Get A Hug From A Loved One
Physical touch can do a lot to relieve your stress. Hugging a loved one can be especially beneficial.
When you hug someone, oxytocin is released. Oxytocin is associated with higher levels of happiness and lower levels of stress.
Oxytocin also causes a reduction in blood pressure. It reduces the stress hormone norepinephrine and can produce a sense of relaxation.
So don’t be afraid to ask a loved one for a hug if you need it. It’s good for both of you and it can be one of the simplest forms of stress relief available.
Quick Stress Relief At Home
Entertaining. Prevent pre-party jitters by playing lively music. Light candles. The flicker and scent will stimulate your senses. Wear clothes that make you feel relaxed and confident.
Kitchen. Ease kitchen stress by breathing in the scent of every ingredient. Delight in the delicate texture of an eggshell. Appreciate the weight of an onion.
Children and relationships. Prevent losing your cool during a spousal spat by squeezing the tips of your thumb and forefinger together. When your toddler has a tantrum, rub lotion into your hands and breathe in the scent.
Sleep. Too stressed to snooze? Try using a white noise machine for background sound or a humidifier with a diffuser for a light scent in the air.
Creating a sanctuary. If clutter is upsetting, spend 10 minutes each day to tidy. Display photos and images that make you feel happy. Throw open the curtains and let in natural light.
Warm Up In A Steam Room Sauna Jacuzzi Or Hot Bath
Most of us associate feelings of warmth with a sense of calm and well-being much the same way we would relaxing in the sun on a powdery-sand beach. Research shows that heating up your body, whether in a bath, steam room, or sauna, reduces muscle tension and anxiety. Sensations of warmth may alter neural circuits that control mood, including those that affect the neurotransmitter serotonin. You could also cozy up by a fire with a cup of tea or hot cocoa.
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What Happens When You Stimulate The Vagus Nerve
As you have seen, the vagus nerve is a powerhouse in our bodies!
When we stimulate it, we go from the fight or flight response, to the pleasant physical state called rest and digest.
This is the state where our bodies recover, and properly digest the nutrients from the food we ingest. Its our bodys nurturing mode.
When the vagus nerve is stimulated, it slows the heart rate, lowers blood pressure and your cortisol levels and this regulation of cortisol cascades multiple benefits by positively impacting the rest of your hormones.
How the vagus nerve reduces stress and boosts your well-being
You might have heard this before, but cortisol is known as the stress hormone. In itself, its not a bad thing just a survival mechanism that helps us face danger.
However, in todays busy world, were triggering this response mechanism far too often, and were out of balance as a result.
The amazing news is that you can stimulate your vagus nerve to obtain an array of wonderful physical benefits: increase flexibility, strength, stamina, reduce inflammation, alleviate migraines.
Stimulating this nerve also leads to better mental health it helps us with stress reduction, reduces anxiety and worry, it allows us to tap into a calm state, and even improved focus.
Its effect over cortisol levels makes the vagus nerve a powerful ally to achieve our ideal weight, by helping us release weight induced from stress.
Isnt this amazing?
How do you tap into the power of the vagus nerve?
Good Daytime Habits For Relieving Nighttime Stress
In addition to relaxation techniques, there are steps you can take during the day to relieve stress at night. A common aid is to exercise during the day. In addition to other health benefits, daytime exercise has been linked to better sleep in patients with generalized anxiety disorders. Exercise can also assist with issues such as insomnia. Another strategy for sleep hygiene overall is to wake up at a regular time. Even on the weekends, research shows that consistent wake times are an important component of sleep hygiene.
Keep in mind there is no exact schedule for how quickly youll be able to feel less stressed and anxious before going to sleep. However, consistent practice of relaxing techniques can help long-term. If you have questions or concerns about which strategy or strategies are right for you, consult your physician.
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Poor Blood Sugar Balance And Anxiety:
One of the most common findings with individuals suffering from anxiety is poor blood sugar balance . When we eat a diet higher in carbohydrates, our blood sugar naturally rises, which then causes the release of the hormone insulin. Insulin helps to take sugar out of the bloodstream and put it into the cell.
Individuals with anxiety tend to over-secrete insulin, causing a reactive hypoglycemia. Low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia puts a lot of stress on the adrenal glands, which produce the stress hormone cortisol to keep blood sugar stable .
When we have low blood sugar, the brain begins to starve, which raises its resting threshold and makes it hyper-excitable, setting the pace for anxiety. In particular, the regions associated with survival, the basal ganglia, limbic system and anterior cingulate gyrus begin to over fire.
In this position, the brain is in survival mode, so it reacts to seemingly small stimulusmuch like someone who has anxiety may feel overwhelmed by what others would deem to be smaller life stressors.
