5 Tips for Reducing Stress

It's Important For Your Health That You Do Everything You Can To Reduce Stress

Here are some tips for reducing stress in your life. It is important for your long and short-term health to recognize the symptoms of being stressed and learn how to deal with them. The following tips will help limit the symptoms and protect your health.
The long-term solution may be to identify and address the stressor, but here’s what you can do until that happens or when removing the stressor is not possible.

1. Avoid Caffeine

While the causes of your stressful feelings might be external, the uncomfortable feelings are actually caused by internal factors. Most are related to increased production of adrenalin. Caffeine stimulates adrenalin production, as do other stimulants. People in stressful situations should limit their intake to the equivalent of a cup of coffee per day or avoid the stimulant completely. For many of us this can be one of the most difficult tips for reducing stress to follow. Try decaffeinated alternatives to fill the gap.

2. Limit Alcohol Consumption

While alcohol makes you feel relaxed initially, excessive alcohol consumption causes a rebound effect. That is, increased anxiety and stress-related feelings the following day. An adult female should have no more than one alcoholic beverage per day. The average male should have no more than two.

If you have problems limiting alcohol intake, it will be necessary to avoid it entirely. If you have trouble doing that or you suspect that the stresses in your life have caused a drinking problem, you should seek a support group like Alcoholics Anonymous. Dealing with stress with alcohol can lead to a vicious cycle. So one of the related tips for reducing stress is to choose ways of coping that are positive.

3. Eat Right

Most stress reducers are aimed at limiting the body’s reaction to adrenalin. Eating right helps protect the organs from stress-related free radical damage. Antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables are the best choices for this purpose. (See: Foods High in Antioxidants) The underlying cause of some stress-related aging is damage done to the cells by free radicals.

Other stress-related damage is caused by increased blood pressure and changes in heart rhythm. Garlic and foods containing omega-3 fatty acids can help protect the heart and the entire cardiovascular system. Omega-3 fish oil supplements have been shown to modestly reduce blood pressure. So, supplementation provides some insurance on the days you cannot eat right.

The first three tips for reducing stress all talk about what we put into our body and underscores the importance of understanding the physical effects of stress and giving our body the best chance of staying healthy.

4. Sleep Well

Sleeping might not seem like one of the tips for reducing stress. If you were less stressed, you could sleep well. Right?

The tip is to do everything within your power to improve your ability to sleep. You can do deep muscle relaxation exercises or meditate before bed. You can improve the “hygiene” of your sleep environment by lowering the lights or getting rid of the TV.

Using sleep aids as stress reducers can backfire in the same way that excessive alcohol intake causes a rebound effect. For one thing, drug-type sleep aids are only effective for a short period of time. Your body builds up a resistance to them. For another, the drugs can cause daytime fatigue, which will make it harder to deal with stressors at work.

A natural product called melatonin helps many people fall asleep, without causing any of the drug-induced symptoms. Melatonin is naturally produced within your body, but not until the adrenalin subsides.

So, in order to fall asleep when you need to, a melatonin supplement could help. Follow the supplement instructions. Some manufacturers recommend taking the supplement five hours before bed time in order to get the desired results.

5. Address the Stresses in Your Life

Although this is last on this list of stress reducers, it could be one of the first things you need to do. Workplace bullying is an example of an issue that should be addressed. Most companies have an open-door policy concerning harassment. Bullying is harassment. Until you can address the issue, use the above tips for reducing stress and the effects it has on your body. You have to take steps to deal with stress regardless of what the bully or management does. Your health is too important.

Other Recommended Resources:

		Sleep Aid Guide Get the information you need about sleep aids, herbal sleep remedies, relaxation techniques, over the counter and prescription sleep medications and much more. Sleep well again.

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Effects of Stress

Physical and Emotional Symptoms of Stress

How to Deal With Stress

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