There are so many suggestions on how to relieve stress out there and with good reason. Just about everyone knows what stress is. Generally people are so busy they have little time for anything.

We are fatalities in a bizarre world. Think about it. We chase around hour after hour every day and we end up without any time. Chasing after money and successful careers while dealing with family concerns is the reason for our stressful lifestyles.

Disease, chronic illness, hypertension and even heart attacks are just some of the symptoms of stress. Most of us don’t even realize the kind of stress we put ourselves under. Our bodies were made to help us in stressful, fight or flight, situations when we need adrenaline quickly to protect ourselves. We were not however supposed deal with stress all the time.

So how does one go about relieving the effects of stress on your body? Before we get to the 5 tips for effective stress relief there are two things you should be doing, if you are not already, on a daily basis to free yourself from stress.

The first thing is to get off adrenaline. One of the best tips on how to relieve stress is to plan better. Life happens and there are always going to be surprises you can’t avoid but it doesn’t have to be like this all of the time. A little planning can be the best thing you can do to keep your stress levels down. Remember it is your health and sanity on the line.

The second thing is to drink less caffeine and if you are a smoker to cut back, or better yet, quit smoking. Nicotine and caffeine can cause harmful stress to the body. Do your best to cut back on these.

Ok so let’s take a look at 5 things you can do to help your body and mind better deal with stress.

1. Get some exercise
No matter what your definition of exercise is. You could go out for a jog or a brisk walk in the park or go to the gym and exercise there. Relaxing while you exercise is what is important as well as exercising on a regular basis. There really no point to an exercise if you are not enjoying it.

2. Relaxation and meditation
I know it sounds easy to say just relax or chill out but most people don’t know how to. It is not necessary to meditate like a Zen master, although this can be very relaxing, but you should take a time out where you are free from disruptions and noise and you can have a little alone time.

3. Go out and spoil yourself
Treating yourself doesn’t mean going out and buying a whole lot of stuff. It does mean doing something for yourself. You could just take the time to be by yourself without any interruptions or you could go treat yourself to a massage or a good book.

4. Video and board games
Games can be a perfect way to relieve stress. Just be sure to avoid playing with competitive people as your game could end up being very tense and not enjoyable at all. There are some great free software games you can download off the internet that are great to help relieve stress

5. Sleep it off
Make sure you get enough rest. Disruptions to your sleeping patterns can cause tremendous stress on your body. If you are constantly thinking you are not resting. It may not sound possible but you can turn off thoughts about worry simply by not reacting to them.

Don’t feel pressure to start on all of these ideas just try one to start off with and make sure it works for you. Relaxing is what is important not what you do. There is no reason to wait any longer.

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