A Simple Breathing Exercise To Alleviate Anxiety
Practice this simple breathing exercise to help lower levels of anxiety.16 You can be standing, sitting or lying when completing this exercise. However, focus on relaxing your body and ensure there is no tension through your shoulders.
If focusing on your breathing in this way is making you feel more anxious, stop. It can take practice to feel the benefits of this technique, so try to do a little at a time and build up slowly.
Some natural supplements can also be helpful alongside these breathing techniques to relax, reduce feelings of anxiety, and improve your sleeping patterns.
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Develop A Relaxing Bedtime Routine
Its important that you wind down properly and avoid stressful situations in those few hours before you go to sleep.
Developing a bedtime routine is a great way to do this, whether thats choosing to read every night before you sleep, doing some gentle yoga or having a warm bath to soothe your muscles.
Try to go to bed at the same time every night, too, to help maintain a good sleep routine.21
How To Calm Anxiety Naturally
If you live with anxiety, there are natural options you can try to lower your stress levels and improve your coping skills.
Some of these natural remedies for anxiety will involve herbs and supplements, but most may include changes in some of your routines and habits.
When it comes to supplements, its highly advisable to check with your healthcare professional for contraindications, side effects, and drug interactions .
Its also important to remember that there are many supplements and natural products, like passionflower, that may have limited evidence to back up their purported benefits. They may work for some people, while others wont see any results from taking them.
Here are some options to help relieve anxiety naturally that have worked for many people:
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Check Levels Of Magnesium
Magnesium is an important mineral in the human body. It plays a role in more than 300 enzyme reactions and helps maintain muscle and nerve function, blood pressure, and the immune system.
Its also one of the minerals that many Americans do not get enough of in their diet.
There have also been several studies that have found that magnesium supplements can help reduce anxiety symptoms, including those related to PMS.
Like with vitamin D, you may want to check your current magnesium levels before supplementing.
You can get magnesium naturally by eating:
- whole wheat
, but your body doesnt make them on its own. Instead, you get all your omega-3 fatty acids through your diet by eating foods such as fish or flaxseed.
Research, including a 2018 meta-analysis and a 2018 review study, found that omega-3 in the form of fish oil supplements could help ease anxiety.
If youre considering taking omega-3 supplements, you may want to mention this to your healthcare team. They can sometimes interfere with certain prescription medications, such as blood thinners. They may not be recommended for people with certain medical conditions.
A Few Final Words About Anxiety
Anxiety impacts people in different ways and can be triggered by different things too, both past and present experiences. Fortunately, help is available to help people understand and manage their anxiety the biggest hurdle is recognising it in the first place.
Now that youve read this article, we hope its answered any initial queries you may have had about anxiety and that youve found it a useful starting point for dealing with anxiety. For more practical advice for dealing with anxiety, read ‘8 ways to be kind to yourself‘.
The advice in this article is for information only and should not replace medical care. Please check with your GP or healthcare professional before trying any supplements, treatments or remedies. Food supplements must not be used as a substitute for a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle.
23 August 2021
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How Do You Calm Down Anxiety Instantly
If youre driving, at work or in another public space and are feeling overly-anxious, then you may want to try and calm yourself down as soon as you possibly can.11
While its not always possible to immediately feel less anxious, there are plenty of self-help tactics you can follow to help make yourself feel calmer sooner. They include:
Will These Supplements Cure Anxiety
While these supplements do help many patients, they may not treat the root cause of anxiety, such as trauma and distorted ways of thinking, chronic infections, and other biological factors. For this reason, its best to partner with a therapist and/or integrative medicine practitioner who can help address these underlying issues.
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The Impact Of Stress On Your Health
Stress can be defined as the bodys reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response. While feeling stressed has certain protective roles, too much stress can also do scary things to our health.
What are some common experiences or thought patterns that can cause the body to feel stress, including some that you might never have associated with stress before? Things like financial pressure, a lack of sleep, emotional problems in your relationships, overtraining or doing too much exercise, and even dieting can all send signals to the body that its under stress.
Stress can either be perceived as feeling good/positive or bad/negative depending on the context, and the body reacts differently to both kinds. However, where the body isnt so clever is distinguishing between very serious threats and events that are stressful but not actually life-threatening. Unfortunately, whether a problem is very serious or not, the body usually has no way of knowing the difference anything that causes you to worry, anticipate, regret, overthink or panic can send your stress levels through the roof.
Stress can result from changes in your lifestyle , your environment or even simply recurring negative thoughts.
