5 Habits to Help Reduce Stress and Improve Health

Stress will destroy your life way before anything you eat.

If you’ve known me for long, you know that I’m the health nut of all health nuts. I believe that healthy nutrient dense eating is incredibly important, every. single. day.

I also agree with Dr. Whals that one should try to eat 6-9 cups of veggies per day. Yum, veggies.

But, before you think I’m all crazy about food, reducing your stress level can quickly improve your health. Chronic stress may be the most common cause of disease because your body never has time to recover from the damage inflicted upon it.

We live in a super face paced society, but you don’t have to live that way.

5 Habits to Help You Reduce Stress

Shut off your phone – Yup, you heard me right. Unless you are super multi-tasker mom or dad, and I doubt most of us are, being tied to your phone is sucking the life away from you. I think most of our society lacks the ability to be present in the moment. If we can be present with what we are doing now, along with a small amount of advanced planning, we don’t have to worry about the things we have to do later.
Exercise – According to this study from Harvard Medical Center exercise can reduce stress, anxiety and depression. For most people, the best time to work out is early in the day. I have found that for me, exercising early in the day increases my energy throughout the day. And, don’t feel like you have to do intense exercise. 30 minutes of running, walking or a mixture of both each day can be perfect to rejuvenate a stressed soul. For those who feel like they don’t have time to exercise, trust me, you don’t have time NOT to exercise. Chances are it might even increase productivity while reducing stress.
Set Goals – Setting clear, attainable goals can help you sort out your priorities. When I’m teaching individuals how to build a business and work from home with Young Living, I emphasize the importance of setting small goals to reach a larger one. Make sure you set daily goals to reach a weekly goal and a weekly goal to reach a monthly goal. This makes doing everything much more attainable. And, remember to give yourself grace because life happens sometimes. But, reaching achievable goals can be the first step in avoiding the rat race.
Work Hard and Play Hard – Think about it, even people that work from 9-5 everyday probably aren’t completely focused on their work each day. What if you could get in 3-4 hours of completely focused work each and everyday. Your productivity would go through the roof!!! Section off time to work and just think about work. Make sure you focus for 15 minutes at a time and then take 5-10 minute breaks in-between. When you work, shut off your social media (for sure) and don’t think about other things you have to do (those things can wait until later). When it’s time to chill with your family, be active playing outside or just watching a movie. Play hard and remember to always be present in the moment. It will completely take a load off that “supposed to be doing something feeling”.
Make Time for You – If you are a mother or a father of little ones it is a good chance that you never take time to yourself anymore. If your little ones are grown, maybe you forgot how to take time to yourself. Take time to yourself and do something that rejuvenates you. And, don’t ever feel guilty about it! Setting money aside in your budget to take pottery classes, or just go get a massage is a very good use of those hard earned funds. Make sure you take time to do what YOU enjoy and engage with people that energize you. After all, you can’t give to the needy when you feel like the life is sucked out of you.