Quick tips to help alleviate stress throughout your day!

The impact of stress on our lives can be detrimental if not acted upon appropriately. Stress, unfortunately so, maintains a rather tight grip on a lot of humanity, and the act of combating it and balancing it out throughout life without it taking over can be a delicate act indeed. 

The worst part about stress is the way that it builds on itself, how one trigger can enhance another, and then amplify yet again a different aspect of stress within your life. Like a bad, boring, and straight-line of dominos falling and falling to no avail. 

But you see, just as the impact of stress can be so strong, so can our abilities to negate this nasty little feeling throughout our life, as the effects of what we do to stop stress can be as equally powerful as stress itself!

So when the impacts of stress span so far and wide into the multiple facets of your life, it becomes essential to then do everything you can do to halt it in its path. With just 15 minutes of your day, you can implement a few really easy stress-fighting techniques that lend you a great amount of newfound positivity.

And the key here is recognizing just how little time you need! Don't let time be a burden that then creates more stress, and instead try acting on a few of our pieces of stress-fighting advice with sheer consistency. For you must be consistent, as consistency is key to anything, especially taking down a demon that is as present and always evolving as stress. 

You can do these at the office, at home, out and about; wherever it is that you can simply set aside a quick fifteen to break down those stressful barriers and instill a smile throughout the rest of your day!

15 Minutes of Meditation

Meditation is one of the best things that you can do for yourself during the day, as it allows you to naturally enter a state of relaxation and bliss that grounds you to yourself. This state of relaxation and inner reflection is one of the most efficient combatants of negating stress, as it allows you to access only the happiest and most positive of thoughts.

A lot of stress is caused by a jumbled, busy, overthinking, and unorganized mind. That might sound like a lot, and it is! Because that is exactly how the mind feels as it tries to navigate life while dealing with all of its requirements. When your mind gets messy, stress is enhanced, and it is essential to then clean it up!

When in a meditative state, the entire goal here is to simply rid yourself of negative energy and thought. You don't have to be a spiritual guru to do so, and you will learn that just 15 minutes of clearing your mind is all you need! This will increase productivity, refresh your brain, and of course reduce those stress initiating thoughts. 

There is tons of content and videos all about the act of 15-minute meditation, so just give it a quick google, make sure to act on it every day, and revel in the benefits!

15 Minutes of Positive Reflection 

It's true, meditation isn't necessarily for all of us, as some of us simply can't sit that still or enter a state of natural quiet. So instead of actual meditation, try a different form of it that we can all do, no matter what. 

For 15 minutes, reflect on your day, your week, your month, your year. Think about every single positive aspect that you can regarding your past, thinking not once about the negatives. 

When you begin to pinpoint triggers in your mind that are the memories of happiness, you will realize how lucky you are to have your life, and this will lend for a state of mind that is set to fight off the other negatives that come along and that with things bring about heightened levels of stress. 

A little positive reflection throughout your day can go a really long way. And for a quick tip, you can always do this with your partner before bed as a way to hear more about their day and to share other positive aspects of your life with the one you love the most!

The No-Sweat Exercise or Stretch Routine

Having more than just a 15-minute exercise routine is the best way to fully combat stress, as exercise is proven over and over to reduce the effects of stress; but even if you already consistently exercise, it absolutely never hurts giving yourself a brief 15-minute interval throughout the day for some movin' and groovin' around!

This is especially true if you tend to sit at an office chair for an entire day, and don't worry, you don't have to break an uncomfortable sweat to reap the benefits of a quick little ‘workout’.

Some simple jumping jacks, a few quick squats, lunges, maybe a few push-ups. Nothing much, but enough to get your blood flowing and your adrenal glands just the littlest bit excited! 

If you aren't feeling like getting a quick muscle pump, or if you have already worked out that day, then take 15 minutes to instead stretch your bones! And for the best form of doing this, it is never a bad time in life to pursue the stress-reducing benefits that arise with the specific stretches of yoga. 

As a fun way to do this, take simple life activities that you already do and simply enhance them! Like walking the dog, for example. Throw in a few one minute jog intervals, do a few squats while they sniff around. When you get creative with this the fun itself will help to lower stress, and the littlest of advancements in your exercise can affect so much!

15 Minute Yoga

Again, this one is so simple yet so effective! Yoga has been proven with research to help alleviate stress and anxiety, and you don't have to be a yogi to enjoy these prominent benefits. Although yoga classes that are 1+ hour-long are the best ways to fight stress, if you aren't capable of taking part in such then 15 minutes will go a heck of a long way, especially if you practice it every day! 

There are tons of awesome apps (I personally enjoy “Yoga Studio”) and YouTube videos that will walk you right through a nice 15 minute or 30-minute routine that you can do at your office or from the comfort of your home, and all you need is a Yoga mat and some comfortable leggings or joggers and you are good to go!

Not only will your physical body benefit, but the relaxation provided by some simple yoga positions will lend you a lot of mental strength and stress-fighting prowess within your mindset. 

Make a Stress-Reducing Tea

In just 15 minutes you can boil water and make stress-reducing tea for you to sip on that can promote a blissful positivity throughout the rest of your day. 

The act of making and drinking the tea itself provides calmness and relaxation to your mind, as it is warm, tasty, and fulfilling. But more than that, you can use herbs that have been proven to reduce the effects of stress and related feelings like anxiety!

If you don't already make tea for these, and many other, health benefits; then I highly suggest you do! Especially Instead of a mid-day cup of coffee that can actually make you feel worse by heightening your adrenaline and anxiety through caffeine intake.

What is SO much better then for your body, soul, and therefore stress, is to instead make a stress-reducing tea. You can do this with tea bags that are already made for you, or you can even make your own herbal tea from dry herbs. And if you want to know how to do that, read through our article here!

Then, take a look at some of the best herbs for fighting stress and follow the instructions to make an herbal tea that reduces stress. 

Just Take the Bath!

Never let the idea that a bath takes a long time deter you from pouring one. Baths are one of the best methods to reduce stress at the end of a long day, and they are also great for other health aspects of a body. 

Just 15 minutes of soaking in the hot water will reduce muscle strain, calm your breaths, and provide to you a palace to close your eyes and enter a state of complete relaxation. And then, to really knock that stress out, add some Epsom salt or stress-reducing herbs for a fragrant and skin-loving bath. 

Chances are, taking a bath at night will also make you sleep better. Sleep in itself is another amazing and effective method for combating stress, so a nighttime bath maintains other positives within its tree of effects. 

To combine some of our other useful stress-reducing tips, use a bath as your time of positive reflection/mediation to really make the best of the soothing experience!