Top 8 Tips on How to Stay Calm
What causes you stress? For most of us jobs, deadlines, big life changes can be stressful. And, how to cope?
Here are the 8 bulletproof stress-relieving tips that help you to stay calm.
1. TAKE DEEP BREATHS
Deep breathing is one of the best techniques to lower your stress and to help you relax. When you are deep breathing, both your blood pressure and heart rate decrease, and it helps relax your body and mind.
There are different breathing exercises, and they are easy to learn. You will get the most benefit if you do it regularly, as part of your daily routine.
2. SET GOALS
Setting the right goal, having a plan to reach it help you feel greater happiness and fulfilment while reducing stress levels.
Try to set 3 goals for the day that you want to achieve. It can be anything really from going for a run to finish the chapter of the book you are reading to declutter your home. Keep a diary to visualise your goals.
3. GET INTO A ROUTINE
Researchers have found that having a routine has a variety of psychological benefits. As we create routines, for example, to exercise our bodies, it is also very important to create routines for our mental health. It helps you create a calming environment by making your mind and body familiar with daily responsibilities. This helps you to alleviate anxiety and stress levels, it helps you to cope with change and focus on what you can control.
Set a regular routine by splitting your day up into different parts and trying your best to stick to them. Try to wake up and go to sleep at the same time every day. Try to find at least an hour for yourself/your hobbies. Remember your daily routine matters.
4. MEDITATE
Meditation is one of the most effective ways to reach a deep state of relaxation and a tranquil mind. Practice mindful meditation has numerous health benefits and, in particular, it improves your overall psychological wellbeing.
Regular mediation helps you to achieve mindfulness. The best time to meditate is in the morning as soon as you wake up as it helps you to kick start your morning in the best way possible.
5. EMBRACE NATURE
Numerous studies have proven that spending time in nature is a great antidote for stress. According to their findings, just five minutes in nature is enough to calm you down and to significantly improve your mood.
As nature has such as positive effect on your mental wellbeing, try, when you can, to go outside. Take some time to be mindful of all the beautiful green spaces and beaches around you. Just relax and immerse yourself in nature!
6. FIND YOUR STRESS RELIEVING ACTIVITY
To stay calm, it is important to keep your stress level down as it has a negative impact on your mental health. So, the question is: what can you do to relieve stress? Many different activities can help you with it.
Over the past years, “art therapy” has risen in popularity. Drawing and painting are known to be great methods to help reduce stress. Personally, I find adult colouring books great to relax. Other stress-relieving activities can be for example going for a walk, gardening, and exercising. Find the right stress-relieving activity for you, free your mind and just relax!
7. AVOID MULTITASKING
Nowadays, multitasking has become a seemingly necessary skill to thrive in our busy lives. However, it has a negative effect on our overall mental health and wellbeing. According to neuroscientists, our brain is built to do only one thing at a time. Various studies show that multitasking has many negative consequences on our mental performances. In particular, it reduces our focus and concentration, and it increases stress and anxiety levels, to name a few.
Our advice is, therefore, to avoid multitasking and focus on one thing at a time. To stay calm and be less stressed, time management is a more valuable tool than multitasking. Therefore, plan and schedule your tasks in advance, set realistic deadlines, and do not be too hard on yourself!
8.GET ENOUGH SLEEP
Sleep is essential for your mental wellbeing. When you sleep, your mind literally recharges and therefore, it is important to have a good quality sleep. In fact, sleep deprivation raises your stress and anxiety levels, makes you feel more agitated, and puts you in a bad mood.
It is important, therefore, that you get enough sleep, around 8 hours per night. The better you sleep, the better your ability to stay calm and relax.