11 Simple Ways to Reduce Your Stress - Life's Little Pleasures and Struggles

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Stress and anxiety are a common experience for most people these days. Around 70 percent of American adults reported that they experience some sort of stress every day, and they would like to reduce their stress levels.

In this day and age, people work longer hours, their kids have more extra-curricular activities, and they usually have more packed schedules than their previous generations did. This can be both exciting and enriching. But a busy lifestyle can also lead to feelings of constant stress, anxiety, and chaos.

Also, in the last two years or during the COVID-19 pandemic, almost all of us have experienced higher level of stress, anxiety, fear, sadness, and loneliness. Various surveys show a major increase in the number of U.S. adults who report symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia during the pandemic, compared with the surveys before the pandemic.

Stress can make your life miserable and steal from your happiness leaving you feel exhausted – emotionally, mentally, and physically. If you are experiencing some sort of stress and anxiety, you need to take steps to reduce your stress so you can live a healthy and happy life.

Here are 11 simple ways you can reduce your stress and start enjoying life more:

Whether you are dealing with a sudden loss of income, or feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of chores at your home or by a daunting to-do list, it’s essential to have some stress reduction tools at your disposal that can lower or reduce your stress. Then, you will be able to pick a strategy that works best for your current circumstances.

1. Get enough sleep

Having a good night’s sleep is very important for your overall well-being. Sleep is a powerful stress reducer. It relieves your stress and makes you feel better and more productive. Following a regular sleep routine restores the strength and energy of your body, improves your focus, regulates mood, and sharpens judgment and decision-making ability.

When you are well-rested, you are a better problem solver and are better able to cope with stress. Lack of sleep, on the other hand, reduces your energy and diminishes mental clarity. It also causes irritation and impatience with others. Even a little bit of sleep deprivation can alter your mood and cognitive abilities. When you are sleep-deprived, you feel tired, sluggish, unproductive, and stressed out.

So, aim for at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Go to bed early by removing all the distractions from your bedroom that can keep you awake.

2. Exercise

Believe it or not exercise can help you fight stress effectively.

When you exercise, even for a short time, your brain releases endorphins, adrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin. These are chemicals in your body that make you feel happy. So, get some body movement every day, preferably in the morning.

There are many different kinds of activities that can reduce your stress significantly. It doesn’t have to be complicated or professionally trained. It can be running, walking, cycling, swimming, playing basketball, gardening in the yard, lawn mowing, vacuuming and mopping the floor, or even furniture rearranging. Just make sure you get your 20-30 minutes of workout daily.

Even a short walk around the office or simply standing up to stretch during a break at work can offer immediate relief in a stressful situation.

Staying active has infinite physical and mental benefits that can’t be ignored. People who exercise regularly are less likely to experience stress and anxiety than those who don’t exercise at all. Getting your blood moving releases endorphins and can improve your mood almost right away.

3. Declutter your home

By decluttering your home, you can reduce your stress and anxiety.

There is a direct link between too much home clutter and higher stress levels that has been made clear in numerous studies in recent years. A study conducted by Princeton University Neuroscience researchers found that a cluttered home environment impedes your ability to focus. When we can’t focus easily, our mental faculties get worn down and frustration ensues, causing stress. Struggling to focus properly also inhibits our ability to be creative and to problem solve.

Get rid of the extra stuff from your home – stuff that are unloved, unwanted, unused, and unnecessary. Let go of the things that don’t add any value to your life. Buy less and accumulate less stuff. We all have more than what we need. Remove the non-essentials or duplicate items, keep only what you need and value.

Clutter takes up your precious living space and creates mess and chaos. It also takes more time cleaning up and tidying up which increases your stress level – both physically and emotionally. You will have a renewed sense of energy after discarding the items that weighed you down. You will remove a subtle but significant energy drain from your life and replace it with the feelings of relaxation that come from having your home be a haven from stress.

4. Organize

Keep your home clean, clutter free, and organized. Find a place for everything you own. Organization provides a sense of control, reduces your stress, and it’s also a great confidence booster. It allows you to focus on the things that really matter avoiding unnecessary clutter.

Let go of the things that are neither useful nor beautiful. Make room for those that are necessary and meaningful. Putting a little extra effort into tidying up and organizing your things now will save you time in cleaning up and maintaining order for years to come.

Keeping your home organized and clutter-free can make your home a safe, stress-free place to relax and unwind.

