Tips to Release Stress

Life is stressful these days. We can work on “stress management” or “stress reduction”. Personally, I find it more realistic to accept that life is indeed stressful, yet I have finally learned how to release stress. Sometimes.

In an ideal world, we would be on top of our game taking care of our emotional and physical health. The Mayo Clinic says we need 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Oh dear. We know that we need healthy nutrition and regular exercise. I try to eat healthy and exercise, until I become too busy and stressed to do so! Time with friends and family help reduce my stress levels. I know I am a great candidate for meditation, but I just can not sit still. I have too much to do. Sound familiar?

We also know that stress raises our cortisol levels, and challenges our immune system functioning. Why is it so hard to take care of ourselves when we know intellectually what we need to do?

In the book, “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers” Robert Sapolsky describes an interesting perspective from the wilderness. Zebras have a lot of stress in their lives running away from lions, but then they rest and graze. In contrast, humans have a lot of stress, but rather than rest and graze, we worry and look over our shoulders for more lions.

If you are like me and want more relaxation and grazing in your life, let’s try some of these tips to release stress:

What other ideas do you have to release stress in your life? I would love to hear them.