Stress Soothing Techniques

Deadlines at work. Drama in the family. Endless priority juggling. Stress is a regular physiological reaction to these and any number of other situations we face in our daily lives. Indeed, it’s pretty much impossible to avoid stress entirely, unless perhaps you’re a Buddhist monk. But with a few techniques in your back pocket, you can reduce your overall stress and the negative effects it has on your body.

When you face stressful situations, your nervous system responds by flooding your body with adrenaline, norepinephrine, and cortisol (known collectively as “stress hormones”). The immediate symptoms from this reaction are varied and generally unpleasant, affecting both mental and physical health.

Agitation, worry, restlessness, and even hostility are common emotional manifestations. Prolonged stress without relief can cause headaches, upset stomach, chest pain, and high blood pressure. Over the long term, it has the potential to increase your risk of chronic disease, heart attack, and stroke. By effectively managing your stress, you can reduce its nasty side effects and decrease your chance of illness.

Don’t worry: soothing stress is actually pretty simple, and you can choose from a variety of approaches depending on what works best for you.

Eat foods that soothe
You may remember from previous Good Bite issues that carbs increase your brain’s production of serotonin, which promotes feelings of happiness and wellbeing. (It also helps regulate your sleep-wake cycle.) Incorporating complex carbohydrates regularly into your diet may help with stress management. Try pairing them with protein for longer lasting results, such as oatmeal with nuts or brown rice with chicken.
Additionally, eating magnesium-rich foods like leafy greens, avocados, and nuts and seeds can help keep your body in balance since the mineral is essential for regulating the nervous system. Food that contain vitamin C (such as oranges), omega-3 fatty acids (such as salmon), and tryptophan (such as chicken breast) can also help relieve stress.
You need quite a bit of those nutrients to enjoy the stress reduction benefits, so it's best to eat the foods containing them on a daily basis. In a pinch, take a bite of dark chocolate: the antioxidants in cocoa lower blood pressure and you may notice immediate relief.

Move your body
Hands down, one of the best ways to reduce stress is through physical activity. Exercise is so effective because it both decreases the level of adrenaline and cortisol and increases the brain’s production of endorphins, a chemical that acts as a natural mood elevator and painkiller in your body. Just a quick walk around the block or creating an impromptu dance party in your kitchen can be enough to get those endorphins going. As an added bonus, moderate exercise can also help you sleep.

Get a good night’s sleep
Researchers at UC Berkeley found that the brain stops producing norepinephrine during the REM stage of sleep (when dreams occur), which allows you to process the events of the day in a calm state. In effect, dreaming provides you with a “unique form of overnight therapy” according to one of the lead authors of the study.

Indulge in “me” time
In our fast-paced culture, we often let self-care fall by the wayside. However, taking some well-deserved “me” time is a proven stress reducer, and it’s essential for your overall wellbeing. What this looks like is entirely up to you! Meditation, massage, acupuncture, walks in nature -- anything that helps you decompress is fair game.

Engage in animal therapy
Multiple studies have found that spending time snuggling and playing with pets lowers blood pressure, decreases cortisol levels, and increases oxytocin. It doesn’t even have to be a furry companion: simply staring at a fish tank can help!
Try out one (or more) of these techniques this week and see how it makes you feel. Hopefully, you’ll notice lower levels of stress and reduce the symptoms it inflicts on your body and mind.