Author: Marek

Taking adequate time to rest is the best preventative measure against burnout and over-exhaustion at work. Two of the most unrelenting conditions that can take months to recover from. Vacations are the perfect solution for recharging and managing your stress. Although, it can be difficult to know the best time to take a vacation – not to mention how to ensure you achieve adequate rest while on vacation.

Exactly how much rest is an “adequate” amount, you might ask? Well, science is pretty clear on the amount: it’s 42% a day. Essentially, your body and brain need to spend about 10 hours out of every 24 resting.

While this might seem difficult to achieve, remember it doesn’t have to be every day. It can be averaged out over a week or a month or more if necessary.

In fact, taking at least 8 consecutive days of vacation sporadically throughout the year is the magic number for countering an overworked brain.

That’s why regular vacations are so important. It’s easy to get lost in the everyday grind and lose sight of your work-life balance. But regular, rejuvenating breaks throughout the year can balance out and even reduce the impact of overworking on both your body and brain.

The ideal length of a vacation

When it comes to the ideal vacation length there are generally two schools of thought: some believe it’s better to take frequent or semi-frequent short vacations (one or two days) and spread them throughout the year, while others prefer to “clump” vacation days together and take a longer vacation. Ideally, a balance between the two would be perfect.

However, if you’re forced to choose between the two, the latter is the most rejuvenating for your body and mind.

A group of Finnish researchers calculated the perfect timeframe, finding the most effective way to maintain a healthy work-life balance is to take between seven to 11 days of vacation at a time.

And as it turns out, the ‘sweet spot’ for optimized vacations is eight days. After 8 days of vacation, people reach peak happiness, giving them adequate time to unwind and relax.

Unfortunately, vacation days are not unlimited. But if you plan your vacation around a weekend, you can use less annual leave for your vacation.

Remember to space out your vacation days so you can find balance regularly throughout the year. But ensure you organize your breaks in a way that ensures you’re taking at least 7-8 vacation days at a time to allow you to let go of some of that built-up stress and really relax.

When is the best time to take a vacation?

Of course, the most challenging part of vacations is actually taking them – and taking them in an effective way.

Let’s start with when. Ask yourself: when do you think free time will be most valuable to you? Think about the times throughout the year when you enjoy taking time off. For example, do you enjoy visiting family? Or maybe it is better when you are most exhausted and would benefit more from having time to slow down.

Perhaps Thanksgiving is the most important celebration for you? Or maybe taking a few weeks in April is necessary for you to have an extremely productive summer. Start at the base – what are your personal needs? What times throughout the year do you need an energy boost the most?

Think about what you really need. If traveling stresses you out, why not stay at home? Think about your priorities. Sometimes, you can get more quality time staying at home. Trust me, many executives still do not realize the value of a relaxing, peaceful staycation.

To maximize vacation days there are a few tried and true techniques that allow you to get closer to that magic number without actually needing 8 annual leave days

Here are some of my top tips on how to maximize your vacation, including some great planning techniques that will enable you to truly relax while on vacation.

1. Make the most of your bank holidays

By taking advantage of bank holidays you can maximize the number of vacation days you can take at once.

For example, in 2022, by taking five days off from May 23rd to 27th, you can actually enjoy 10 vacation days. Your actual vacation would be from the 21st to the 30th. Alternatively, you could take July 1st off to get a longer 4th of July weekend.

If you have more days to spare, you can also expand your December and January vacation by taking nine days off from the 7th to the 21st of January. In total, that would give you 17 days of rest, starting on the 7th and ending on the 24th.

With 9 bank holidays remaining in 2022, there are plenty of options to maximize your vacation by combining your holidays with annual leave.

Here are the bank holidays for the rest of the year, as well as the next five years to help you start planning:

*Falls on a Saturday, not observed
**Falls on a Sunday, observed on Monday

Be aware that these are often tricks that many employees and executives use to increase their vacation days. So, if you want to extend your bank holidays by taking leave, make sure to plan in advance. This way, you won’t have to be the person who is still in the office because you forgot to request leave early enough!

