5 Ways to Relieve Stress on Your Lunch Break

With a busy world and hectic schedule, it is no surprise that stress is something most of us understand, or at least most of us understand that we are under stress quite often.  If you are in a career that demands a lot on you on a regular basis, you know what it feels like to constantly be stressed at your lunch break.  If you feel like you are pretty calm and work in a typical environment known to be high in stress, then more than likely you have it.

What is stress and how does it affect our life?  There are two forms: eustress and distress and both of which play a role in health.  Eustress is the “healthy” form of stress; it is the kind that gives you a little kick in the morning and keeps you healthy, focused, and energized.  This stress is the type you want.  On the other hand, distress is the type that can wreak havoc on your metabolic profile.  Distress has been known to contribute to type II diabetes, obesity, heart disease, cancer, and cardiac arrest.  So how do you avoid distress?  Listed below are five tips so that you can avoid stress at work to help you calmly move on with the day.

5 Ways to Relieve Stress During Your Lunch Break

1. Take care of yourself. Some aspects of stress that affect health are energy levels and your mindset.  When your stress levels are high, you need to find coping mechanisms to help rid your body from this harmful state.  One way to relieve stress on your lunch break when at work is to be physically active.  If you had a rough start to your day, consider taking a 20-30 minute walk on your hour-long break to help free your mind.  If you have a gym nearby or your employer offers a gym, consider lifting weights during this time.  It is very therapeutic and effective to exercise to relieve stress.  Taking your aggression out on your workout may help relieve stress, and you are likely to hit records if performed correctly.
2. Meditate.  This does not mean you need to have some belief in a different spiritual way; rather, this is a method for focusing your attention and mind to help calm your body to bring a new awareness into your life.  Studies suggest that mindful-based meditation can help relieve stress and free your mind within a 15-20 minute session.  All you need is a quiet room, your lungs, and complete focus on your meditation.
3. Use Music. Music is actually a major player in our mood and stress levels.  If you feel like your stress is adding up throughout the day, consider changing your Pandora station to sounds of nature, waterfalls, or classical music to help soothe the nerves on your lunch break.  If you listen to music at your desk, consider listening to this music to keep you at peace.
4. Deep Breathing. This falls very close to meditation, but it is a condensed version.  Deep breathing has the ability to reduce stress by lowering heart rate and blood pressure, which is an exact opposite of what stress does to your body.  Take slow deep breaths in with the stomach and hold it for a second or two before releasing through the mouth.  Each inhale should last about five seconds, the pause for one second, and the exhale for at least five seconds.  Slow breathing tells your body to slow everything down so the nerves can begin to calm.
5. Sleep.  Sleep is a natural healer and it is our way to regenerate everything, including our tolerance to stressors.  If you have been sleeping 5-6 hours every night and you are stressed fairly easily, then your first step needs to be healthy sleep. Inform us, just click here. Avoid sleeping pills, the only pills you should really take are the ones from the limitless pill review by Brainer360. Also don´t take alcohol, drugs, and any other forms of sleeping aids, this can be a problem because they can become very addictive and that’s not good for your health. If you know somebody that suffers from an addiction, make sure to take them to one of these. Your body needs to naturally produce sleep hormones so that you can properly regenerate.  If your doctor has you on a sleep aid; however, you should continue with your regimen as prescribed.

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