5 Sure-Fire Ways of De-Stressing

Just seeing the word ‘stress’ makes me stressed. We stress so much on ‘stress’ these days that it is impossible to leave it at the back of our heads and pretend it does not exist. As a working professional with two jobs, one after-work course and countless social activities, a boyfriend and church commitments, I am constantly looking ahead to the next thing to complete or the next hour to come instead of focusing on what is at hand.

To help our panicky generation out with relieving some of that anxiety and stress, I have compiled five sure-fire ways of de-stressing that I believe to be easily done and achieves effective results of relaxation:

 

Photo Credits: A&A Photography

1. KICKBOXING

Kicking, thumping, jumping in the air sounds like a sure-fire way to de-stress to me. If it were up to me, every office would have a kickboxing room for staff to hang out, get/stay in shape and work out the daily frustrations! For couples, an amazing way to have fun is to do couple boxing, and then resting with a good sushi combo, or movies on the couch. If you are into getting some serious skills for boxing, take private lessons, which is a great way to keep the discipline of getting your blood flowing and endorphins kicking in weekly.

Photo Credits: Paul Cox

2.DANCING

For me, dancing is a way to use my body to express itself. It gives me a chance to break free from whatever is ailing me, ventilate trapped emotions and ease out knotted nerves. Even though I am in no way a professional dancer, moving my body to the rhythm of upbeat music allows me to let go of the tension building inside my body and get in touch with my inner self somehow. What helps too is to sing along to songs you are familiar with, even though it may become an ear worm later on, but it is oh so fun!

Photo Credits: Loren Kerns

3. GO HIKING

I love nature and I think that mountainous landscapes are one of God’s greatest masterpieces. When I have undergone an especially hectic week, I love to get away from it all going on a hiking trail with no plans. Just de-stressing completely, walking in the shade of trees, looking out onto a green world. I feel quite rejuvenated, detoxed from city stress and I even sleep better afterwards. I love bathing myself in gentle sunlight (which benefits us by producing vitamin D in our bodies), catching random squirrels scurrying by, focusing on the beautiful nature around me and stretching and relaxing those stagnant muscles from sitting in the office all week long.

Photo Credits: Hope

4. JOURNALING

As a writer, I guess it is biased of me to say that writing helps me de-stress, but not all sorts of writing though. I like penning long journal entries in my favourite notebook, writing out what is worrying me, making lists of things I am concerned about or just writing a stream of consciousness. Sometimes, I write letters I will never send to someone or write fictional episodes to get my thoughts out of my head and on to paper. Sometimes I just need to process in words what has got me stressed out in life.

Photo Credits: Moyan Brenn

5. SLEEPING

Right, duh… Everybody knows we need to ‘get enough sleep’ to be focused and deal with affairs rationally every day. But is anyone getting those eight hours? I guess it does not take me to tell you that you will be more alert and cheerful with a good night’s sleep. One of the best ways to combat stress is to sleep it out. Even if you have an overwhelming and stressful life, you have to let it go every night as you fall asleep. Sleeping relaxes our muscles, soothes our tired minds and keeps us refreshed every morning. It helps us feel rejuvenated and calm, and even makes our skin look better and minimizes breakouts!

Got a plan to de-stress after work today? Try out some of the tips I have suggested here! Let me know if it worked for you in the comments below! I moderate the comments within 24 hours! 🙂

 

5 Keys to a Healthy Lifestyle

So many are into the crazes of healthy eating and different diets nowadays. However, often the goal is to lose weight instead of being healthy. When we eat healthy the right way, our bodies develop a great immune system, our faces look brighter and we feel great. Here are five keys from what I have learned through personal experience of healthy eating:

1. Water Even though a well-balanced diet has proven to be more important than simply controlling our water intake alone, the most convenient way to flush out toxins and harmful substances is through drinking a lot of water. Every morning drink a few glasses of water to flush our systems from waste products and toxins.

2. Fruits and Vegetables From my personal experience, switching my diet to be fruits-and-vegetables-oriented instead of meat-centered has  changed my taste palette completely! Now I crave eating greens and sweet fruits instead of feeling like I am obligated to have a few leaves of greens every meal! The truth is, fruits and vegetables are nature’s best source of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber.

3. Avoid pills Instead of opting for various vitamin supplements, which are hard to take in bulk, choose the natural way of absorbing vitamins and minerals through a variety of fruits and vegetables. For example, kale is a great source of vitamin K, calcium; spinach is a super food with vitamin A and C; sweet potatoes are high in vitamin B6, C, D, iron, magnesium and potassium.

4. Eat Organic Foods that are labelled ‘organic’ generally mean that during the planting process, there were no synthetic fertilizers, chemicals, genetically modified organisms, sewage sludge or ionizing radiation used. Organic livestock must be fed with only organic feed and they cannot be injected with hormones.

5. Sleep Many of us live on 4 or 5 hours of sleep a day and wonder why we get headaches, flus or cannot concentrate at work. Although the needed amount of sleep varies from person to person, 8 hours a night is a good estimate for working people with long work days.

 

Got a question for me? Feel free to comment below! I will moderate comments within 24 hours!