2. Take advantage of the off-season

Depending on the industry you are involved in, you may have an off-season. If you are in the business world, one option is to rest when other businesspeople are also on vacation. For example, the holiday season in December is typically a good time to take a vacation. It all depends on when is the busiest time of the year in your industry. It might feel easier to take time off without the worry that you’re leaving a pile of work behind.

3. Delegation before vacation

Contrary to taking advantage of the off-season, the best time to take a vacation might be when other team members are not.

Before you start planning your vacation, consider the times when others in a similar position will be present. Can your work be reassigned to someone else who can do it just as well as you can?

Even a great executive can’t be present all the time. This is why skilled business leaders train and delegate competent subordinates.

Give your staff plenty of time to learn the ropes before your holiday. By building experience beforehand, your extended absence will induce far less anxiety for you and your team.

This principle should also be applied between other employees. Encourage cross-training between peers to compensate for eventual absences. In doing so, neither you nor your employees will be caught off guard if someone else needs to take a holiday, gets sick, or quits.

After all, the best time to take a vacation from work is when the office is prepared in advance. 

4. Are you in-between jobs?

Lastly, another option is to take time off when you are in-between jobs. So, if you are in the midst of a career change, taking the time to slow down and recharge before the new job begins is always a good idea. Not only do you start with a fresh mind, but you can enjoy a few weeks to yourself to get ready for an exciting new opportunity.

Vacationing often is better than nothing

If you are not able to take long vacations, don’t worry. Taking regular smaller vacations is also immensely beneficial for your brain. So, a long weekend here or there can help as well.

Research shows that taking regular vacations, especially if you travel to a different environment, provides substantial brain benefits. Although, these benefits dissipate quickly and ideally should be replenished often.

So when is the best time to take a vacation?

A major part of having the right work-life balance is making the most of your vacation time. It’s important to take enough time to truly relax and refuel before you jump back into work.

I recommend at least 8 days at a time. Consider including two weekends so you can get more days for less leave. If you take a holiday from Saturday to Sunday, you get 9 days of vacation for 5 days of annual leave. If you get 10 annual leave days a year, that’s two decent rejuvenating holidays per year.

By effectively planning and taking advantage of the best time to take a vacation, you’re less likely to experience burnout down the line.

There is a thin line between stress and anxiety, and this is the very reason why we often tend to mistake one for the other. And so today, we are going to have a detailed analysis on the differences between stress and anxiety, their symptoms, causes, and solutions. But first, let’s have a look at the misconception surrounding these two terms.

1. The Misconception

It is not uncommon for most people to think they are stressed out when truly, they are anxious, maybe as a result of an upcoming event like seminar presentation at work, or loads of tasks that have to be completed.

And this misconception is often borne from the fact that the two conditions share the same attributes such as chronic headaches (like having muscle tension and headaches) upset stomach, obsessive worrying (like always being excessively worried before important meetings or the next business trip) and overall uneasiness (like always arguing at every slightest thing).

Nevertheless, all I want you to know is that these two conditions are very distinct, and I’m going to explain each of them separately so that you can have a better understanding of how stress and anxiety differ.

2. What Is Stress?

Taking back to its roots in 1936, the word “stress” was coined by Hans Selye who defined it as being “the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change”.

Basically, think of stress as a physical response in which our body tends to switch into, thus releasing hormonal fluids such as adrenaline, cortisol, and norepinephrine, because it feels our body is under attack.

Put differently; stress is more like a defensive mechanism our body automatically switches into when we over work ourselves. And these defensive mechanisms often include chronic headache, an increase in heart beat, a diversion of the blood from the bloodstream to the muscle, slowing down digestion, a halt in tissue repairs and so on, just in a bid to stop us from over stressing ourselves further.