Dozens of studies have shown that chronic stress is related to health conditions and stress symptoms, including:
- eating disorders
- addiction
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How To Sleep Better If You Have Anxiety
Getting enough shut-eye every night is vital for both our physical and mental health. When we sleep, our bodies perform a variety of functions, from repairing damaged cells to strengthening our immune systems.17
Sleep is also crucial for our brain as its when it processes all the information weve soaked up during the day and consolidates it into long term memories.18
If you dont get enough sleep every night, youll likely feel lethargic the following day, much more irritable and probably have poorer concentration levels. These can all have a big impact on your everyday life and may make any anxiety youre experiencing seem much worse.
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Avoid Caffeine & Sugar:
Sugar and caffeine will ramp up activity in the brain and may make you feel better in the short-term but they both things will increase inflammation and stress hormone production in the brain and wire the key regions of the brain involved in anxiety.
While drinking coffee may have many health benefits, individuals who struggle with anxiety should minimize their consumption in order to cool down the brain. Blood sugar was discussed in detail in this article so it goes without saying why we need to avoid sugar and high carbohydrate foods.
Can Stress And Anxiety Shorten Your Lifespan
Many studies have delved into the relationship between anxiety and life expectancy. And what they discovered is that people suffering from anxiety disorders have an increased mortality risk.
This issue is mostly because of an increased release of the stress hormones, cortisol, and adrenaline. Despite their importance in flight or fight response situations, being in a long-term elevated state can be harmful.
These hormones carry out different effects on our bodies, preparing it for survival. But these prolonged effects have been linked to the development of chronic diseases such as:
- diabetes,
- lower immune system
- anddigestive issuessuch as gastric ulcers.
Also, researchers identified that even low-stress levels have been linked to a lower lifespan when it comes to our health.
Whats more, people who are more prone to anxiety tend to rely on unhealthy practices to relieve stress. Naturally, this can lead to developing an addiction toharmful substances and behaviors . This can lead to both direct or indirect causes of death, such as overdose or driving accidents, respectively.
To help prevent these issues, we must first understand the best ways to relieve our stress and anxiety levels.
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Deep Chill Stress Relief Essential Oil Spray
If you are looking for convenience and instant relief contained in a small bottle, then the stress relief essential oil spray is the right choice for you. Extracted from rich and potent natural herbs that lower stress and anxiety relief and combat many other issues such as perimenopause, migraines, and even daily frustrations. Take home your own bottle today!
Incredible Ways to Use Jojoba Oil For Face
Easy Ways To Reduce Stress Naturally And Quickly
High on stress and in need of proven, quick ways to reduce stress naturally? If you said yes, then youre in luck because Im covering 20 effective ways to reduce stress naturally and quickly.
All of these techniques are simple and can be used when short on time. Most can be utilized anywhere, including at work.
And the best part is that they arent just natural stress relievers but will also help you keep stress levels low in the long-term.
To help you out further, be sure to download 5-Minute Stress Solutions, a free resource that will take you step-by-step through proven mindset and stress management strategies for less stress, more emotional control.
Theres lots to cover, so lets get started.
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Natural Ways To Soothe Anxiety
Let me tell you, I used to be SO bad about depending on sugar to get me through my day. I also would keep pushing myself on and on, never letting myself stop , which resulted in my body fighting back with chronic fatigue and hormone imbalances.Dont let yourself get to that point!If you find yourself lashing out, unable to focus on a task, restless all the time, or facing anxiety and worry, here are some ways that you can get yourself back in control of your mind and thoughts:
Are Anxiety Supplements Safe For Everyone
While these supplements are generally safe, there are some groups that may be at higher risk for side-effects or other concerns:
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Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding: It is best to avoid these supplements since we do not have enough safety studies for these critical periods of early development.
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Infants and young children: They should only take supplements under the supervision of a licensed medical professional.
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Those on prescription medications: Before starting any supplements, consult with your doctor to make sure that there are no harmful interactions.
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Those with chronic medical conditions: For conditions that affect liver and kidney function, consult with your doctor before starting any supplements.
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Ways To Reduce Anxiety Naturally:
Our society is wired up for stress and anxiety. In fact, 18% of American adults, 40 million people, suffer with anxiety on a regular basis . Women are twice as likely to struggle with this than men. Recent evidence has shown that taking good care of your body and brain will reduce anxiety and support feelings of well-being. At the bottom of this article, you will discover 14 proven strategies to apply today to reduce anxiety naturally.
We have 2 dominant pathways that govern the processes within our body. One is called the sympathetic nervous system that drives a fight or flight response that helps us survive and perform. The parasympathetic wing of our nervous system is the antagonist to the sympathetic in that it helps our body to relax, digest food and heal. Individuals with anxiety are in a state of sympathetic dominance where they are in a near constant state of fight or flight.
