WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: STRESS AWARENESS MONTH We can all agree that life can be stressful; from work, to school, to dating, to family, and the list goes on. When your body is in a state of constant stress you will experience a spike in cortisol (the stress/ fight or flight hormone) and can easily become distressed. Continuous high levels of cortisol can cause a variety of physical ailments and health issues.
We can all agree that stress is inevitable, and in honor of Stress Awareness Month, here are 5 activities that you can do to manage everyday stress.
Five Stress Relief Activities
1. Connect with Nature – Sometimes you need to disconnect, to reconnect. Taking a break, going for a walk, and getting fresh air is an easy a natural nervous system calmer. Increased levels of oxygen to the brain helps reduce stress and anxiety.
2. Yoga- Stretching releases tension in the body, and promotes physical and mental relaxation.
3. Phone a friend- Love and laughter is medicine! Meaningful connections and time spent with loved ones naturally boost serotonin and oxytocin in the body, relaxing the nervous system and decreasing cortisol levels.
4. Physical Touch- Get a massage! Whether it’s an external massage, or internal massage physical touch is a basic human necessity, and it proves very rewarding to relax your body.
5. Rest- Lack of sleep increases cortisol (stress hormone) production. Your body needs rest to reset and prepare for the next day. Without adequate sleep you’re constantly carrying the stress and exhaustion from yesterday into a new day.
Wellness Wednesdays: Don’t Stress It
Life isn’t going to always go to plan, and sometimes good things have to fall apart, so that great things can fall together. We can’t control everything, but we can control how we cope with that everything.
A relaxed body creates a relaxed mind, and a relaxed mind creates a relaxed body.
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