5 simple tips to help manage and reduce stress

Nothing sucks the life out of you more than a stressful day, week, month or even year. High levels of stress has been linked to health-related issues like cancer, depression, heart disease, etc. Research shows that stress can cause the release of extra Cortisol in the body.

Cortisol is a hormone critical in managing fat storage and energy use in the human body. Cortisol is known to increase appetite and may encourage cravings for sugary or fatty foods. You should work to reduce and manage stress in your daily life.

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Here are are 5 simple steps to help you do just that.

1. Time management

One of the biggest sources of stress in our daily lives is the feeling that we have so much to do and can never get them all done. You can avoid feeling overwhelmed and stressed by creating a to-do list of all your tasks and setting an order of priority. Identify the tasks that need to be completed by you and the ones that can be delegated.

Make a note of the tasks that need immediate attention and the ones that can be scheduled to be completed later. So let me say this; It is OK if you do not get all your tasks completed in a day. Just try to hit the “important” ones and you will be fine.

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2. Work life balance

Maintaining a healthy work life balance is essential to reducing stress. You will need to find a way to detach yourself from all work-related activities when enjoying quality time with your loved ones. Draw a line between the activities that stress you out and the ones that do not. Being able to turn away from stressful activities to enjoy life will make you more productive and also reduce stress.

3. Adequate Sleep

Numerous studies have shown that one of the leading causes of stress is lack of sleep. The irony is that stress also causes us to stay up all night trying to figure out a way to overcome our challenges. This is a problem that feeds itself. Try to find activities that help you fall asleep. I like to clear my mind at night and watch a wildlife documentary, this puts me right to sleep. Try to relax at night and get 8 to 12 hours of sleep. This will give you a fresh mind to tackle the tasks of the next day.

4. Exercise Stress or high levels of stress increases the production of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol in our bodies. These are some of the oldest hormones our bodies make. These are the evolutionary hormones that tells our bodies to fight or flee in times of danger.

These hormones are triggered by stressful situations in our daily lives, which I hope we can all admit are seldom solved by fighting. Right? It helps to exercise often to burn off the energy and angst associated with high levels of stress hormones.

5. People

If you are a business person, parent, entrepreneur, etc. I think we can all admit that life is often times pretty stressful. I would also challenge you to identify the usually stressful situations and try to see if there are certain actors who play a featured role.

The truth is, people are typically the cause of our high levels of stress, some we cannot distance ourselves from and others we can. I would advise that you surround yourself with positive, motivated people. People who will help calm you down in potentially stressful situations and will not add to your stress. I am sure by you are already picturing at least one person in your life who fits this description. Make a move.