5 Natural Ways to Reduce Stress

Looking for ways to reduce your everyday stress without pumping yourself full of pills or breaking the bank? You’re human, you have stress. We all do. It’s not pretty but it is a natural part of life. Luckily, there are also natural ways to reduce stress! Try some or all of these ideas that have helped me time and time again to stay happy and healthy.

Special thanks to CrossFit Solid Orange for sponsoring this post.

Journaling

Writing things out is a great way of venting that doesn’t annoy your friends and family, am I right? As humans, we need to share our thoughts and feelings to get them out of our heads and move forward. That’s why you always hear people say, “you need to talk about it.” If that’s not how you operate or maybe you just don’t have that perfect listener, try journaling. You can even do this without the traditional pencil and paper (thanks technology)! I personally have found joy in writing blogs and even sharing through my Instagram platform. No matter how you do it, journaling helps get things off our chest and reduce stress.

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Exercise

A timeless stress reliever is getting active. It’s part of the ultimate trifecta, actually. We’ll get to the other two below. Whether you go for a walk with the dogs or make a few extra trips up and down the stairs, EXERCISE IS GOOD FOR YOU. It’s not a joke that you have feelings of euphoria after a workout. Many people, including myself, can vouch for that. It triggers your body to release chemicals called endorphins that create positive feelings and reduce stress. With that being said, I understand that the motivation to get your blood pumping may be the real challenge, so here are some suggestions.

If you’re like me and you need to be held accountable; join a gym like Crossfit Solid Orange that has fitness training classes ALL DAY to fit your busy schedule. They provide a variety of workouts with a knowledgeable professional to guide you through. You can also make appointments with a personal coach or plan to work out with a buddy. As Fergie says, “I be up in the gym just working on my fitness” and reducing stress! If you’re in the Tennessee area, check out the Crossfit Gyms in Nashville for classes and bring a friend as your “witness” *wink*.

Eat Better

The second part of the trifecta is a healthy diet. I’m sure you’ve heard this a billion times, but that’s because it’s true! I don’t have the healthiest diet, I will admit, but when I do focus on eating healthy and natural foods I feel 10X better. Eating right not only helps you feel better, but gives you more energy to accomplish the things that are stressing you out. When you start observing your diet and relate it to how you feel, you will notice a difference and that will help you stay on track to being healthier and stress free.

Rest

This is the last part of the trifecta. If you can’t find time for a quick power nap, take a minute to relax and breathe. Make your goal to get at least a solid 7 hours of sleep as much as possible. Sleep is the time when your body recovers from the day and heals the fastest. If you’re not getting rest, you are basically doing the same thing as leaving your car lights on all night only to find the battery is shot in the morning. Humans are like machines or vice versa.

My husband and I recently heard a story about a massive supercomputer that wouldn’t stop glitching and the techs couldn’t figure out the issue. After exhausting all possible solutions, they simply turned off the computer for a little while. Lo and behold it was good as new when they turned it back on and was a great new discovery that they continue to practice now. The computer, not so unlike humans after all, just needed rest. So unplug and recharge when you start feeling the stress come on.

Lighten Your Load

Lastly, most of our stress comes from putting too many things on our plate. As much as we would like it to be, life isn’t always an all-you-can-eat buffet. However, being the “have your cake and eat it too” type of creatures we are, we will continue to pack it all on. One way to help reduce stress from all of the food related analogies above is to remember to, again, eat better. Also, check some small things off of your to-do list, even if it’s just a quick email to say, “I’ll get back to you ASAP.” When that feeling of holding the world on your shoulders is too much, the small accomplishments will help settle your mind.

I hope these ideas help set you in a natural and stress free direction as we approach a full few months of activities that come with the season. Stay safe and have happy holidays!

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