8 Ways to Ease Stress

Managing stress is essential for maintaining your physical and emotional health.

Of course, it’s normal to feel stressed out from time to time.

In fact, not all stress is bad.

Good stress can help inspire and motivate you, keeping you on track to reach your goals.

However, the real problem arises when healthy stress turns to chronic stress.

What is chronic stress?

Chronic stress is a type of stress that is constant and prolonged.

It can interfere with a variety of hormones in men and women.

In women, it can affect the sex hormones including estrogen, progesterone and testosterone; women can even stop having periods due to chronic stress.

In men, it can negatively impact testosterone levels. Chronic stress can also interfere with growth hormone.

When we're in a constant state of stress, the holistic nature of the body is thrown out of balance.

Ways to ease stress

Everyone uses different methods to manage stress.

Ultimately, the way you deal with it will depend on you and your coping mechanisms.

Here are a few techniques you can try:

Daily breath work

Practicing breathwork is a great stress reliever because it can help lower your heart rate and blood pressure, reducing anxiety and giving you a sense of calm.

Exercise

One of the simplest and most effective ways to reduce stress is by doing regular exercise. The release of endorphins during a workout can lift your mood, helping you feel happier and more positive. It can also distract you from your anxieties by acting as a form of meditation, particularly if you are doing repetitive motion exercises (e.g. running, weight lifting etc).

Meditate

Meditation can help you feel relaxed, diverting your attention from your worries and reducing stress. If you don’t know where to begin, there are lots of meditation apps such as Headspace that can guide you. You can start by taking 5 minutes to meditate each day and then increase the amount of time each session.

Walk barefoot on the earth

Walking barefoot on the earth helps to promote health and vitality, lower stress, relieve muscle tension and headaches, improve blood pressure, reduce inflammation and its associated pain, as well as helping to stabilise the body’s basic biological rhythms, promoting better sleep, and protecting the body against potentially health-disturbing environmental electromagnetic fields (EMFs).

Get out of the wi-fi polluted zones

Detaching yourself from technology and spending time in nature has been shown to minimise anxiety; going off-grid for a day or so every month is a great way to manage your stress levels and improve your mood.

Get out in the sunshine

The sun is our best source of vitamin D, a hormone precursor that: controls calcium levels in the blood thus maintaining strong bones, muscles and teeth; is involved in making hundreds of enzymes and proteins which are vital for preventing a number of diseases; strengthens the immune system and has anti-cancer properties. Research also shows that sunshine has a significant effect on mental health and is recommended in the treatment of depression; and for regulating circadian rhythms (our internal body clock that when disrupted can result in sleep disorders).

Sleep

Getting enough sleep is also crucial if you want to minimise stress. Whilst some of us sleep like a log, others struggle to get good quality rest at night. Try setting up a restful and relaxing sleeping environment by ensuring your bedroom is dark, quiet and cool. It’s also a good idea to avoid eating too close to bedtime, looking at digital devices and drinking alcohol. Both of these activities can keep your mind and body awake, so stay clear and get some kip.

Watching the sun rise and fall

By doing this each day, it can regulate the natural rhythm of your body (the circadian rhythm in particular), improving your sleep cycle and making you feel more awake in the mornings. Watching the sun rise is especially beneficial in raising your mood and giving you a sense of awe which some studies show can reduce inflammation.

Changing your lifestyle won’t happen overnight, but making small, healthy choices will certainly help prevent chronic stress.

How can STAIT help?

If you feel like you’re doing all these things, but still feel stressed out, STAIT can help.

Sometimes, we just need some extra help — STAIT for Men has been formulated with clinically-proven ingredients that help to:

• Optimise hormone levels

• Support a healthy stress response in the body

• Enhance physical and cognitive performance

• Reduce fatigue and enhance recovery

• Reduce nervous tension, mild anxiety and depression

• Promote restorative sleep

Don’t let stress hold you back from reaching your full potential, take control and try STAIT today.