So many people in the United States have to live with stress and anxiety on a daily basis just to make it through the day. This trend is only getting worse as the years go by, and the increasing numbers of men, women and children being diagnosed with mental health disorders has a lot to do with living in this reality. Living with stress and anxiety can take its toll on both the mind and body. Stress and fatigue are related to one another in many ways. When you are stressed out, you are not thinking about your health and well being. Thankfully, there are many ways of overcoming stress and fatigue without spending a ton of money or enlisting the help of psychologists and life coaches.
1. Improve Your Quality of Sleep
It sounds simple enough, but most people just don’t take their sleep seriously enough. If you don’t get enough good quality sleep, it can really affect the way you feel and decrease your energy levels significantly. Your brain rests and recuperates and so do your muscles and organs of the body. Important restorative functions of the body take place during sleep, and it takes somewhere around seven to eight hours of deep sleep for the body and nervous system to benefit.
Take extra time preparing for bedtime at night by refraining from watching television of doing anything on your smartphone about an hour before bedtime. The blue light from newer televisions and from smartphones has been shown to affect sleep cycles negatively. Stay away from caffeinated beverages for four or more hours before bedtime.
2. Deep Breathing Exercises
Taking a few minutes to yourself during the course of the day to do some deep breathing exercises can dramatically relieve the feelings of stress you might be feeling throughout the day. Sitting or standing comfortably with feet flat on the floor, empty your lungs out completely. Take your time and inhale deeply. Hold your breath for a count of three to four seconds. Slowly exhale and repeat.
If you can breath like this for about fifteen minutes, you will notice how much calmer you feel. If you can breathe like this throughout the day, you will maintain your sense of calm for just as long. It’s impossible to feel stressed out when you breathe this way. Your more highly oxygenated blood will deliver more oxygen to your brain and keep you clear headed and calm. The only challenge is to practice breathing this way every time you can remember to. If you keep practicing this, you will eventually notice that you start breathing this way on your own.
3. Exercise Away the Stress
Exercise is more important to your physical and mental health than most people realize. The next time you feel tired and stressed out, make some free time to exercise. The more strenuous the exercise, the better. Exercising speeds up your heart-rate and breathing, introducing more oxygen into your body at a faster rate than normal. This can quickly re-energize you and chase away the blues. Regular exercise keeps your body and mind primed for this kind of activity, making feeling stressed out and tired less likely. For best results, your workouts should be a combination of aerobic and strength training exercises. You should work out at least every other day to get the full benefits.
4. Take Nutritional Supplements
Nutritional supplements like vitamin B12 help your body turn the food you eat into energy. You can’t always get enough of these kinds of nutrients through the food you eat, so supplementing is a good way to make up for that. Invest in a high quality B-complex supplement. These will contain all the energy boosting vitamins and minerals you need. These include vitamin C, thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B5), B12 and folic acid.
You can also try taking adrenal supplements. These have been shown to increase energy levels in people who take them regularly and there are two types of them. Some of these supplements are prepared using a variety of vitamins, minerals and herbs that have been shown to improve the function of the adrenal glands in order to provide more energy. Adrenal extract is made from the adrenal glands of cows and sheep. It comes in the form of an extract and is taken by drops underneath the tongue for quick absorption into the bloodstream.
5. Take Holy Basil Supplements
Holy basil’s scientific name is ocimum tenuiflorum and there is plenty of scientific evidence that shows it can help reduce stress and anxiety. Human and animal studies have been conducted that show it significantly reduces stress levels in various kinds of situations. It’s stress relieving properties are so powerful that they have been compared to the kinds antidepressants and diazepam medications provide their users with. Holy basil has been used to treat insomnia, sexual problems, forgetfulness and fatigue. It’s supplement forms are available in extracts and tablets.
6. Drink Plenty of Water
Do you know that by the time you feel thirsty, it’s probably too late already? Even mild dehydration without thirst means that your mood, energy levels and ability to think clearly are compromised. It also doesn’t matter if you are sitting still or have just walked for miles. Just 1.5 percent less in healthy body water volume can mean fatigue and feelings of confusion and sadness for no apparent reason. We don’t start feeling thirsty until we are about two percent dehydrated. Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day for higher energy levels and a better mood.
7. Limit Alcohol Consumption
Having a glass of wine or beer at the end of a hard day can feel relaxing. However, there is strong evidence that shows alcohol might actually cause higher anxiety levels. Alcohol wears down your nervous system and can actually trigger panic attacks, especially the following morning when the alcohol is leaving the body. Do yourself a favor and avoid alcoholic beverages. Do natural, healthy things to help you relax and increase your energy levels, as opposed to reaching for quick fixes that usually end up giving you the opposite of what you want.
Great! these are some really quick and effective ways to get rid of stress. Also, we can use some personal relaxation techniques like We can select three to four positive words like ” calm”, “positive”, “I can achieve my goals” and whenever we feel stress, we should make our mind to think about these words. It may help to get positive.