5 Easy Ways To Reduce And Relieve Stress

Here are some easy ways to reduce stress. Stare at something green. Sounds strange right? Different colors have been known to trigger different emotions. For example, the color red increases heart rate and blood pressure. By staring at something green, your mind tells your heart to relax and it slows down. Staring at something green is a very easy way to reduce stress. This is the same reason people have office plants around their work area. Green reminds the body of nature and we start to feel at ease. It simulates being in a natural environment. The is the same reason red stop lights means stop and green means go. Red triggers the mind to be alert and green calms the mind. Besides not paying attention, this is sometimes why some people hang at the light even when it's green.

Slow music has always been known to reduce and relieve stress. Ever wonder why? Rhythmic music affects the heart beat. The heart will attempt to match the rhythm. Slow beating bass affects the heart and nerve the most. Bass affects us more because we can "feel" it more. New Age, Classical, and Progressive music are good for relaxing. Whatever your preference, there are likely slow alternatives in the same genre.

Breathe Deep

Deep breathing is easy and it can greatly reduce stress. Taking slow, deep breaths forces the heart to slow down. Breathing deep expands the stomach rather than the chest and can be very therapeutic. This breathing technique allows for better absorption of oxygen thus also relieving physical stress.

Physical Exercise

Exercising is actually physical stress. When you purposefully exert your body to a stressful condition, you body will adapt to it. You will become stronger, faster, fitter. This, in turn, prevents stress. Stress is not exclusive to a mental condition. While we commonly focus on psychological stress, we should not ignore physical stress. Exercising is easy but most people put it off. Making exercise a habit requires drive and a shift of paradigm. You need to want to exercise and some people just do not want to for whatever reason.

Chewing your food can reduce stress. Yes, you heard me. Your body spends a lot of energy digesting food. If you do not chew your food properly, you are putting excess stress on your body to work harder to get the same amount of energy from the foods you eat. Chewing thoroughly takes just a little more time but you can unlock a good amount of energy and at the same time, reduce stress on your body. Think about it this way. Put a big ice cube in a glass of water. Then mix it. Now put the same ice cube but break it down to smaller sizes, or even shavings if you have an ice shaver. Notice how the ice in the smaller size dissolves more quickly. This is because the ice shavings have more surface area. It's similar to your digestive system. You do not want your body to work harder to digest the same amount of food, so take your time and chew your food. Physical stress is just as important as mental stress. We should not ignore it.

These are some very simple steps anyone can take to reduce stress in their daily lives. These steps are very basic and you can start anytime. Stress affects us all. By understanding the cause of stress, we can move to prevent it. This is a very simple how-to and I might expand on it in the future. I hope by reading this, you have reduced your stress.