However, in contrary to popular belief that stress is bad for you, not all stress is bad for the body. And one of the reasons why this is so is that stress helps trigger our bodies into reaching its optimal state, where it increases our cognitive performance, as well as alertness.

3. What Is Anxiety?

Anxiety is a feeling that occurs in our body when our brain perceives a danger that poses a threat to the body. And sometimes, these threats could be unreal because there are just mere imaginations. 

And one of the advantages of anxiety is that it sometimes instills fear and apprehension in our body, which helps us to be defensive and to adapt to an environment, no matter where we find ourselves. A perfect example of anxiety is the feeling we get when we are about to go on our first date, perhaps a job interview in a well reputable company, a final match fixture between our supported team versus the opponent, a huge upcoming presentation at work, and so on.

Naturally, anxiety is often short but recurring, if you don’t work on stopping it. And if you can’t control your anxiety level in what is often known as an anxiety disorder, you can read how to successfully treat it here.

So, now that we’ve known what these two are, let’s take a look at their symptoms.

4. Symptoms of Stress

Chronic stress can show itself in one’s body emotionally, behaviorally, and physically, and they all vary in degree, depending on the person involved. And this is why people all of a sudden become brief tempered, weak, sluggish, and so on. Here are some common physical symptoms that show a person is stressed out.

4.1. Physical Symptoms

– Sleep disturbances or changes in sleeping habits (insomnia or sleeping too much),

– Muscle tension,

– Muscle aches,

– Headache, gastrointestinal problems,

– Fatigue.

4.2. Emotional and Behavioral Symptoms

– Nervousness,

– Changes in eating habits including overeating or undereating (leading to weight gain or loss),

– Loss of enthusiasm or energy,

– Mood changes, like irritability or becoming easily agitated,

– Engaging in unhealthy habits such as alcohol abuse, smoking, turning to drugs for relief and so on.

Disclaimer: As a fact, it doesn’t mean that every symptom listed here are often as a result of stress, no. This is because when it comes to the experience of stress, it differs from individual to individual as I said earlier, whereby, symptoms for Mr. A, might not be the same for Mr. B.

Nevertheless, if these symptoms occur more than once, like become persistent, then it’s surely a sign of stress and you might want to go visit your physician for proper medical attention.

4.3. Other Stress Symptoms and Signs

– Constipation

– Depression

– Diarrhea

– Difficulty Relaxing

– Feeling Frustrated

– Feeling Like You Are Losing Control

– Feeling Overwhelmed

– Frequent Colds and Infections

– Grinding Teeth

– Loneliness

– Loss of Sexual Desire

– Low Self-Esteem

5. Symptoms of Anxiety

Irrespective of the fact that some symptoms of anxiety often coincide with that of stress, symptoms such as feeling nervous, tired, tense, or fearful; insomnia, nausea, digestive problems, still, there are more signs often identified with Anxiety. And these include:

– Restlessness

– Obsessive thoughts

– A rapid heart rate

– Fast breathing, or hyperventilation

– Sweating

– Shaking

– Weakness

– Dizziness

– Feeling too cold or too hot

– Chest pain

– Compulsive behaviors

– Panic attacks, in severe cases

6. What Is the Difference Between Stress and Anxiety?

So to the main question of the day, what is the difference between stress and anxiety? Well, as I stated earlier, while anxiety can only manifest in the form of emotions/feelings, stress can display itself in several ways including physically, emotionally and behaviorally.

Although most symptoms are similar between stress and anxiety, restlessness and obsessive thoughts are exclusively associated with anxiety. In other words, anyone who is restless and often harbors obsessive thoughts is suffering from an anxiety disorder and not stress per say.

However, given that stress and anxiety often have similar symptoms, the best way to spot out the difference between them is through their origin, treatment and specific symptoms. So let’s look at them.

6.1. Differences in Origin

The main cause of stress often originates from the problems we are currently facing in our lives at the time. Challenges such as financial challenges, marital issues, loss of job, argument, and so on. And as soon as those problems are over or solved, so will the stress level reduce.

