When your workday is done, do you still carry much of the stress of your work with
you into your off-work hours?
Whether you work at home or go to an office, it’s important for there to be a
separation between your work and personal life. Without a clear gap, you will not
be able to de-stress, and being able to leave that stress behind is crucially important
to your quality of life.
Keeping your stress with you can also result in chronic stress, which contributes to
many serious health issues.
If you’re finding that you continue to think about work events after working hours or
you’re having difficulty with letting go of your stress, consider these tips to de-stress,
so you can enjoy your time away from work.
Try these activities to melt away your workday stress:
1.Pause your work email and social media notifications. Turn your tech
notifications off for a couple hours while you have dinner and enjoy the
company of your family and friends.
You’ll feel less stressed and your relationships and social life will benefit.
Eating your dinner in peace also helps digestion.
2. Exercise. Hands down, the best way to limit stress in your life is to exercise.
Not only can exercise help to lower cortisol (stress hormone), but you’ll also be
focused on the exercise and not what's going on at work.
3. Get a plant. Having something very simple to take care of and nurture can be a
really easy way to limit your stress. Plus, if you grow food like a tomato plant,
you’ll also get to eat the tomatoes! Growing your own food makes you feel good
in so many ways!
4. Vent when necessary. If you tend to keep things bottled up inside, consider
making a healthy change in your life and discuss the stressful issues with a close
friend, family member, support group, or counselor when you feel it's
necessary. They can help you work through and maybe even resolve the issue.
5. Avoid stimulants. Coffee, tea, energy drinks - they all contain stimulants like
caffeine and taurine which can make you feel wired, and in some cases, more
prone to feeling stressed out.
Avoiding or limiting your consumption of stimulant-rich foods and drinks
can help your body to feel more balanced and lower your cortisol levels.
6. Engage in an activity that you love. Whether it’s a hobby, dancing, or playing
with your kids, doing something that you enjoy takes your mind off work and
melts away your stress. Taking time to do these things is never selfish, but a
vitally important part of healthy self-care!
Best of all, find an activity where you move around, like dancing. You’ll get
a double dose of relaxation from the exercise and the enjoyment.
7.Meditate. Meditating can reduce stress, strengthen your mental and physical
health, and bring you the serenity of greater inner peace. All it takes is practice -
daily is best!
Meditating for a few minutes when your workday is done will give you
that much-needed gap between work and free time, so you can leave your
work stress behind and fully enjoy your off-work hours.
Don’t feel continuously tied to your work any longer! Try these tips and get the
freedom from stress that you deserve.
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