Try These Top 10 Stress Relievers:
1. Breathing Exercises - Deep breathing is an easy stress reliever.
2. Meditation - Meditation builds on deep breathing, and takes it a step further. When you meditate, your brain enters an area of functioning that's similar to sleep.
3. Guided Imagery - It takes slightly more time to practice guided imagery, but this is a great way to leave your stress behind. Play natural sounds in the background as you practice, to promote a more immersive experience.
4. Visualizations - Building on guided imagery, you can also imagine yourself achieving goals like becoming healthier and more relaxed, doing well at tasks, and handling conflict in better ways.
5. Self-hypnosis - Self-hypnosis incorporates some of the features of guided imagery and visualizations, with the added benefit of enabling you to communicate directly using your subconscious mind to enhance your abilities.
6. Exercise - Exercise provides a distraction from stressful situations, as well as an outlet for frustrations, and gives you a lift via endorphins as well.
7. Progressive Muscle Relaxation - Start by tensing all the muscles in your face, holding a tight grimace ten seconds, then completely relaxing for ten seconds. Repeat this with your neck, followed by your shoulders, adn continue down your body to your toes.
8. Spend Time With Your Pet - Recent research shows that, when conducting a task that's stressful, people actually experienced less stress when their pets were with them than when a supportive friend or even their spouse was present!
9. Music - When dealing with stress, the right music can actually lower your blood pressure, relax your body and calm your mind.
10. Yoga - Yoga is one of the oldest self-improvement practices around, dating back over five thousand years!
