The last couple of years have been very tough. Even if you appear to be managing the De-Stress well, recent conditions have been quite exhausting. To protect your health long-term, the tips below can help you make the best choice to manage the pressure you’re currently under.
Focus on Hydration
A dehydrated body is a toxic body. Your cleansing organs, including your lower gut, liver and kidneys, have a lot of work to do cleaning up the gunk that our environment puts in your system. Treat yourself to a couple of reusable water bottles and make sure they’re the first thing you see when you open the refrigerator. Try to keep one with you while the other one chills so you get in the habit of hydrating.
You may start to feel like you’re drowning if all you’re drinking is water, so change things up. Start your day with green tea, or add it to a mid-morning snack. In the natural state, this tea contains caffeine, which can impact some people differently. To avoid losing sleep over your new tea habit and to avoid the acidity that can irritate some tummies, pair it with an apple or 1/2 cup of applesauce and wrap it up before 2 pm.
Review Your Sleeping Area
Once your body is fully hydrated, your body will have an easier time detoxing. While what you eat and drink has a big impact on your cleansing organs, your brain needs both hydration and deep sleep to fully De-Stress. Deep sleep is a cycle that protects your brain from a wide variety of risks. If you struggle to get to sleep or stay asleep, your time in deep sleep is probably limited. Do your best to keep your sleeping space
- dark enough
- quiet enough
- comfortable for you
If you need a radio on all night, use one. If you have to have silence, do what you can to insulate your space against ambient noise. For those who run cold, treat yourself to a heated blanket. De-Stress
Get Moving
Make time each day for exercise. Do your best to structure your day so you don’t have to choose or decide to do this; instead, arrange your day so exercising is just the next action. If you can put your workout clothes in the bathroom so your first activity each day is to put them on, you have a better chance of actually getting out and going for a walk or whatever form of exercise you choose to add. De-Stress
Of all the benefits of daily exercise, making it a habit is extremely important. Once something is a habit, your day will feel oddly incomplete if you don’t do the action. Additionally, engaging in habitual behavior triggers your creative brain because you don’t really have to be thinking about the habitual action. A daily walk can lead to “aha” moments in short order.
Get Outside
Find a way to spend some time in nature. Take a sandwich to a park and eat your lunch in the shade of a big tree for starters. Bring a paper and ink book if you want to do some reading. Carry your phone, but don’t rely on it.
Use this time to disconnect from the everyday and just enjoy the quiet of the natural world. If you need a budget vacation, check out a few Utah state park camping sites. Quiet time in the wilderness is an excellent way to shut down the running commentary and De-Stress of your daily existence.
Celebrate Healthy Choices
It’s easy to beat yourself up when you do something wrong. Instead, celebrate the healthy choices you do make. For example, if you walked yesterday but today was rainy, icy or just not possible, try to climb the stairs a few more times today and get back on the walking path again tomorrow.
When making your food choices, avoid going for perfection. There’s something magical about a little chocolate. Don’t make a meal of it, but be sure to give yourself a break over the occasional candy bar or potato chip. At the next meal, make sure 1/2 your plate is veggies and try again. Have as much of a brain party over the good choices as you would spend beating yourself up over ice cream and cake.
Conclusion
Finally, give yourself a way to disconnect and be completely alone each day. Disconnect to give yourself brain space to tackle challenges that you have to overcome.
