The amount of pressure placed upon us in today’s time has increased drastically. The financial, emotional, and physical responsibilities cause us to be too busy sometimes. Everyone has used the “I do not have time to get rid of my stress” line. But the fact is that you do.

While getting rid of stressors is no easy task, there are little things we can do throughout the day to minimize stress or remove the exposing elements. Here are a few tips to relieve the stress and how doing so can help you:

Stimulate Your Body Exercise 30 Minutes 3-4 Days a Week

● Get up earlier than normal. This is a wake-up call for your body. You begin to stimulate the blood vessels and cause them to contract and motivate your blood flow. In addition your body will release chemicals to stimulate your brain (called endorphins) that can help you get your day off to a better start.
● Walk around the block or even two or three blocks. If you have a dog, take the dog for a walk and share the fresh air with man’s best friend.
● Go to the gym and do some form of aerobic activity. Pick your favorite exercise and just do it. Even if you have to wake up 35 minutes earlier than usual to accomplish it, just do it. If you have a home gym, great. If not, get some affordable equipment (even hand weights) and make a commitment to use them.

Be Conscious of Your Food Consumption

● The foods we consume can also contribute to stress. Make better eating choices to reduce stress. Foods that contain cholesterol, saturated fats, and simple sugars can lead to headaches, digestive issues, difficulty in concentration, and irritability. These feelings and body complaints will increase our stress levels because we feel uncomfortable.
● Concentrate on eating meals consisting of fruits, vegetables, grains, calcium and protein. This will help your body to naturally combat against disease, illness, or stress. The protein source does not have to be meat. Legumes (nuts and seeds) are loaded with proteins.
● Most importantly is to make sure you get 8-10 glasses of water every day. Not being adequately hydrated can lead to health problems that will increase your stress.

Find Ways to Increase Inner Calmness

● Another concept to reduce stress is to use meditation, yoga, or Tai Chi. These are ways to get in touch with your inner serenity. As we focus on body movements, another object or a sound our mind forgets other distractions and we can feel the stress release. This allows us to remove ourselves from the environment for a brief time to gather our thoughts. These concepts are to remove the stress and allow our inner body to recoil and heal, somewhat. There are several programs and books that are available to teach these methods. In addition there are programs that will teach you coping mechanisms and ways to reduce the inner tension.
● A second option is to place yourself into the potato field - the couch. Take off your shoes and take some deep breaths. Place a cool wash cloth over your eyes. Focus on your breathing. Spend a few moments thinking about nothing but relaxing. Provide yourself with a form of guided imagery. Allow the stress to flow from your body.
● Try deep breathing whenever you get a free moment during the day. This will help expand your lungs, improving oxygenation to the blood stream and feeding the vital organs. Deep breathing will also slow your pace in order to concentrate more fully and perform better. Short shallow respirations may impair oxygenation and disrupt metabolism. Learn to turn the stress response on and off with deep breathing. Ideally, deep breathing is six breaths per minute. Trying this even once each day may help reduce your stress.

These are just some basic techniques and responses the body will undergo as a result of improving your health. Your stress is unique to you and you must develop techniques that work for your body in order to better cope with it.

Stress by the Numbers

One-quarter of employees view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (www.cdc.gov/niosh).

Other stats listed in the report include:

40% of workers reported their job was very or extremely stressful.
75% of employees believe that workers have more on-the-job stress than a generation ago.
29% of workers felt quite a bit or extremely stressed at work.
26% of workers said they were “often or very often burned out or stressed by their work.”

Job stress is more strongly associated with health complaints than financial or family problems.