Decrease Stress Now!

The fact that you’re such a rockstar with your food intake is fantastic, excellent, just wonderfully grand!

But did you know that you could actually be counteracting or even completely de-railing all the goodness that you’re accomplishing with cleaning eating and healthy exercising if you’re experiencing this one teeny weeny tiny thing all the time?

Can you guess what that teeny thing is?

It’s STRESS.

Gulp. The thought of it already sends monstrous butterflies of horror through my stomach. Maybe stress isn’t so small after all.

You see, stress initiates many hormonal imbalances within your body. Your adrenals go out of wack, your cortisol levels rise, your neurotransmitters go a little haywire. Now, don’t get me wrong. A little stress is absolutely necessary – it gets you where you need to go when you need to be there, it helps you make prompt decisions and it helps you live your life in a way where you can prioritize things. However, debilitating stress that has you emotional, angry, upset, anxious or depressed does absolutely no good and can wreak havoc on your body.

Here are a few efficient ways to decrease stress and refocus your life on the daily so that you can go out and be the superstar you know you are!

Sleep
Getting good quality sleep is better than the hardest workout or the greenest smoothie. I swear. Lack of sleep has been linked to higher stress levels, weight gain, hormonal imbalance, blood sugar imbalance, mood swings, mental issues, infertility, poor immune problems, as well as many other serious issues. You are literally taking years off your life by not sleeping. The quality of your sleep matters too! Make your room as dark as possible, turn off every single flashing light (computers, TVs, cell phones, etc) in your room and use an eye mask if you have to! Light can disrupt your natural hormone cycles and can cause you to toss and turn.

Take a breatherr
Seriously. Lay flat on your back when you’re feeling stressed and put your feet up on a wall or on a chair or bed. Now take a deep breath in for 4 counts, hold that breath for 7 counts, then release the breath for 8 counts. Do this 5 times. Reducing your stress by just breathing and elevating your feet can improve immune function, reduce physical pain, help balance and recenter the mind, increase your memory, improve creativity, lower blood pressure, decrease your heart rate, and [later on in the day] improve sleep quality!

Color
Yes, it’s a fad now…but it’s all for good reason. Either purchase an “adult coloring book” or just grab some paper, markers, pen’s, or paint and spread color across the pages! Coloring has been shown to be just as effective as decreasing stress levels as meditation! If you’re anything like me, actually sitting still – especially when you’re stressed – is nearly impossible. Coloring lets you move, activates your creativity, and shifts perspective. You’ll notice that problems suddenly don’t have that nasty edge after you’ve colored a page or two!

Greens
No, I don’t mean kale or spinach. I mean go outside and SEE green. Seeing the color green in nature has been shown to decrease high blood pressure, balance hormones, and decrease stress levels. Walk through a park, lay under a big tree, or just take off your shoes and stand on your lawn. Breathe in the freshness of the world around you, turn your face toward the sunlight, touch the leaves or bark of the plant if you can, and let your mind wander towards something happy. This is a GREAT time to turn off your phone or computer and just unplug for a little while. If you could spend 30 minutes a day away from electronics and instead spend some time experiencing the world around you or playing with your kids, you can greatly improve the condition of ailments or illnesses plaguing you.

Give Gratituder
That’s right! Even in the greatest, most terrible moments of stress, I want you to take the tiniest moment to say THANK YOU for something. Look away from whatever is causing you grief and give thanks for the fact that you’re able to breathe right now. Be happy that you have a job or a family to go to every day. Be grateful that you have food to eat (even if it’s not organic or grass-fed) and that you have fresh water to drink. Be grateful for the fact that you’re even having this particular moment of stress because that means that you have been give an opportunity to better yourself and improve! That simple change in perspective can do wonders, huh?

You are an incredible person. You’ve got big things to do in this world and many adventures to be had. Don’t let stress knock you down or damage all the hard work you’ve done to optimize your body, mind, and spirit. You can do this!
http://blog.onestoppaleoshop.com/2016/02/decrease-stress-now/