Life gets busy, and while good things can come through running a business, managing a family, or performing endless other tasks, it’s important to remember to take time to de-stress. You will notice the difference when you turn stress relief into a habit. Read on 3 Easy Ways to Turn Stress Relief Into a Habit.
By taking daily time to do stress relieving activities, you can reduce your overall stress levels, keeping you happier and healthier.
3 Easy Ways to Turn Stress Relief Into a Habit
1. Set an Exercise Goal
Exercise is an excellent way to relieve stress. Participating in just a small amount of activity can release feel-good hormones that can fight off symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Exercising for around 30 minutes daily has long-term mental and physical benefits, but getting started is tough.
Setting an exercise goal is a way to challenge yourself to get moving and make staying active part of your daily routine. Subscribe to an online leaderboard, set a step count goal, or try a number of new exercises by a goal date.
One of the best ways to achieve a goal is to tell people who will support you and hold you accountable when you slip up. Having a partner can also help, as you will motivate each other to keep moving towards your goal.
Exercising doesn’t have to be hard. There are many benefits to walking for a few minutes every day. Once you get into the habit of exercising, you’ll feel better throughout the day, sleep better at night, and stay able to do the things you love without stress or immobility getting in the way.
2. Move Screens Away From You
If you have a bedside charging station, you know how hard it can be to put away your devices at night. That’s after you went all day checking texts, emails, and social media.
The blue light from screens can affect your ability to rest, damages your skin, and strains your eyes, making you more on-edge and unable to de-stress.
You can do this by placing your devices in areas where you can’t easily access them, giving yourself screen time throughout the day. If you’re in a job where screens are necessary, set timers for breaks throughout the day where you can step outside or close your eyes to escape the blue light.
For that charging station, consider moving it across the room so you have to physically get up every time you want to access your device. This can make your screens much less tempting. If you still struggle with being on a phone, computer, or tablet at night, consider placing the items in the next room and turning the ringer up to hear any emergency calls or text messages.
If you fall asleep in front of the television, consider an alternative, like a book or short podcast that doesn’t need a screen. If you’re struggling to fall asleep with a different method, try setting a sleep timer on your television so your body isn’t exposed to it all night long.
3. Take a Mindfulness Moment
Setting time aside daily to be mindful is a great way to relieve stress.
Mindfulness is the practice of fully immersing yourself in the present moment and eliminating the stress of the material world and worries of the past or future. There are several ways to practice mindfulness; doing one at the same time during your routine can help it become a habit.
Meditation is one way to practice mindfulness that you can do any time of the day. It involves getting into a calm state of focus that can clear your mind and mentally prepare you for upcoming events. It takes some learning, but several free mobile apps and online resources can help you begin.
You can also take moments for mindful breathing throughout the day to help you remain calm and focused. Take a deep breath in through your mouth for four to eight seconds and hold the breath for a couple of seconds before slowly releasing it in the same amount of time you took to take it in.
Being mindful only requires that you are fully aware of the present moment, so performing a grounding exercise in times of stress can assist you in achieving it.
Another habit for helping with mindfulness? Keeping a gratitude journal. These journals help you appreciate the world around you, even when you get frustrated with parts of it. Write down a few things you are grateful for in the morning or evening. These could be people, actions, or just something small you got to see or experience during the previous day.
Getting into a habit of expressing gratefulness helps you look at the good in times of stress or struggle, creating a positive habit.
Making Stress Relief a Priority
Prioritizing stress relief is an excellent way to feel calmer and more focused throughout your day-to-day life. By making habits out of stress-relieving activities, you won’t even have to think about doing what’s right for your body and mind – it’ll come naturally, day by day.
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