3 Ways to Reduce Stress and Improve Health

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Relaxation

With the day-to-day grind of work and life, you may be allowing your health to suffer as you ignore stress in favor of pushing through to tackle responsibilities. Health is wealth, and ignoring stress can deplete your stores more quickly than you realize. Here are three ways to reduce stress in order to improve your health.

Exercise

Exercise can go a long way toward reducing or completely eliminating stress. The physical and mental impact of sticking with an exercise routine is measurable and can be experienced pretty quickly. Stress can cause fatigue, tension, sleep problems, and other physical symptoms. Exercise can increase your energy levels and stamina, alleviate muscle tension, and help you have a better night’s sleep. In fact, many treatment centers use physical activity as a natural mood enhancer to help promote mental wellness and recovery. 

Changes in mood caused by stress can be completely turned around with just 30 minutes of aerobic exercise daily. Feeling irritable, depressed, anxious, restless, and generally overwhelmed are all symptoms of stress that exercise can help with. Even if your exercise only includes daily brisk walks, you’ll see a significant improvement in your stress symptoms. You can even do simple exercises while sitting or in a desk to get your heart beating just a bit faster.

Massage Therapy

Massage therapy is a time-honored method of relieving stress. The ancient Egyptians and ancient Greeks understood the benefits of massage therapy and people of all socioeconomic levels in their societies utilized it. Most resorts will have a massage therapist on staff because the relaxing and stress-reducing benefits of massage therapy are accepted by those in the vacation industry.

Massage therapy encourages muscle relaxation, improves circulation, helps reduce pain, and eliminates toxins. Some of the side effects include sleepiness and sore muscles. If you want to get the benefits of massage therapy while you avoid the side effects of massage therapy, make sure that your massage therapist knows what he or she is doing.

Breathing Exercises

Breathing exercises are a quick and effective way to help reduce stress. It doesn’t require equipment or anything other than your attention to form. Breathing exercises encourage better oxygen consumption, stabilize blood pressure, and improve circulation, all things that help to alleviate stress. As you work through simple breathing exercises, you’ll find that your muscles relax, and because these exercises are a form of meditation, you may find that they help to relieve anxiety and racing thoughts.

A well-known breathing exercise is the 4-7-8 method, also called Relax Breath. In this exercise, you’ll inhale through your nose for a count of four. Next, you’ll hold that breath for a count of seven. This is followed by exhaling completely through your mouth for a count of eight. The cycle is repeated for a total of four cycles.

If you take care of your body, you’ll be better equipped to take on the obstacles life throws your way. Whether it’s a pressing deadline, raising children, or other life events, treating your body right can reduce or eliminate unavoidable stress.

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