Smith 
Stress is a common problem with many people, but there are ways to effectively manage stress and reduce it. Like most things that you need to learn, you should educate yourself on ways to overcome stress. This article contains a number of tips on how to reduce stress and improve your health.
Make a point to cut out excess stress in your life. Stress is a major contributor to aches and pains, depression, insomnia, ulcers, cardiac arrest, high blood pressure, stroke and more. Making sure that you have an adequate amount of sleep each night can reduce your stress levels and decrease the chances of you getting sick.
Listening to music is an effective stress reliever. Music has an incredible power over people. Studies have shown that listening to music has a calming effect on the body and mind. Find the music that truly works to help calm your nerves. This will be different for every listener.
Animal ownership is wonderful for relieving stress. There is research that indicates that simply petting an pet for a couple of minutes lowers stress levels.
Remember to never rely on drugs and/or alcohol as a crutch to deal with stress. Unfortunately, this is how some choose to cope with their issues. These people use these as ways of coping and getting over their stresses temporarily. Using drugs, including alcohol, is never anything more than an extremely short-term solution. In fact, these substances will only make your life more complicated and stressful in the long run.
Before you can learn techniques for dealing with your stress, identify the factors that lead to your anxiety. If it is something that you are able to remove from your life, then you should consider doing just that. By doing this, you’ll experience a better feeling almost immediately.
Gardening, or digging around in the dirt, is a great physical activity for reducing stress levels. Stressed out homeowners should easily be able to develop a garden for their yard.
Make sure that you inform the people whom you are with regularly that they are not the cause of your stress. Many times, your significant other, and even your children, think your stress is directly related to them. Make them aware of your stressful circumstances without giving them guilt over it, and work together as a constructive force.
A good heart-to-heart talk with a trusted confidant is often a good stress-buster. This will give you an opportunity to let your anxieties and emotions out. See if someone you’re close to would like to meet up for a cup of coffee, or have a nice long chat on the phone.
Whenever you feel stressed, you should do a quick scan of your body to check for any tense areas. Many times, this includes the teeth, shoulders, fingers or lower back muscles. After you have identified your stress areas, try and stretch them out often. This will help to lessen the tension you feel and will help you relax.
A little daydreaming can prove invaluable in defusing the stress you feel in life. Think about a place where you would like to be, and allow your mind to take you there. This type of visualization technique can help your mind deal with a stressful situation.
Music is a great stress reliever. Music has been shown to be very soothing if you listen to slow and soothing tunes. Select music that you personally find to be soothing. What’s soothing to someone else may not be to you. Music causes you to breathe more deeply and triggers the brain to create more serotonin, thus helping you relax.
If you are having trouble with a particular subject at school, hire a tutor. This provides you with necessary help so that when the time arrives to take the test, you are not unduly stressed. The better prepared you are, the less anxious you will feel.
Try to control your breathing. Drawing in deep breaths provides additional oxygen to the bloodstream and enables you to relax quite quickly. Typically, people are inclined to breathe from the upper chest when they experience high levels of stress. Shallow breathing like this tightens up your chest muscles and speeds your heart rate, making you feel even more stressed.
A glass of delicious orange juice or a citrus fruit snack can help you stay calm. Vitamin C not only calms you, it can also fight off some of the mild, stress-induced illness, like colds and coughs.
Try removing yourself from a stressful situation. Try to stay calm and remember that you are able to deal with any situation.
Find a comfortable spot, and listen to music. Sounds can influence our feelings and pleasant music can have a relaxing effect on your body. You can relax your soul and mind using soft music. Let your mind relax and forget all that is troubling you by closing your eyes while you listen to your favorite songs. This can be a great and effective way to release stress.
It’s snack time. Foods that contain carbs produce more serotonin, a kind of chemical in the brain that puts you in a better mood. Don’t overdue the carbs, but eating a whole grain bagel or piece of wheat toast may just be what the doctor ordered.
One way to relieve stress is through the use of scent. Your sense of smell is extremely powerful. When you use soothing scents like lavender and chamomile, your olfactory senses transmit those scents to your brain and relax the brain waves. A great way to fill your home with relaxing aromas is by using scented candles.
As previously stated, being educated and informed is essential to reducing your stress. Once you get a handle on methods that work, stress becomes more manageable.