An example of how stress affects us is when we are in a situation where we have to get like three or more complicated tasks done in the office in less than 24hours, 48hours or any impossible short period of time.

For instance, you have to write a voluminous report of over 70 pages for your boss next week, and also have to attend two seminars and gather reports that you will also include in the 70 pages report, and then endeavor to attend your child’s last high school game still that same week. Automatically, you’re going to be stressed out under such a condition.

On the other hand, the root cause of anxiety isn’t always as easy to detect because, unlike stress that is caused by external factors, anxiety is a result of internal elements. Plus, anxiety is a persistent feeling of fear that unlike stress once again, doesn’t go away even after an event that triggered it is gone.

For instance, if you were anxious because of a presentation at work, after the presentation, the anxiety will still be there. And when next you have something higher to do like field work or perhaps a job interview, the anxiety will manifest once again simply because it is an internal problem. And that takes us to the next point.

6.2. Differences in Treatment

Another difference between stress and anxiety is that you can successfully manage stress by tackling the external factors that are causing you to be stressed out.

If your workplace is the primary source of your stress, you could sometimes apply for a leave of absence to take some time off, and rest. Once you do that, your stress level will reduce drastically.

On the other hand, you can’t treat anxiety externally because that job interview, first date, or perhaps the work presentation isn’t the problem. The problem is within you and so you’ll need to read on how to treat and manage anxiety disorder or meet a therapist/psychologist to help you with it. Overall, you can only treat stress externally and anxiety internally.

7. Causes of Stress

Below are the most common causes of stress.

7.1. Workplace

25% out of a staggering 80% of workers in America, rate their jobs as stressful, according to research stats from the American Institute of Stress. So it’s no news why workplaces are the most common cause of stress amongst people.

7.2. Work-life Balance

For the mere fact that people can’t seem to get around balancing their work-life relationship is the reason why they often take home their office tasks to complete them at home. Don’t be deceived; doing this will cause you much stress than ever.

7.3. Task Completion

Even the slightest of things as leaving for work without making your bed could cause you much stress when you come back from office to find an unmade bed. So, when you wake up every morning, try to complete every little task you can.

Basically, any external factor that puts you under pressure is capable of causing stress.

8. Causes of Anxiety

Just like in the case of stress, workplace, and not being able to balance your work-life relation can cause you to be anxious.

8.1. Social Media

Social media can put us under a lot of anxiety when we scroll through our feeds and come across perhaps the achievements of our peers, and how far they have gone. The fake lives, gratification, and competition in social media as a whole can cause you to become really anxious.

8.2. Environment

Lastly, your environment can cause you to become anxious, especially if you’re the type who loves a quiet environment, but happen to live in a constantly busy and noisy environment.

8.3. Events

Upcoming and long anticipated events are high triggers of anxiety. Events like having to go on your first ever date with someone, a long anticipated promotion examination at work, and so on.

9. Relationship Between Stress and Anxiety

Other than the similarities in symptoms, stress often grows into anxiety if not treated early. And once it metamorphosis into anxiety(anxiety disorder), it is often hard to control except through the specific intervention of a trained medical professional.

A perfect example of this includes post traumatic stress disorder that often starts as a result of a traumatizing incident like robbery, accident, and so on. These things can lead to an anxiety disorder known as post traumatic disorder.

10. How To Cope With Stress

As I said earlier, it is way easier to manage stress than anxiety, and here are some of the few ways you can achieve that. However, if you want to know about all the ways to manage stress, you can read all about them here. 

– Balance your work and family relationships. In other words, know the boundaries and don’t let work interfere with your personal life.

– Exercising often releases a chemical known as dopamine in our body, which is often responsible for making us feel good. So, if you want to manage stress, exercise regularly.

– Eat healthily and abstain from alcohol or drug abuse.

– Stay in touch with positive people that will always encourage you always to keep your heads up.

– Always make out time for your passion. If you’re passionate about football, go watch some during the weekend, if it’s volleyball, basketball, and so on, do the same.

