What is stress, and how can we stress less?
The presence of stress raises cortisol levels, a hormone that stimulates alertness and vigilance, raising heart rate and blood pressure.
– Sleepscore Labs
Stress is something that we live with daily, be it in our work lives, daily commute, home challenges, relationships… it’s everywhere. It’s normal, and we all face stress, albeit on different levels. To deal with these challenges, and feel better within yourself, follow my 7 easy steps to stress less and feel energised.
When we feel stress, our body’s reaction is to release adrenaline, which causes inflammation. This is a normal reasonable reaction, however, the problem comes in when we are experiencing high levels of stress on an ongoing basis, the raised levels of adrenaline and inflammation (which our bodies recognize as a new normal) cause chronic inflammation.
Let’s get into it, these are the 7 easy ways to stress less and feel energised
1. Water
While one of the most natural and obvious ways to be kind to ourselves, reduce inflammation, and stress less is to stay hydrated, which is super important for flushing our system of impurities.
I’ve said water because I feel like access to water is imperative to relaxing and feeling recharged at the same time.
I mean to get to water… swim in the ocean, or a swimming pool. If you don’t want to swim, walk on the beach with your feet in the ocean. Get to a river, or lake or loch (if you’re in Scotland like me).
If these are not easily accessible, a simple relaxing bath can do wonders. Often I don’t feel like I have time for a luxurious bath, however, I feel immediately better just getting under a shower. In fact, a lot of my best thinking is done in there, it’s a great idea generating space for me. I feel like the water clears my mind, soothes my soul, and resets me in some way. Have you tried wild swimming? it’s invigorating and refreshing.
Often being submerged in water is not even necessary, walk next to a stream, the ocean, a river, or loch. Listen to the sound of the water flowing, the waves crashing. It’s a tonic, for sure.
If you’ve got kids you may have noticed many a frazzled overtired, stressed little person is immediately calmed once plonked in the bath, or even given access to water play, it really is amazing to see the effects once you are aware to take notice.
2. Breathe
This might seem obvious, we all breathe all the time, but what I mean is to really breathe. Consider your breath, consider your moment, consider your space.
Take a minute to be still. If you can, take anything from 15 minutes to an hour to be quiet, relax your body in a comfortable seated position, and focus on your breathing, to quieten your thoughts and still your mind.
I really believe taking this time for self-care is so important for finding some balance from the busyness and chaos that is day-to-day life (well mine is, filled with loud demanding busy young children, school runs, activities, and clubs, it’s manic)
3. Exercise to Stress less
Get your body moving, get the blood flowing, increase your heart rate, even ever so slightly. These are all ways to improve oxygen levels in your blood, improve circulation, and trigger your body to release endorphins, or those feel-good hormones. These are easy to do, don’t need to take long, and are really stress-busting.
Depending on your fitness level, choose something appropriate for you. You don’t need to be busting a gut, overexerting yourself. A walk or a gentle swim is good enough and better than nothing.
I prefer to do something outdoors, to get my much yearned-for connection to nature, and fresh air. I’m lucky to live in beautiful surroundings, so it’s easy to access glorious woods, lakes, and the countryside. However, if the weather is not ideal (I live in Scotland!) I keep a regular weekly schedule of classes at a local leisure centre. Pilates is a favourite as it combines the opportunity for that focused breathing and inner reflection, but I also love the energy and buzz I get from a HIIT Bootcamp setting too.
Ideally, an outdoor yoga session would work beautifully – combining nature, fresh air, exercise, balance, and focused breathing.
4. Sleep
If you are like me and have small children that wake up between 5:30 and 6 am each day then you will also feel like you’re constantly chasing sleep!
Sleep is one of the first and most basic things you can do to de-stress. We need sleep to recharge, to store all we’ve learned, to heal.
Be kind to yourself and get more and better sleep.
If you struggle to go to sleep, with a busy mind that won’t switch off or worrying thoughts that keep you up, there are various things you can try that can help to improve your sleep. Relaxing techniques and natural herbal products etc. but there is so much to say on this alone, and this post is about ways to stress less, so I’ll do a separate post on getting better sleep soon.
