6 Simple Ways To Instantly Reduce Stress

Stress is like a disease, slowly wearing down your body and leaving you feel downright blue. You can’t seem to focus, your emotions are everywhere – it stinks! What stinks even worse are the bright siders. You know the kind. Look on the bright side! Chances are, you’ve already done that. The bright side doesn’t deal with stress, but these are 6 ways you can instantly reduce stress today.

1. Breathe it out.

It seems kind of silly but breathing can have a pretty profound impact on your health and stress levels. It’s been medically proven to be beneficial to take deep, long breaths when you need to calm yourself down. Deep breathing nourishes your body’s cells and lowers cortisol, the stress hormone.

2. Write it down.

Writing down the things that make you feel stressed out, or talking about it with a friend, is a great way to clear the mind and help you focus in on the sources of stress and maybe start thinking about ways to strike it from your life. You’ll feel nice and carefree afterward.

3. Walk it out.

Walking is good exercise. Most doctors recommend 20 minutes of exercise a day and walking fits the bill. At a nice, leisurely pace, you can distract yourself from your sources of stress and provide yourself with a nice, healthy release of energy.

4. Laugh it away.

When I’m feeling most stressed, I’ll put on something funny or hang out with some of my hilarious friends. It’s as easy as throwing up a standup bit on Netflix or checking out some YouTube clips. Just laugh!

5. Get out.

Staying cooped up while you’re all stressed out won’t do much to help you. Grab a few friends and get out of the house. Go for a hike, hit the bar, climb a mountain, go for a bike ride – get out and do something fun for yourself. Plus you can vent a little bit if you’re with good friends.

6. Sleep it off.

Sleep is essential for feeling good and keeping our stress in check. It’s recommended for adults to get 7-8 hours of sleep, and for the parents out there, kids and teens need to get more like 9-11 hours of sleep. Teens in particularly are susceptible to late nights and excessive stress. Remember to get plenty of shuteye and don’t spend too much time on your phone or computer before you hit the sack.