Wouldn’t it be nice if we could control everything? We’d never have to worry or stress about anything ever again! But unfortunately, that’s not our reality.

Although stress seems inevitable, we can alter the parts of our lives which we can control to help make stress less likely to occur and easier to manage.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is the most effective way to avoid stress. Here are a few tips for you to live a healthier lifestyle that can also help you avoid stress in the future.

Exercise, Exercise, Exercise!

I know it seems like a monotonous reoccurring theme to read over and over again – Exercise, Lose Weight, Get Healthy – and you might be sick of hearing it. But, it’s about more than just feeling good and looking good. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can help us prevent or cope with physical, mental and emotional problems.

Not only does physical exercise help regulate our blood pressure, but it can also stimulate the chemicals in our brain that can make us happier and more relaxed.

More Water Less Coffee

Most people don’t realize how vitally important drinking water is. Roughly 75% of Americans are dehydrated. Without sufficient water consumption, our brains don’t perform well, our bodies don’t function the same and this ends up affecting our sleep and energy levels. Fatigue won’t help, it’ll just make everything worse. Don’t you find it stressful when you can’t focus and you feel tired and unmotivated? So, what then, drink coffee? – Actually, no.

Caffeine and sugar consumption can actually cause or influence stress. All they do is create a temporary feeling of having energy and motivation. Not to mention, their intake will also lead to dehydration.

Sleep Better and be Consistent

Ever feel like you’re reverting back to your toddler years when you’re tired and stressed? Having a regular sleep schedule and a sufficient amount of sleep every night is also extremely important to one’s overall health and wellbeing. Not getting enough sleep, even minor sleep deprivation can have serious effects on our mood.

 

Mindfulness and Meditation

Meditation is a practice to train and exercise one’s mind. Mindfulness is the act of focusing on one’s own current thoughts and feelings (physical or emotional). Mindfulness and meditation are methods that can be used to relieve and cope with stress. Practicing these regularly can also help to create a more stable mind and body.

Read More about Mindfulness and Meditation Here.

There’s now a specific program for relieving stress, called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. It incorporates meditation, the practice of mindfulness, yoga stretches and breathing techniques to calm the mind and body and help people cope with pain, illness, and stress.

Final Thoughts

I noticed that these habits are all interdependent; when implemented, they can influence and benefit each other. For example, if you drink enough water, you’ll sleep better and when you’re sleeping well, you have the energy to exercise and when you have all this energy, you need to practice mindfulness to organize, prioritize and avoid stress. So, don’t count one out! Try to incorporate all of them into your daily routine and see if you feel healthier and stress-free.