– Practice meditation and Stress Reduction/ Yoga regularly.

– Have enough rest.

– Take a break and go on a vacation.

– Visit your counselor or therapist regularly.

11. How To Cope With Anxiety

Even though it’s going to take some time in spotting out what triggers your feelings of anxiety, here are some things you could do to manage it in the meantime:

– Avoid negative thoughts at all cost. They are one of the main triggers of anxiety.

– Always try to remain focused, and when you feel the anxiety coming, always try to take a deep breath. Between 3-4 deep breathes would be ideal.

– Make use of Aromatherapy, whether it is in an incense form, oil, or a candle, lavender, chamomile, and sandalwood scents. Whatever form it is, aromatherapy can be very helpful in activating specific brain receptors such as anxiety.

– Practice yoga for at least 15 minutes daily, and always go for a walk to calm your mind.

– Try and inculcate the habit of writing down your thoughts to avoid forgetfulness which often triggers anxiety.

– Try identifying and learn how to manage your triggers

– Experiment food supplements or change your diet. Some of the most helpful nutrients/supplements include; lemon balm, omega-3 fatty acids, ashwagandha, green tea, valerian root, kava kava, dark chocolate (in moderation).

However, it is important to note that these above nutrients won’t work instantly in managing your anxiety level, as it often takes about 3 months for the body to actually act on it in regards to anxiety.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, stress and anxiety are clearly distinct as we’ve discussed today. However, irrespective of their differences, if stress is not properly handled, it could grow into a serious anxiety disorder.

So, if you want to manage your stress level, consider reducing your work time, basically anything engaging you unduly, and take as much rest as you can.

And if you want to manage anxiety, focus more on the internal by taking medications like supplements, practicing mindfulness/meditation, and so on.

Overall, always try to live a healthy life!

In this article, I will explain to you the relationship between exercise and stress. After reading this post you will know how and when to exercise to fight stress effectively.

Do you know that constant, ongoing stress can lead to illnesses and diseases like anxiety and depression, obesity, diabetes, asthma, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, headaches and migraines, insomnia, chronic fatigue and pain, and even early death?

It is scary, especially if you take into account that our life and work are full of continuous stress.  Therefore, we desperately look for solutions. Some meditate. Some reach out for medication. Many do nothing thinking that high-stress level is a natural part of the life of a busy professional. 

But there is an easy and healthy solution: physical exercise. There have been many studies done to prove that exercise is an effective way to reduce and manage the lasting negative effects of stress. 

Let us first find out how exercise and stress relief are connected. After that, we will recommend the very best stress relief exercises and teach you how to include them in your daily routine.

What Experts Say About the Link Between Exercise and Stress

Usually referred to as the flight or fight response, there are a lot of things that happen inside your brain and body when you’re going through a stressful time at work. As your body begins to experience stress, your brain releases cortisol and adrenaline. These are the hormones responsible for your increased heart rate, shortness of breath, and the tensing of muscles. 

Typically your body and mind start to calm down once the fear or the stressful situation has passed. However, if you keep experiencing stress on an ongoing basis, it could be detrimental to your health as well as your relationships with others because your body doesn’t have the proper amount of time to recover. 

Regular exercise is proven to improve your mood by boosting your endorphins and balancing your hormones. 

Another research done by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America used a poll to find that nearly 14% of people regularly use exercise to manage stress symptoms. The study stated that even just 5 minutes of exercise can produce positive effects and reverse some symptoms related to long term stress. 

For example, maintaining a regular exercise program can relieve tension, improve your quality of sleep, and improve your self-confidence and self-worth. It is also recommended to find small amounts of time to exercise, even if it is just a 20- minute walk, according to this study.

The key to keeping up with regular exercising is to find something you enjoy doing. Even better, find multiple things you enjoy doing so that you can keep things interesting. It is also easier to keep a routine when you find a friend to exercise with.

