African
Americans tend to suffer from a disproportionate rate of stress-related
health conditions. Mindfulness meditation has been shown to be
effective for managing stress and various stress-related health
conditions.
The world has faced a
dissemblance of normal life in recent years, and whether you have been
directly or indirectly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, chances are
high your stress levels are increased. You may feel like you lack
control of this situation, and to some extent, that’s true; however,
there are strategies you can try to relieve the stress you are
experiencing day to day.
One
approach is to limit your exposure to your own stress triggers. If
having the news on all day or habitually scrolling through headlines or
social media on your phone is causing you emotional distress, it is okay
to take a step back. You can stay informed while also taking care of
your mental health by limiting the number of times you check the news in
a day and making sure to only follow reputable sources. One Johns
Hopkins Medicine psychologist also recommends getting news about the new
coronavirus from credible sources, not social media posts.
Another
approach to relieving stress is to actively participate in activities
that are known by researchers and medical professionals to reduce
stress. Stacker looked through scientific journals and news reports to
research scientifically supported ways to relieve stress. The activities
people often partake in to reduce these feelings may be off the table
right now, such as a trip to the gym, attending church service, or even
spending time in-person with friends and family, but each of the
suggestions in this slideshow can be done from the comfort of your home.
And it’s likely at least one of these stress-reducing activities is
already something you take part in.
From
drinking tea to reading and gardening, here is a list of strategies you
can try to help lessen the weight on your shoulders.
Breathing exercises
Inhale
for five seconds, exhale for five seconds, and repeat the pattern for a
few minutes — you’ve just practiced what is known as resonant
breathing. When your heart and mind are racing and you need a quick way
to destress, breathing exercises can help bring your body to a relaxed
state in seconds. The University of Michigan Health System recommends
several breathing techniques for managing stress: belly breathing, 4-7-8
breathing, roll breathing and morning breathing.
Chewing gum
Experts
often recommend chewing gum to help with focus or alertness, such as in
the case of taking an exam. Researchers have also wondered whether
chewing gum can help reduce stress. In a 2016 review of studies
exploring the connection between gum chewing and stress reduction,
Andrew P. Smith of Cardiff University’s School of Psychology suggested
chewing gum could be “a simple, cost-effective method of reducing stress
and improving quality of life and well-being.”
Drinking tea
While
people around the world have long believed drinking tea brings a myriad
of health benefits, both mental and physical, scientists are still
trying to figure out exactly why and how. Researchers have discovered
drinking tea can reduce cortisol levels — a stress hormone — and believe
an antioxidant present in tea, epigallocatechin gallate, could be
responsible for the drink’s calming effects.
Napping
Fatigue
is a common symptom of stress, which can also be an obstacle to getting
enough sleep in the first place. Taking a 30- minute midday nap could
be enough to restore stress-related hormones and proteins after a bad
night of sleep, according to a 2015 study published in the journal
Endocrine Society. The Sleep Foundation warns against taking naps too
late in the day, as it could interfere with getting a restful night.
Laughing
The
Mayo Clinic reports that laughing activates and relieves a person’s
response to stress, while also lessening physical stress symptoms by
boosting circulation and relaxing muscles. Laughter can also deliver
long-term health benefits, including mood improvement, pain relief and
even increasing one’s immunity.
Kissing
Kissing
the right person can lower cortisol levels. Smooching can even protect
participants from the physiological impact of stress, according to a
2009 Santa Clara University study about kissing in cohabiting and
married relationships. Affection exchange theory asserts that people
receive stress-ameliorating effects from communicating affectionate
behavior in close relationships. This method, and the next one, are of
course not accessible or recommended to those living on their own during
the current pandemic.
Watching television
Full
disclosure, this tip may be more effective for women than men: A study
published in a 2016 issue of the journal Health Communications found
that a woman’s cortisol levels became lower with the more television she
watched — though this was the case for some genres more than others.
The study’s lead author Robin L. Nabi suggests stress levels may drop
since watching TV is usually a passive activity.
Music
Listening
to music positively impacts the psychobiological stress system,
according to a study published in 2013 in the journal PLOS One. Stanford
University researchers also reported in 2006 that brain functioning can
be altered just as much by listening to rhythmic music as it can be by
taking medication. While certain types of music are thought to lessen
stress more than others — rhythmic drumming, classical, light jazz and
nature sounds, to name a few — a person’s music preference does come
into play. If the sound of an approaching thunderstorm stresses you out,
listening to music depicting thunder is not going to have calming
effects.
Reading
Reading
is proven to reduce stress by as much as 68 %, according to a
frequently cited 2009 study by researchers at the University of Sussex.
Regular book reading over a long period of time might even be able to
extend your lifespan by up to two years, according to researchers
involved in the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study, a
longitudinal panel study of an estimated 20,000 Americans over age 50.
When choosing a book to read in order to reduce your stress levels,
avoid anything that might upset you.
Religion and spirituality
While
slightly less tangible than other strategies on this list, the Mayo
Clinic reports that religion and spirituality may help people relieve
stress by offering a sense of purpose and a community for support.
