Stress Management: How to Control Stress Effectively?

By Charlie ParsonsApr 10, 2021916

Minor to major challenges are part and parcel of our life, but sometimes uncalled challenges can invite mental stress. While you cannot control your ongoing situations, you can control your responses in such conditions. Stress can be overwhelming at such times and can grow into chronic mental illness. Therefore, it is essential to find some stress relievers.

Stress control and management you must know to stay mentally happy and face challenges with confidence. Here are some stress relievers or stress control tips that you can apply whenever and at any time so you can control the way you react to stressful conditions. Let’s know in detail.

Exercise

Physical activity and regular exercise help you to stay physically and mentally fit. It is a perfect stress reliever for everyday life that helps you to cope up with stress. Working out regularly; makes you sleep faster. Exercise helps you get that deep sleep that helps you to renew your brain and relax it enough. However, researchers have no specific answers for the impact of exercise on our mental health. But they do say that exercise helps us to put ourselves in a positive perspective. Remember to avoid exercise before going to bed as it may disrupt sleep for some people.

It also helps secret some hormones such as endocannabinoids that block pain, improve sleep, and sedate you. It means it’s high that you get after a good workout session.

People who exercise are known to become less anxious. When your body feels good, it will directly impact your mental state. You can try these exercises:

• Running
• Swimming
• Dancing
• Cycling
• Aerobics

If you don’t have time for proper exercise, try moving around throughout the day.

Diet

The benefits of choosing healthy life and healthy eating do not apply to your waistline but also your mental health. A healthy diet is also a stress-controlling factor. It builds up your immune system, levels your mood, and lowers your blood pressure. Lots of added sugar and fat can impact your physical as well as mental health. And junk food is binged a lot of people when they are stressed. To stay healthy, you can begin eating complex carbohydrates, lean proteins, and fatty acids found in fish, meat, eggs, and nuts. You can also increase the consumption of antioxidants. Antioxidant-rich foods are beans, fruits, berries, vegetables, and spices such as ginger.

Try to buy and eat healthy food. Carry healthy snacks to control unhealthy cravings. Do not consume processed foods, and avoid eating mindlessly.

There some nutrients that help control the effects of stress on your mind. Eat a balanced diet that contains the below-mentioned nutrients as it

• Vitamin C
• Magnesium
• Omega-3 fatty acids
• Sleep

A common side effect of mental stress is a disrupted sleeping cycle or lack of sleep. If this happens three times a week for more than three months, you might have insomnia, an inability to fall asleep. Lack of sleep can add to the stress, and not sleeping means your brain does not get time to relax enough. You may feel tired and low the next morning. Therefore, better sleeping habits can help you to control stress. If you are dealing with a lack of sleep due to stress, you can try these tips:

• Exercise regularly.
• Get out in the sunlight.
• Consume less alcohol and caffeine close to bedtime.
• Make a sleeping schedule.
• Don’t use your electronics before bed.
• Try meditation or other techniques of relaxation before going to bed.

The role of your bedroom is to make you fall asleep. To get a good sleep in general, your room needs to be dark, quiet, and cool. These points help you fall asleep faster and maintain a healthy sleeping cycle. Your bed is also an essential part of your sleep. Your mattress should provide you enough support, space, and most of all, comfort.

Meditation

All the science studied till today has known and understood the benefits of meditation. Meditation works very well for most people globally, and it is largely practiced. It can lower stress, anxiety, and chronic pain and improves sleep. It impacts your energy levels and mood. It helps you stay calm and enhances focus. To begin with mediation:

• Find a silent place.
• Get comfortable; you can sit down or lay down
• Try focusing on a word, quote, objective, or your breath.
• Allow your thoughts to come and go and avoid judging them.

Deep breathing

When you began focusing on each breath, your body naturally relaxes. It creates a state of deep relaxation and calms your body from reacting to stressful conditions. It sends more oxygen to your brain and soothes your nervous system. The relaxed nervous system controls anxiety and panic attacks.

You can try belly breathing. Get in a comfortable position, close your eyes, and place one hand on your belly and the other on your chest. Inhale deep through your nose. And feel your belly expand than your chest. Now, exhale the air through your nose and notice how your body relaxes down slowly. Repeat the process.

Link with people

Allow yourself to take a break when needed. Spend time with your close ones who listen to you and whom you feel comfortable with. It is a natural way that helps you with mental stress control. When you connect with other people around you, your body automatically releases a hormone that inhibits the fight-or-flight response, which helps relax.

Your inner voice

Nothing affects your stress level more than your mind and the thoughts in it. The good news is you can still control them. You can give and take negative thoughts for positive ones. There are many benefits of self-positive talks for reducing mental stress. Try to listen to yourself; self-motivation helps for longer life, lower levels of depression, higher resistance to the common cold, and cardiovascular disease.