After much exposure from stress, we try to unwind by doing things that make us happy. We have a few suggestions that you can use to relieve stress and probably, you can add some to your personal list.
Laugh
Laughter they say is the best medicine. When we laugh, our brain releases endorphin, a hormone that relaxes our muscles. Turn on your computer and watch some funny, short videos on the internet that your friend sent you and you’ll find out that there’s more to life than work. Laughter also lowers your blood pressure and at the same time, minimizes the release of the cortisol hormone that is responsible for putting us in a stressful mood.
Gardening
Watching paint dry on a wall is another way of relieving stress. The problem is we rarely get exposed to this type of reliever. Another one that may provide a similar effect is gardening. Grab a shovel and clear out the weeds in your mini flower garden and spray some water on the leaves and flowers that bloom in it. When you engage in an involuntary act, you actually replenish yourself. Gardening requires you to perform involuntary action that makes you feel good. Your cortisol hormone goes down when you are engaged in this type of activity.
Reading
All you will need is six minutes of reading to relax yourself. Reading is an effective way to relieve stress because as you read, you unconsciously slow down your heartbeat thus, lowering your blood pressure. That’s probably the reason why reading the newspaper in the morning makes us enjoy the start of our day. We also spend around six minutes just to read the comic page. There are a lot of reading materials that are available to us and each topic will cater to our selective tastes. To magnify the stress relief you get from reading, combine it with a cup of tea or coffee or even listen to music. After that, I’m sure you’ll be ready to start your day on a right note.
Call a Relative
When we are looking for a sure way to make us feel good, we sometimes try to get in touch with a living relative. We try to call up our moms, dads, brothers or sisters. We share to them our day’s experience and ask a comment from them. At the end of the conversation, we feel relieved and relaxed. Talking to a relative and just exchanging “hi’s” or “hello’s” gives you a feeling that no amount of money can buy. You may have a subscription from the best phone service in the country but if you don’t use it by calling a relative from time to time, then your monthly payment becomes useless.
Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate is known to provide benefits for our heart. In addition to this, dark chocolates can lower down our stress levels. All you will need is just 1.4 ounces of dark chocolate a day and in two weeks, you’ll find out that your cortisol level is very low. That’s according to a 2009 study published in the Proteome Research Journal. Take this in moderation so that you won’t gain too much fat.
Gossip
Talking about your officemate’s flaws may not be a good practice but it’s an effective way to relieve stress in the work place. Talking about a bad behavior that an officemate did makes people feel good about their seamless behavior. When you feel like you want to say something about a colleague in the office, try to be a little constructive and at the same time, don’t dwell too much on the bad emotion part. Learn to move on with your life so that you yourself won’t become the next topic in an office gossip session.