Religion and spirituality can also allow people to accept the lack of
control they have in some aspects of their lives.
Cooking and baking
Cooking
when you must isn’t always fun; however, if you have some time to spare
and find cooking or baking to be a therapeutic activity, it could be
just what you need to reduce stress. Cooking and baking, which can be
categorized as creative activities, may be able to increase feelings of
relaxation and happiness, according to a 2016 study published in the
Journal of Positive Psychology.
Healthy eating
The
COVID-19 crisis has tossed many schedules right out the window and that
lack of structure may be preventing you from eating nutritious meals.
Nutrition doesn’t just affect your weight and your immune system: A
healthy diet can help the body deal with physiological changes brought
on by stress. Foods that may be able to decrease stress and anxiety
include fatty fish, eggs, yogurt, turmeric, pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts
and dark chocolate, according to a medically reviewed article published
by Medical News Today.
Exercise
Exercise can reduce stress and increase relaxation, according to an article by Harvard Medical School’s
Harvard Health Publishing. Clinical trials have shown aerobic activity
such as walking, running, swimming or cycling can treat clinical
depression and anxiety disorders because it decreases adrenaline and
cortisol, while also stimulating endorphin production.
Yoga
Researchers
at the University of Utah reported that “the holistic science of yoga
is the best method for prevention as well as management of stress and
stress-induced disorders,” in a 2012 article published in the
International Journal of Preventive Medicine. There are countless free
and paid-for online yoga classes for every age and ability, including
the popular YouTube channel Yoga with Adriene and Glo, which allows for
personalized practice.
Massage
Research
suggests the benefits of massage are more than simply physical, with
the Mayo Clinic noting that anxiety and insomnia related to stress are
two conditions massage may improve. Though in most parts of the world,
making an appointment at a spa is not an option right now, if you live
with a partner, learn some massage techniques online and treat each
other to an at-home session. There are also products available to
improve self-massage, such as balls and rollers.
Mindful meditation
Mindfulness
may come off as a buzzword, but in practice, it means to be present,
aware, and to avoid becoming overwhelmed. It is a practice inspired by
the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program created by Jon
Kabat-Zinn in 1979 at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
Over the course of decades, the program’s research showed how this
practice could be used to reduce pain from chronic disease and can
lessen the occurrence of stress-related illness. And clearly it works:
Institutions from Harvard to the U.S. Army have adopted mindfulness
programs to help people cope with stress. Typing “mindful meditation”
into a search engine will offer endless guides and resources to getting started.
Guided imagery
Guided
imagery is a learning process in which you engage your senses to take
part in imagination. It may seem a bit abstract at first, but according
to the Mayo Clinic via ScienceDaily, guided imagery has been shown to
help people manage stress, sending “a message to the emotional control
center of the brain.” Meditation app Headspace offers guided imagery, or
there are countless free resources online that can help you get
started.
Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy
can be an effective tool to manage stress, according to the Cleveland
Clinic, as well as many other scientific studies. Psychology Today
recommends lavender, lemon, bergamot, ylang ylang, clary sage and
jasmine essential oils to alleviate stress. Use a carrier oil like
olive, jojoba or avocado oil to topically apply essential oils to your
skin (some may be too strong to be directly applied), or add drops of
your favorite scents into a diffuser.
Hypnosis
Hypnosis
is a widely misunderstood tool in the mental health field, and while it
won’t work for everyone, this technique can help with stress reduction.
A hypnotist, or a recording of one, will guide you into a focused, but
deeply relaxed state, which will help you to subconsciously accept
something (i.e. to be happy or to not be afraid). Healthline provides a
brief guide to self-hypnosis to achieve calmness.
Cleaning
Being
in a messy, unorganized environment can make some people feel more
anxious and stressed, so it makes sense why for some people, cleaning
can be calming. Control comes into play here, too, which may be all too
relatable with the threat of COVID-19: Cleaning can be a self-soothing
technique. It also has the benefit of being a light form of exercise,
which is known to relieve stress on its own.
Petting dogs and cats
Relieving
your stress might be as easy as petting your dog or cat for just 10
minutes, according to a 2019 study by Washington State University. A
common practice for universities across the country is to bring cats and
dogs to campuses to offer a stress-reducing activity for students. A
study published in a 2018 issue of Social Development, reported there is
clear evidence that having a pet dog helps children respond better to
stress.
Crafts
Experts
believe crafting can be an aid for those dealing with chronic pain,
anxiety or depression. The phenomenon of getting enthralled in a craft
such as crocheting can be described as “flow,” a term coined by
psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who suggests flow is the secret to
being happy.
Gardening
Time
in nature has been shown to reduce heart rates, blood pressure, and
cortisol levels. While that may be difficult for the many currently in
quarantine, gardening may offer a similar benefit. Gardening, or
“therapeutic horticulture,” was found to decrease the severity of
clinical depression in a 2009 study published by Research and Theory for
Nursing Practice. If you don’t have access to outdoor space, indoor
plants in pots can bring all the benefits of gardening inside.
Kristen Wegrzyn is a reporter for The Afro. This article was first published on September 25, 2024.