9 of the best life hacks for reducing stress!
Have you been feeling somewhat stressed lately? Perhaps the following symptoms already sound familiar: insomnia, irritability, feeling tense, change of appetite (eating too much or too little), indecisiveness, concentration problems, the list goes on…
There are all kinds of factors which can make us stressed, whether it’s work, relationships, family, studying or other personal reasons. Although stress may originate from one particularly negative aspect of life, it will ultimately go on to affect all aspects of life if left untreated.
If you’re suffering from a build-up of stress, the time has come to do something about it, not only for yourself, but also so that you can be the best version of yourself for those around you.
There are plenty of useful tricks that you can apply to help yourself de-stress and be more relaxed in your day-to-day life.
Discover how to handle stress effectively with these top 9 life hacks to drastically reduce your stress levels.
Top 9 stress-less life hacks
1. Eat more healthily
You may have noticed that when you are stressed, you tend to develop bad eating habits. It’s completely understandable – you hardly have time to think, let alone to thoroughly plan and spend time cooking elaborate meals. Despite this, however, you should still try to find a way of eating healthily and regularly, without it taking a lot of your precious time. During periods of stress, your body (and mind) are under a lot of pressure and really rely on the necessary nutrients to support you. A poor diet will mean that your body reacts more strongly to stress, while a healthy diet will really help maintain great physical and emotional well-being.
Try to find some quick yet healthy snacks and meals, you will find that by adjusting your eating habits, the stress will be much more manageable.
2. Get more sleep
Not getting enough sleep is one of the biggest causes of stress. The worst part is that it becomes a vicious circle: you are stressed out and have a hundred things to do, you want to rest well to be able to do those things, but you are so tense that you can’t sleep, meaning you are more tired and less able to function the next day, your work continues to pile up and of course you only get more and more stressed. Okay, enough is enough.
Fortunately, there are certain tricks to help you go to bed more relaxed. The key to sleep success is optimising relaxation before bed by avoiding caffeine or excessive alcohol in the evening, stopping work several hours before bedtime, taking a hot bath or shower, making sure your bedroom is an ‘oasis of calm’ and reading a book just before heading off to sleep.
3. Move more
Sport is one of the best methods of reducing stress, even though it is probably one of the last things you feel like doing during stressful periods. It may sound contradictory, but applying physical stress to your body can really help free your mind from stress.
The benefits are most noticeable when you take part in regular activity. Staying active in the long run lowers your stress hormones, such as cortisol, and helps to release endorphins – substances that help improve your state of mind. Choose a sport that you really enjoy, it will make for better relaxation afterwards and motivate you to keep doing it regularly.
Being more active will also ensure that you can sleep better and be more productive. Make room for exercise in your de-stress agenda!
4. Try to stay positive
“Look on the bright side” … Has anyone ever said that to you while you were stressed? In these moments it seems like a throw-away comment and not particularly useful for anything other than making you even more irritated. However, this is actually really valuable advice! If you try to see the glass as half-full rather than half-empty, your stress levels can really be reduced. Optimists enjoy better health, stronger relationships, are more productive and experience less stress. Positive thinking during stressful times is not always easy and some circumstances definitely make it more difficult, but fortunately for those of you who tend to develop a negative attitude during stressful periods, there are ways to deal with this.
During stressful moments, try to reverse negative thoughts, look for that so-called ‘bright side’ and consciously think about productive, positive aspects of the situation. Practice makes perfect!
5. Laugh more often
Laughter is healthy – it may sound like a cliché, but it really is true. Laughter also helps to reduce stress: it frees you from a stress response, makes you feel happier and more positive, it helps to relax your muscles and laughter can even help improve your immune system in the long run.
Do you find it hard to laugh when you are stressed? Then try to add little things to your daily life that make you laugh. For example, watch that one series that never fails to make you giggle, look through those old holiday photos or videos, or watch online blooper clips for an hour – nothing works better on our laughter muscles than the mishaps of others! You can even share some of your favourites on social media so that your contacts can get the same healthy dose of laughter that you did!
6. Meditate
Have you ever heard of mindfulness? This is an activity where you anchor yourself in the ‘now’ and by pausing for a moment every so often, you can fight negative, stressful thoughts. You can increase your mindfulness by meditating for example. The goal of meditation is to bring your body and mind together. You become more aware of your breathing and body and as a result, you step out of your thoughts. Through meditation you go from ‘active mode’ to complete calm, letting go of thousands of thoughts and giving your mind a chance to rest. This means you start to relax, can sleep better, regain focus and attention and can think more calmly about your feelings and thoughts.
Meditation gives you practical, guided exercises that work perfectly as stress relievers and which you can apply whenever you need them most (even at work or on a busy train).
7. Spend more time with the people you care about
When you’re stressed, any opportunity to finally relax probably means you want nothing more than to lay on the sofa alone, watching Netflix all night (e.g. that funny series we discussed in point 5). This is certainly not a bad choice, but it can also be very beneficial to make the effort to spend time with family or friends instead.
Being part of a social group gives you a sense of belonging and self-esteem, and it is really nice to spend quality time together with friends and family often – you can talk about your situation together, even laugh about it, and also chat about other things. This can be the perfect distraction to put all your stress into perspective.
8. Learn to say ‘no’
A common cause of stress is having too much to do and too little time to do it all. You obviously can’t control everything, but you can constructively manage the things that are up to you. Try to say ‘no’ sometimes and regain control over the parts of your life which cause the most stress.
Are you always the one who goes the extra mile? Are you the parent who always participates in everything at your child’s school? Are you constantly juggling all kinds of responsibilities at home?
Then try to be more selective with what you say ‘yes’ to. Investigate why you have that ‘people-pleaser’ mentality, define your limits more clearly and think of friendly ways to decline tasks or invitations. Your task list will become so much shorter, and you’ll become a happier, more confident and stress-free person as a result.
9. Relax and enjoy a holiday to a sunny destination
Is the stress all getting a bit too much? Do you still feel the need to take things a step further even after trying the above tips? Are you ready for true ultimate relaxation and acute stress reduction?
Then it is definitely time for a wonderful, sunny, relaxing holiday – because let’s be honest, a holiday is the king of all stress-busting methods! A well-deserved holiday will definitely give you the ultimate boost of relaxation as it brings multiple life hacks together: you eat healthier (you have more time to eat and eat more regularly), you can sleep in, you have more time to move around (whether swimming in the sea or hiking through the mountains), you are together with the people you care about the most, you laugh a lot, you live more mindfully and are sure to have a more positive outlook. By taking a holiday, you say ‘no’ to all your obligations and ‘yes’ to some well-earned relaxation.
In short, a sunny holiday combines all 9 lifehacks in the most stress-free, relaxing way – not only for yourself but also for your loved ones!
Book your perfect holiday villa – without the stress
Are you ready for a relaxing holiday? Then a beautiful holiday villa in laid-back Spain is the ideal choice. You’ll be in control of your own holiday and have all the space, privacy and luxury you need. Book stress-free with a rental agency that guarantees you the best offer.
Find everything you need in one place with Club Villamar. With our extensive range of luxury villas in Spain, you are sure to find the perfect villa to de-stress and enjoy the holiday of your dreams.
Have you already spotted your dream villa on the Club Villamar website, or have any questions? Get in touch! Our team of real experts on Spain will be more than happy to help you plan the perfect, relaxing holiday!