Stress is a condition that everyone experiences, and it is especially high in single parents. One-third of us feel extreme stress. Three-fourths of us find stress can affect our mental or physical health. About half the population has trouble sleeping because of stress. It can come from your work or home situation. It can come from your expectations of yourself or the limitations you're up against. The one thing we all share is the energy drain that stress brings. For something that makes us anxious and keeps us up at night, it can definitely make you tired. Here's why.
When you tense up from stress, it uses up energy. Tension prevents you from sleeping or eating effectively. Anything that stresses you out steals energy and actually makes it more difficult to focus and solve your problems. So instead of lying in bed awake or being distracted at work, find ways to get rid of your stress. Let's dive into eight stress relief tips so you can stop stress from draining your energy.
1. Write Down an Actionable Plan
Stress is worrying about what you can't control or what might go wrong. So take control. One of the best stress relief tips for getting your energy back is to make an actionable plan. Write down everything you can do to solve what you're worried about. Identify steps you can take today or this week and in the next few months to make the situation better. Take control of your process. Instead of worrying about what you might or might not do, make decisions and then take action. This will make you feel more actualized — turning that stress back into real energy.
2. Work Out Your Household Finances
One of the biggest sources of stress for the modern adult is money concerns. Maybe you have lurking debt, or the pandemic has impacted your finances in a negative way. Money concerns have a way of keeping you up at night and tying your stomach in knots during the day. The best way to ease your money worries is to have a plan. Everything looks less bleak when you know what to expect and how you are going to handle the challenges ahead.
Make Plans for Employment
If you're worried about employment, either getting a job or finding a better job, then start your job hunt. Find gig work you can do during the interim and begin the process of submitting applications for better roles. You can even explore online professional development to improve your qualifications for higher income in your next job.
Find Debt Management Options
If you have debt that you're worried about, research debt remediation methods, extensions, and other ways to ease that burden. You may find that debt settlement is available, or debt consolidation can make the whole thing easier to manage. Pick your favorite options and reach out to providers to help you get started. You may even find debt counseling and helpful DIY methods to manage your current load of debt.
3. Try Deep Breathing and Meditation
Stress takes your attention away from the now and the things that matter. So bring your attention back to the now with stress relief tips centered around meditation.
Try a technique called mindfulness. It starts with a focus on your breathing and can lead you into methods of deeper meditation. Start by sitting or lying quietly anywhere that is comfortable for you. You can even take a moment in your desk chair. Relax your body and slow your breathing.
Start focusing on your breathing. Consider the depth and length of each breath. Feel it flow into your chest and expand down into your diaphragm. Swirl the air down in the bottom of your lungs and let it flow out again slowly. Let your air out through your mouth or your nose. Feel how a deep breath changes the shape of your back. Breathe as deeply as you can and practice expanding your lungs and nearly emptying them with each breath.
4. Practice Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Another of our stress relief tips is to remove it from your body. Stress makes you tense up. Over time, it can wind your muscles so tightly that it causes long-term pain and knots that must be worked out with heat and massage. Before that happens, you can use the power of your mind and intentional relaxation.
Progressive muscle relaxation starts by sitting or lying somewhere you can relax completely without falling. Become aware of every muscle, starting with the neck and shoulders and working your way down. Relax every muscle you can feel and the smaller muscles around them. Practice letting yourself relax completely, one muscle at a time. You may feel strange and achy after successfully relaxing as your muscles are unwound for the first time in days or months.
5. Set Up a Stable Household Budget
Stress often influences the way we spend. Many people respond by living too frugally — so much that your health and mental wellbeing start to suffer. Others get so stressed that impulse spending is hard to resist.
The best solution to both is to build a stable budget. Take the time to weigh your income against your regular expenses and payments. Identify your necessary spending elements, like rent or mortgage and utility bills. Refine your grocery budget, but don't skip on the health essentials like fresh meat and vegetables (and the occasional treat). Debt payments are necessary, but you might be paying more than you can support long-term, which can impair a stable household budget.
Any margin left after expenses should be spent on wellness or put into a savings account for rainy days.
6. Drink More Water
Did you know that water and stress are related? The better hydrated your body is, the easier it is to relax and the clearer your thoughts will be. So one of the best stress relief tips is simply drinking more water. When you have a clear head, you can tackle your worries more effectively. Water also gives you more energy. It improves the efficiency of your stomach, so you get more nutrients from everything you eat.
Challenge yourself to drink more water and pay attention to how you feel in the next few days. After a day of hydrating, see how you feel the next day and keep the water coming. Soon, your appetite, energy, digestion, and even your complexion should improve. And if that doesn't relieve some stress on its own, it'll give you the energy to get rid of your stressors.
7. Take a Hot Bath
Taking control of your body temperature is a great way to help stress leave your body. Muscles relax and unwind when heated, and floating in water is a naturally relaxing experience. Draw a bath at the perfect temperature for you. If your water heater isn't up to your satisfaction, boil water on the stove to heat the bath and keep the bath hot for a long soak.
Light candles if that helps you relax. Add Epsom salts to the bath as a muscle relaxer, and it will also help you process water. Add oils that will protect your skin and provide aromatherapy.
8. Improve Your Sleep Quality
As one of our key stress relief tips, take control of your sleep. Go to sleep at the same time every night and wake at the same time every morning. Build a healthy and relaxing bedtime and morning routine that makes you feel both in control and at peace with your plan. Get rid of extra light in your bedroom and add a little white noise.
All these things can help you sleep deeper, sleep for longer, and wake up feeling more refreshed. It can also help to optimize the amount of time you sleep. You might be sleeping a little too much or waking at the wrong point in your REM cycle.
Master Your Stress and Reclaim Your Energy
Stress can become a vicious cycle of feeling tired and then stressing about the items left on your to-do list. The best way to master stress is to first master your physical health, your mental clarity, and your financial security with these stress relief tips. When you gain control over these three lynchpin stressors, you'll find your energy increasing along with your control over your life, checklist completion, and the ability to face daily challenges with vigor.
You also shouldn't have to face stress alone. So contact us or reach out to the community for support, more stress relief tips, and a community to speak with about your plans.
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