Long hours at the office. Blurred lines between work and leisure with working from home. General job uncertainty in today’s economy or even trying to secure employment. Sound familiar?
All of today’s work trends have only served to add stress and anxiety to our lives in an already increasingly competitive and fast paced world. A recent study conducted by the American Psychological Association showed that 75% of adults in the United States reported feeling “moderate to high levels of stress in the past month” while “80% of American workers feel stress on the job” according to the American Institute for Stress. [1]
Stress as we know it, can be positive in small amounts as a motivational push but once left unchecked and left to fester, can be a leading cause of more severe consequences such as depression.
We’ve compiled 5 simple, and most importantly, free and accessible methods that you can implement in your daily life to lower your stress and anxiety levels.
Exercise
No gym membership required, you can practice bodyweight exercises, running outdoors or yoga as effective methods to burn calories while releasing endorphins (the feel good hormone) and lowering cortisol (stress hormone) levels. Additionally, once you start to feel and see the effects that exercise has on your body, you’ll have a higher confidence level which in turn, will reduce the amount of stress and anxiety you might be feeling.
Practice some deep breathing
Taking a moment to step back and practice mindful breathing allows you to take in more oxygen than your regular breathing which centers your body, clears your mind and restores balance in your breathing which will reduce anxiety and ultimately help to lower overall stress levels.
For beginners, doing this practice solo might be daunting and intimidating so we at Lifebeats have created completely free and accessible breathing exercises to combat both stress and anxiety. Try out the deep breathing mindfulness sessions on the Lifebeats app right now.
Laugh
Yes, laughter really is the best medicine. Watching some funny and cute animal videos, late night comedy or hanging out and having a good time with friends and family. A study in 2003 conducted among cancer patients concluded that laughter helped the test group experience more stress relief [2]. Laughter is also proven to help boost your immune system.
Meditation
Meditation helps to remove all the noise and chaos that might be going on in your head by ensuring you are only focusing on the present moment. The clarity of mind has been proven to combat both stress and anxiety while also decreasing the likelihood of depression and other mood-related disorders [3]
Similar to deep breathing, beginners to meditation can find it daunting to start. The Lifebeats app has implemented several free and accessible guided meditation therapies which you can use to get started and build a regular routine with.
Trying to find out the best time of the day to meditate can also be a challenge itself. Read here to find out for yourself how and when you should meditate for best results.
Time management
In the chaotic, fast-paced world we live in today, fitting all these stress and anxiety reduction solutions can only work if we are able to have effective time management. This means setting aside enough time each day to ensure we are able to commit to the above practices (or as many of them as possible)
Key takeaways
While there are many ways to help with stress and anxiety levels, it really is up to you to try and discover which is the best and most effective for your lifestyle. Ultimately, should you feel that you are continuing to struggle despite the above recommendations, the best solution would always be to reach out to a trained professional for further consultation and medical advice.
References:
[1] Gostress.com. 2020. STRESS FACTS | Global Organization For Stress. [online] Available at: <http://www.gostress.com/stress-facts/> [Accessed 31 July 2020].
[2] MP, B., JM, Z., L, R. and J, M., 2003. The Effect Of Mirthful Laughter On Stress And Natural Killer Cell Activity.
[3] Jain, F., Walsh, R., Eisendrath, S., Christensen, S. and Cahn, B., 2015. Critical Analysis Of The Efficacy Of Meditation Therapies For Acute And Subacute Phase Treatment Of Depressive Disorders: A Systematic Review.