5. Cut out all the negative people

One of the most effective and simple ways to reduce your stress is to change who you surround yourself with, and it’s totally within your control. Cut off the people who only bring negativity and drama into your life, and make it complicated and stressful.

Also, try to get out of all the toxic relationships you might be involved in. A toxic relationship is not only stressful but harmful, too. Surround yourself with the people who are positive minded, and who truly care for you, encourage you to do better, and add value to your life.

6. Spend more time with your loved ones

Make more time to spend with your family and friends. Once you get rid of the things and people that are unnecessary and don’t add value to your life, you will have extra time to spend with your loved ones.

Spending time with those who you love and care for will increase your happiness and improve your quality of living. Support from friends and family can help you get through stressful times. We get so busy in the day to day grind and we start to lose sight of the things that are most important and meaningful to us!

When you are feeling stressed out, take a break to call a friend and talk about your problems. Just talking to a loved one about your concerns or how you feel can be very helpful. A small, heart-to-heart conversation may distract you from your worries and stressful thoughts, and help to reduce your tension simply by discussing the issue.

Take time to nurture your most important relationships, and make your life better and more enjoyable. They are especially important when you are under a lot of stress. A caring and reassuring voice, even for a minute, can put everything in a new perspective.

7. Learn to say ‘No’ often

It took me a long time to learn to say ‘no’ politely without feeling guilty. As a result of that, I was unnecessarily making my life harder and more stressful by keeping busy with the things or people that only added mental clutter and stress to my life. The sooner you learn it, the better. Remember that every time you say ‘yes’ to something you don’t like to do or don’t have time to do, you are saying ‘no’ to something else that you want to do.

Since most of us have busy schedules these days, it’s important to schedule time for exercise, hobbies that work as stress relievers, as well as time for meaningful relationships. And one way to do that is to say no to the requests that come from colleagues, friends, or even extended family members leaving us with no downtime on our own.

Being selective about what you take on — and saying no to things that will unnecessarily add to your load — can reduce your stress levels.

8. Automate things

Getting some of the daily and monthly work of your life into an automated system can help simplify your life and reduce your stress significantly. You don’t have to spend time to do the work and you don’t have to stress your mind by remembering to do that work.

Making little changes that create some breathing room in your daily routine like setting up automatic timers to water your plants or turn off your lights and signing up for automatic bill payment options can be an easy way to simplify life and reduce stress. This financial hack will make it easier to pay all your bills on time without any ongoing effort, thought, or dealing with stress on your part.

9. Stay on top of your priorities

Another way to take control of your stress is to stay on top of your priorities and stop procrastinating. Don’t leave things for tomorrow or for the last moment that can be done today in a relaxed way. Prioritize what needs to be done, and make time for that.

Avoid procrastination and multi-tasking. That way, you won’t have to deal with the stress of doing several things at once, and you can accomplish more things in a productive manner – without getting stressed or overwhelmed.

10. Live within your means

This is one of the most important steps you can take in order to reduce your stress and make your life more enjoyable. Without living within your means and without making the most of what you have, you can’t live a stress-free life.

Many people carry large amounts of debt, leading to sleepless nights and worries about making payments, credit scores, and bill collectors. The key to avoiding this type of financial stress is to live within your means.

Be content with what you have, and focus on what is truly important and meaningful. Create a budget, and stick to it. Spend less and save more. Embrace frugal living if necessary. Once you learn to live and manage well within your means, your life will get so much easier and stress-free. Try to increase your income if you can to enjoy some financial flexibility, but the bottom line is – live within your means!

Related post: How to Be Content With What You Have

11. Write it down to reduce stress

Whatever is causing you stress, write it down. It helps so much! Take note of the things that cause stress and anxiety, get it out of your mind, and you will feel instantly better.

Also, maintain a gratitude journal. Write down the things, people, and experiences you are grateful for. That will help reduce your stress and anxiety by focusing your thoughts on what is good and positive in your life.

The Takeaway:

Most of us deal with some kind of stress every day. Keeping our stress levels under control is very important for our overall well-being and happiness. When stress becomes overwhelming, or it’s chronic, it can take a toll on your physical, mental, and emotional health. That’s why, it’s important to have effective stress relievers that can calm your mind and your body.

In many cases, stress is manageable. With some patience and a few useful strategies, you can reduce your stress levels significantly. Try these 11 simple ways to reduce your stress and improve your life – today. Your mind and body – both will thank you.