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10 Ways to avoid stress
Relaxing during a busy day need not take up time and money, says Zoe Strimpel
There’s a lot of stress out there at the moment, what with holidays being cut short and cancelled, workloads ratcheting up and lunchtimes shrinking even more than normal.
You probably need to de-stress, but sometimes popping out a massage or taking a week off work is just not on the cards. Thankfully, there are plenty of other things that you can do, some of them without even leaving your desk. Here’s the top-10 instant stress-busters to ease those frazzled nerves.
- Music can have a dramatic effect on mood and a few minutes of classical tunes can noticeably calm you. The British Cardiovascular Society says that stress can be eased by listening to slow music, which can lower heart-rate and blood-pressure and slow breathing. Plug in your iPod during your lunch break to slow a whirling mind, though steer clear of the heavy metal.
- Take a mental holiday. Set your alarm on your phone for 10 minutes and drop everything: the Tube or train are a good place to do this. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Picture yourself on a beautiful idyllic beach, lying on luxurious sun-bleached sands and feeling the soft cooling breeze. It might take regular practice to stay with it for the full 10 minutes, but it’ll pay off. You’ll feel relaxed and centred afterwards. Practice on a regular basis.
- It sounds simple, but going for a walk – even a 10 minute walk – in the fresh air (the office hallway doesn’t count) is a proven way of improving your mood and productivity.
- Find the point between the eyebrows on the forehead. Press and hold for a minute with your finger and then rub in circles: this motion calms the mind, slows the brain down and lowers stress, says Chris Caffrey, acupuncturist and consultant at health supplement company Solgar. “It can also prevent excess frown lines as it eases tension across the forehead,” he adds.
- Do a little Tai Chi. Sit up straight, relax the chest and shoulders, relax and breathe into your lower abdomen. This is an ideal exercise to do 10 minutes before lunch, as it will improve oxygen uptake and increase lung capacity. Relaxing before you eat will improve digestion and prevent bloating and tiredness.
- Try rubbing your ear lobes between index finger and thumb. The ear-lobes have lots of nerve-endings and are very sensitive. Massaging them can help relax body and mind and improve mood. It might even make you sleepy.
- If tight deadlines leave you scoffing lunch at your desk, avoid bloating and indigestion by rubbing the mid-point between your belly button and rib cage. This stimulates the digestive tract.
- Pop a herbal pill. Jack Challem, nutritionist and author of The Mood Food Connection, recommends taking L-Theanine, popular in the States and an effective natural remedy. “It will increase your alpha brain waves (which help you to stay calm yet focused), so is ideal for presentation nerves, deadline disasters and travel tension,” says Challem.
- Take five, twice a day. Alice Bradshaw, personal trainer and gym sports coach, says: “We all sit for hours at our desk and don’t move. Hunching over and staring at a screen can cause migraine, low energy and bad circulation. Your concentration starts to flag and tension and fatigue can take over.” Set an alarm on your computer or phone to go off twice a day. Look away from your screen. Stretch out your legs as far under the desk as possible and move feet up and down and round and round. Stand up and stretch, then place your hands on your lower back and bend backwards slightly, breathing deeply. This will relieve tension in lower spine. Next roll shoulders back and forth, stretch arms in the air and breathe in. Pull arms down and breathe out letting everything go.
- Nip out to the bookshop. Reading or browsing through books is a simple but highly effective way to block out reality. Taking 10 minutes perusing anything from a motoring mag to a Dickens novel will completely refocus you. Sometimes the simplest solution is the best, and it’s hard to beat intrigue in Victorian London for a break from reality.