Feeling tense about life? Anxious about all your obligations? Nursing a gloomy outlook? Stress, in all its shapes and forms, can dig into each corner of your life and accumulate there. As it builds, stress can cause a series of emotional and physical ailments that leave you feeling pretty helpless, so you’ll want to deal with it before it gets out of hand. If deep breathing and camomile tea aren’t cutting it, try one of these simple and effective approaches instead.
Tune in and calm down. Do you buy into the healing power of music? Pianist/composer Edward Weiss sure does, but he limits his focus to New Age piano compositions. In his opinion, this particular genre (a staple of the 1980s pop music scene that seems to be making a comeback) develops the creativity that can combat stress. “I think people always used music to reduce stress,” says Weiss, “The great thing about New Age piano is that it’s also easy to create on your own. By actually making music, students get the additional benefit of getting their creative juices flowing at the same time. It’s just a beautiful genre of music.” Weiss offers online New Age piano lessons for adults to tap into their creativity.
But you don’t have to make your own music to reap the healing rewards of song, and you certainly don’t have to set aside a time or a special room for it. In fact, your kitchen is perfect for music therapy: uplifting music can keep you energized and positive while you cook, and listening to soothing music while you eat can trigger a relaxation response in your brain, which will make for a more enjoyable meal and better digestion. And why stop there? Take that soothing music to the bedroom, where it can help clear your mind and lull you to sleep.
Tweak your lifestyle for better sleep. And n the topic of sleep, you probably know that a solid eight hours can do wonders for your health and energy, which in turn will ease your stress levels. However, the chain doesn’t stop there. In fact, the way you spend your evening hours will determine how well you sleep through the night – and how stressful the next day will be.
Experts agree that most people need between seven and nine hours of sleep each night to maintain good mental and physical health, but so many people just can’t seem to get that much shut-eye. Why? It may have a lot to do with what you eat, read and hear right before bed. When it comes to sleep interference, caffeine is a given, but so is spicy and acidic food, which can lead to uncomfortable heartburn. Also, falling asleep to the noise and flickering screen of a television can make it more difficult to drift off, and the same goes for usingcomputer screens right before bedtime. Cutting out technology and curbing food cravings with neutral snacks may be your best bet for a sound sleep.
Stop shopping to start relaxing. Distractions are everywhere, and most involve collecting and consumption. Since one of the best ways to reduce stress is to reduce clutter, do what you can to clean up your physical and psychological space. Instead of indulging in some “retail therapy”, which can actually bring about more stress after the novelty wears off, use the time to just be on your own, without distractions. Think about what brought you to this point, get to the heart of your struggles and notice what is and isn’t working for you. You don’t need to force yourself to come up with lofty goals or sweeping solutions all in one sitting, just think about your concerns rather than burying them in clothes or gadgets.
The point here is to develop awareness, and then tap into that awareness more frequently to control your feelings and create solutions. Once you begin to take these little pauses, you can stretch them out for deeper relaxation: attend regular yoga classes, practice meditation at home or book a weekly massage. Any of these activites will help you focus on the moment and what is happening within your body and mind, and that’s going to keep your stress at bay.
Since it’s such a major player in health and wellbeing, you need to take action if stress is consuming your life. But before you turn to medication or complicated treatment, try to tap into the simple things like perspective, self-exploration and calming your senses. Remember that you already have some powerful tools to improve your life, so use them!
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