nervous system from nervous to calm. Try repeating very slow, deep, five-count breaths.
Practice gratitude. Some advocate writing it down or keeping a journal. If what you are grateful for involves someone else, tell them. Being appreciated feels good but so does making someone feel that way.
In any case, spend a few moments each day to think about what you’re grateful for. If life seems awful right now, consider one of the basics: Food on the table. Someone who cares. A hot shower and running water. A bed, roof and a safe neighborhood without war. Not everyone has them.
We are what we think. Some people in painful throes of final illness laugh and smile each day. Some who seem to have everything complain all the time. Our thoughts and focus significantly impact the experience of life, and we do have some level of control over that at least.
Allow me to kick things off today:
If stress burned calories, I’d be a supermodel.
When I get a headache, I take two aspirins and keep away from children like the bottle says.
If each day is a gift, where can I return Monday?
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Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network who should follow her own advice. Email sholeh@cdapress.com.