What Are The Most Effective Stress Relief Exercises, according to Science?

Aerobic Exercises

1. Swimming

Swimming is an excellent example of a stress relief exercise because it is high energy but low impact.

Swimming targets the whole body and all muscle groups, but there is very low stress on your muscles and joints. It is easy on the knees and elbows but whips you into shape quickly. 

Most people prefer to swim in a pool, but getting into nature like the ocean or a lake is even more stress relieving, but always be aware of your surroundings and current conditions if you’re swimming in nature.

Science also says that a 6-weeks routine of aquatic aerobic, twice a week, is a great stress relief exercise. 

2. Boxing

Boxing is one of the most intense fitness programs you can do for stress relief. It is a total full body workout and involves a lot of agility and coordination. 

Boxing instantly reduces stress, anxiety, and anger. There are many ways to incorporate boxing into your routine. You can find local classes that are a mix of stations and boxing, you can find a gym with a punching bag, or you can find classes to eventually get into sparring with someone else. 

3. Running

Running is another form of fitness that is high intensity and high impact but offers instant results. According to Science, running is an excellent stress relief exercise. 

Running is easily accessible for everyone, even if it starts out as walking. Running should also be paired with deep stretching such as yin or restorative yoga to help protect your joints.

4. Yoga

There are SO many types of yoga out there that it can be very overwhelming to find a style or even teacher that suits you. It is great to mix and match styles so you can take full advantage of yogas benefits. The health benefits of yoga are extensive for mind, body, and soul. 

Studies have shown that a regular yoga practice can lower more than just stress; it can also lower blood pressure. Yoga strengthens muscles and mind, and for some people, it has a spiritual element as well. Yoga can help you lose or maintain weight, and it improves your overall health, no matter what style you practice.

Learn How Yoga Helps You Excel at Work

Here you have different types of yoga for stress relief:

– Vinyasa: Vinyasa is translated to “linking breath with movement”. This style of yoga flows from one pose to the next and focuses a lot on the breath. It is a very active, high energy and high paced style of yoga and is commonly practiced in a heated room. 

– Ashtanga: Ashtanga style is one of the more traditional practices and focuses on the 8 limbs of yoga. Ashtanga also uses breath and movement to create flow throughout the practice. Ashtanga differs from Vinyasa because the same poses are practiced in the same sequence and at a moderate pace.

– Iyengar: Iyengar focuses heavily on the alignment of poses. This style also uses props such as blocks, bolsters, and straps, encouraging you to go deeper and deeper into your current pose.

– Bikram: Bikram Yoga is always taught in a room heated to 105 degrees with 40% humidity. The same 26 poses are always practiced along with 2 breathing exercises and there is a heavy focus on alignment.

– Power: Power Yoga can best be described as a mix between the vinyasa and ashtanga styles with a little pilates thrown in. It is a rigorous practice guaranteed to get your heart pumping and build muscle.

– Yin: Yin style of yoga focuses on a deep stretch that gets down into your connective tissues. This class style is extremely passive and is excellent for flexibility. There is no flow in this class and poses are held from 1-5 minutes.

– Restorative: Restorative Yoga focuses on restoring the body, whether that is from an injury or just a long day it aims to bring the body back to being healthy. 

Here you have a Beginner Yoga Routine To Reduce Stress and Anxiety:

9 Yoga Poses to De-Stress

5. Tai-Chi

Tai-chi is another stress relief exercise baked by Science that involves the mind, body, and breath practiced with controlled movements. Tai-Chi improves fitness and flexibility, builds muscle strength as well as coordination and helps fight chronic pain. 

There are also several styles of Tai-Chi and they are pretty accessible to everyone. Tai-chi is a really great way to connect the mind body and soul, releasing stress from everything.

Here you have different styles of Tai-Chi for stress relief:

– Chen Style: This style of Tai-Chi involves movements such as jumps, kicks, and strikes with a focus on strength and agility.

– Yang Style: Yang style is passive and graceful. It involved contracting your body with exaggerated movements.