I wouldn’t advise relying on chemical sleep aids, as they mimic the body into believing it’s ready for sleep, but you may become reliant with prolonged use making natural quality sleep even more elusive.
There is a time for many words, and there is also a time for sleep
– Homer, The Odyssey
5. Food – eating well
What we choose to put into our bodies cannot be more important to our overall health and wellbeing. Just as stress can cause a physical reaction with the release of adrenaline, causing inflammation, so can foods we consume have an effect on our overall health. Unhealthy, processed options causing inflammation, digestive problems, and discomfort.
Alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and processed foods can affect us in so many ways, they can cause our blood sugar levels to rise, affecting our thyroid. leading to hypothyroidism, which affects the hormone balance in the body, which affects the mood, the gut health, the liver function as it’s trying to eliminate the toxins. It’s just an unhealthy chain of events in the body, leaving us feeling unwell, lethargic, and moody.
Being mindful of what we consume is another way to stress less, knowing that we are doing the best to be kind to ourselves, and your body will thank you with raised energy levels, less bloat, less discomfort.
Opt for fresh fruit and vegetables, steer clear of processed foods and refined sugar, limit your intake of alcohol and caffeine.
6. Natural Herbal remedies
There is so much goodness to be derived from the natural world, plants, herbs, and botanicals have so much to offer, not just in our diet.
As I mentioned previously, one of the biggest health hazards derived from stress is inflammation, leading to a number of other health issues and fatigue.
By using herbal remedies, we can address the various health concerns, lower our stress levels and inflammation, improve our energy levels, and achieve overall wellness.
Typical herbs to aid relaxation and relieve stress are chamomile, and lavender. Lavender can be used in the bath as an oil, as a room or pillow spray. Chamomile tea is a popular choice and is also a great bedtime drink to get ready for sleep.
Herbs with anti-inflammatory properties like stinging nettle can help in a number of ways. Nettle is a natural diuretic so supports the adrenals and the liver to eliminate toxins, thereby reducing inflammation, and stress.
Nettle can be taken a number of ways, it can be added into the diet in a variety of recipes, brewed into a tea, the seeds concentrated into alcohol or glycerine to create a tincture, which is then taken orally under the tongue. It’s an Adaptogen and helps us deal more effectively with stress, though don’t take it last thing at night as it’s quite stimulating!
The leaves can also be infused into oils to be used in creams and balms to aid in a number of other symptoms of problem hair and skin, but I will go into that in a lot more detail in another blog post.
7. Connect with those you Love
A fantastic way to distract and stress less is finding ways to connect with those you love.
Spending time with friends, family, and your beloved pets that you love (not the ones that stress you out!) is a great way to get those feel-good vibes, and if you can do these things combined with some of the suggestions above then you’re on to a good thing. A walk outdoors along a river with a pal and your dog… I mean what a great way to just be in a happy place.
I’m particularly fond of a woodland walk with my dog, where the kids can run free and uninhibited, we all get fresh air to clear the head fog and we can connect with each other and nature. It’s ideal.
Sometimes getting together in person is not possible. The whole world has experienced lockdown to some degree, and the only option to connect with family and friends was to use technology, and that’s ok too.
Often the loved ones we want to see are on the other side of the world. A phone call or video chat is just as great a way to de-stress, talk through things that may be worrying you, or even when we keep it light, can be really valuable. It always works for me and leaves me with feelings of happiness, contentment and I am revitalised to go on with the day or tackle the thing that may have been worrying me.
In Conclusion
I hope that these 7 Easy Steps to Stress Less and Feel Energised have helped give you some ideas to manage your stress levels and start to feel healthier and more in control.
Feel feel to leave me a comment or message if you need clarity on anything mentioned. Your feedback is always welcome.
Did you find this post useful? Then you might find the following post interesting too
How to Reduce Inflammation in the Body Fast with Nettles
x Bronwyn
