Is stress getting overwhelming and impacting your productivity, concentration and everyday performance? Stress is something we all experience in our lives, and if the stress is short-term, it can be beneficial as it gives a boost to be more productive. But when the stress becomes long-term, that’s when problems start. Studies show chronic stress can lower the immune system, affect brain functions moods, mess up hormones, cause weight gain and inflammation. So it’s important to get on top of long-term stress and to bring our minds and bodies more in balance.
EASE THE STRESS BY GETTING INTO THE PRESENT MOMENT
The reason, why we often feel stressed is that we are either living in the future or in the past. We stress about the endless to-do lists we need to smash through or we stress about what might happen in a certain event in the future. If it’s not the future we are stressing about, then we dwell on events that happened in the past. The reality is that the future hasn’t happened yet and we can’t change the past. So the trick to reduce stress is to get more in balance and be present, with what is happening now around us. Easier said than done, right? Next, let’s dive into how we can do this.
TURN OFF THE STRESS REACTION BY GETTING THE BODY MOVING
If you are feeling highly stressed, sitting down and trying to meditate may not work for you at that particular moment. Getting the body moving and burning off the stress hormones may be much more effective as the movement calms down the nervous system and helps to calm down the physical stress reaction in the body. A walk out in the fresh air (especially in nature), yoga, light exercise like a bike ride or jogging are good ways to lower stress levels. When you experience high levels of stress, it’s not recommended to do full-on training and lift heavy weights as it may end up causing more stress to the body and mind, leaving you feeling more exhausted.
LOWER STRESS BY DOING BREATHING EXERCISES
Breathwork is a powerful tool to help fight against stress as often when we are feeling stressed, the breathing gets shallow and we hold our breath reducing the oxygen flow into our brain and other parts of the body. You may notice your chest getting very tight when you are stressed and not breathing properly.
A great way to reduce stress is to connect to your breath and do breathing exercises that help to calm down your parasympathetic nervous system. The simplest way of doing this is to take long, deep breaths in and out through your nose. Or to do a few rounds of, what’s called box breathing. You may soon notice that you start feeling more calm and relaxed.
Yoga is a great way to reduce stress as it connects breath with movement, bringing you back to the present moment.
BOX BREATHING
MANAGE STRESS WITH COLD WATER IMMERSION
The most effective stress management method I have found is cold water immersion. Once I started swimming in cold water on a daily basis, I noticed that my stress was gone, and I felt overall much happier and energetic. The science behind this says that when you immerse yourself in the cold water, the body starts producing endorphins, which are happy hormones. You may find yourself giggling like a schoolgirl if you stay in the water long enough and get into the natural high state.
You can have cold showers if you don’t have access to a cold plunge pool or cold lake/ sea. So, if you find yourself feeling tired and stressed out, test how getting into cold water makes you feel. The idea of getting into cold water usually is not very tempting, but the feeling you get afterwards is worth the pain of getting into the water.
To sum it all up, if you are feeling stressed, get your body moving, connect with your breath, get into the present moment, and try cold water immersion. There are many other techniques to reduce and manage stress so stay tuned for more performance and transformation hacks in the Aloraway Transformation Blog.