– Wu Style: This type of tai-chi incorporates leaning forward and backward, using the back leg for stability. 

– Sun Style: The Sun style of tai-chi looks more like a dance, Sun style of tai-chi involves footwork and hand movements linked together with breath and flowing movements. 

Here you have a Tai-Chi routine for stress relief:

6. Breathing and Meditation Exercises

A study done by Harvard has shown that in addition to the benefits of physical exercise when it comes to reducing stress, breathing, and meditation exercises are also effective. 

Breathing exercises may even be more instantly effective than physical exercise because it is always accessible. Breathing and meditation can be done anywhere at anytime.

Breathing stress relief exercises are easy to learn and can be used in a myriad of situations. They can provide instant relief from stress and anxiety without much effort or notice from others around you. 

Breathing techniques are a power tool to have in your stress relieving belt.

– Equal Breath: True to the name, this practice involves inhaling and exhaling through your nose for the same amount of time. For example, as you inhale through your nose, slowly count to 8 and then slowly exhale through your nose for the same count of 8.

– Alternate Nostril Breathing: Using your right hand, hold your right nostril closed with your thumb and inhale through your left nostril, pause, close your left nostril and exhale through your right. You can repeat this over and over until you feel stress symptoms receding.  

– Ujjayi Breath: This practice involves slowly inhaling through your nose, filling your lungs and belly before exhaling back out through your nose.

– Guided Meditation: Guided meditations are an instant relief and help train you to slow your mind and thoughts down.

17 Meditation Tips to Maximize Your Experience

How to Incorporate the Stress Relief Exercises in Your Daily Agenda

– In the morning, to de-stress before an important presentation at work, we propose a short guided meditation and couple breathing exercises. 

Basic Meditation Techniques for Beginners to Reduce Stress

This can be as soon as you wake up, on your way to work or right before your presentation. Even all three if you are extremely stressed.  

– In the afternoon, to reduce your stress levels after a stressful call with a client, we propose to go out and take a walk for at least 20 minutes. Ideally, you would get out into nature and leave your phone behind.

Even if you can’t get a walk in, stepping outside in the sunshine for a few moments will help reduce stress levels. If it’s raining or nasty weather, try going to the gym, we propose to use the treadmill, bike or stepper.

Even just 15 will help minimize stress symptoms. 

– In the evening, after a long, stressful day at work. Get yourself to a yoga or boxing class. Get an intense cardio session for at least 30-40 minutes and you will really feel the day melt away.

Make sure to drink plenty of water and while getting into the habit of working out after (or before) a long day is difficult, it pays off in the long run when your quality of health improves.  

Conclusion

The connection between exercise and stress has been proven and backed by science. We know now that any regular workout or fitness program will help you better regulate your stress levels in addition to many other health benefits.

These benefits include but are not limited to weight loss, increased metabolism, lower blood pressure, increased strength and flexibility, increased focus and concentration and better self esteem. Instant relief from stressful situations can include breathing exercises and meditation.

There are an infinite amount of workouts to choose from, not just the six on this list. The key is to find the right stress relief exercises for you, find several you like so you can always mix it up and never get bored. Hiking, rock climbing, kayaking, paddle boarding, dancing, zoomba, surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding, etc. can all be considered exercises. Anything that helps you refocus your energy will do wonders for stress management. 

In addition to these stress relief exercises, things like learning new hobbies, painting or coloring, journaling, volunteering your time at an animal shelter or soup kitchen or even just getting coffee or drinks with your closest friends can also lower your stress levels. 

Interested in Other Highly Effective Stress Relief Tools? Check out the following posts:

40  Powerful Mantras for Instant Stress Relief

The Best Stress Relief Toys for Busy Executives

12 Stress Relief Games Backed by Science That Will Keep Your Stress at Bay

Natural Stress Relief: 32 Ways for Immediate Stress Reduction

Comment below with your favorite stress relief exercise.