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Is there anybody who doesn’t feel stressed these days? Between work, money, school, family and relationships. Being busy and stressed seems to be the new norm. The problem is that the stress is highly damaging to our health and well being. Here are the 10 Science-Backed ways to relieve stress:
1. Eat something or chew gum: Science has shown that chewing on something or eating lowers stress. To avoid the calories, you can always chew the sugar free gum.
2. Do some yoga: It has been proven to lower resting cortisol levels and greatly reduce stress in its practitioners. Just 20 mins of yoga will give you these effects.
3. Meditate: 5 minutes of concentrated deep breathing and meditation has been shown to lower blood pressure and greatly reduce cortisol. There are plenty of free guided meditation apps for beginners.
4. Walk away from the computer: Uninterrupted computer use has been associated with stress, lost sleep and depression. Take frequent breaks throughout your day and make sure to shut it off 1 hour before you fall asleep.
5. Listen to some relieving music: Research points to multiple ways in which music can help to relieve stress and trigger biochemical stress reducers.
6. Watch a funny video: Laughter has been show to reduce the physical effects of stress and lower blood pressure, so next time you’re feeling stressed or anxious, watch a funny video.
7. Try progressive muscle relaxation: All the way from the fingers to the toes, tense and then relax each muscle group in the body. This will help relieve tension. you’ll find that once the muscles are relaxed, the mind will soon follow.
8. Turn your freaking phone off: Just talking on the phone has been shown to raise blood pressure. When you need a break, just turn your phone on airplane mode for an hour and put it out of sight.
9. Hop off Facebook for a week: Facebook has been proven to Make us feel sadder and less satisfied. Studies have also shown that when people deactivate it, they feel happier and less worried.
10. Go for a walk: Just walking around your neighbourhood for 10 minutes will reduce stress hormones. If you can then walk in a park or a place with nature for greater effects.
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