essay ways to reduce stress

Essay on Stress Management

500 words essay on stress management.

Stress is a very complex phenomenon that we can define in several ways. However, if you put them together, it is basically the wear and tear of daily life. Stress management refers to a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies for controlling a person’s stress level, especially chronic stress . If there is effective stress management, we can help one another break the hold of stress on our lives. The essay on stress management will throw light on the very same thing.

Identifying the Source of Stress

The first step of stress management is identifying the source of stress in your life. It is not as easy as that but it is essential. The true source of stress may not always be evident as we tend to overlook our own stress-inducing thoughts and feelings.

For instance, you might constantly worry about meeting your deadline. But, in reality, maybe your procrastination is what leads to this stress than the actual deadline. In order to identify the source of stress, we must look closely within ourselves.

If you explain away stress as temporary, then it may be a problem. Like if you yourself don’t take a breather from time to time, what is the point? On the other hand, is stress an integral part of your work and you acknowledging it like that?

If you make it a part of your personality, like you label things as crazy or nervous energy, you need to look further. Most importantly, do you blame the stress on people around you or the events surrounding you?

It is essential to take responsibility for the role one plays in creating or maintaining stress. Your stress will remain outside your control if you do not do it.

Strategies for Stress Management

It is obvious that we cannot avoid all kinds of stress but there are many stressors in your life which you can definitely eliminate. It is important to learn how to say no and stick to them.  Try to avoid people who stress you out.

Further, if you cannot avoid a stressful situation, try altering it. Express your feelings don’t bottle them up and manage your time better. Moreover, you can also adapt to the stressor if you can’t change it.

Reframe problems and look at the big picture. Similarly, adjust your standards and focus on the positive side. Never try to control the uncontrollable. Most importantly, make time for having fun and relaxing.

Spend some time with nature, go for a walk or call a friend, whatever pleases you.  You can also try working out, listening to music and more. As long as it makes you happy, never give up.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Conclusion of the Essay on Stress Management

All in all, we can control our stress levels with relaxation techniques that evoke the relaxation response of our body. It is the state of restfulness that is the opposite of the stress response. Thus, when you practice these techniques regularly, you can build your resilience and heal yourself.

FAQ of Essay on Stress Management

Question 1: What is the importance of stress management?

Answer 1: Stress management is very efficient as it helps in breaking the hold which stress has on our lives. Moreover, you can also become happy, healthy and more productive because of it. The ultimate goal should be to live a balanced life and have the resilience to hold up under pressure.

Question 2: Give some stress management techniques.

Answer 2: There are many stress management techniques through which one can reduce stress in their lives. One can change their situation or their reaction to it. We can try by altering the situation. If not, we can change our attitudes towards it. Remember, accept things that you cannot change.

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Originally published on July 24, 2017

How to Be Better at Stress

By Tara Parker-Pope

Illustrations by Sam Kalda

Stress is unavoidable in modern life, but it doesn’t have to get you down. Work, money and family all create daily stress, while bigger issues like the global pandemic and politics contribute to our underlying stress levels. But approach it the right way, and it won’t rule your life — it can even be good for you. Here are ways to deal with stress, reduce its harm and even use your daily stress to make you stronger.

Stress is inevitable; getting sick from it is not.

The Perception of Stress

While we know that stress is associated with health problems, plenty of people with high-stress lives are thriving. How is that possible? In 2012, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison published a seminal study looking at how 28,000 people perceived stress in their lives. People in the study answered these two questions:

During the past 12 months, would you say that you experienced:

A lot of stress A moderate amount of stress Relatively little stress Almost no stress at all

How much effect has stress had on your health?

A lot Some Hardly any None

The researchers looked at death rates in the study group over nine years. The results are startling. The study found that having a lot of stress in your life was not linked with premature death. But having a lot of stress in your life and believing it was taking a toll on your health increased risk of premature death by 43 percent.

Changing your perception

With stress, the mind and the body are intrinsically linked. You can view stress as something that is wreaking havoc on your body (and it can) or as something that is giving you the strength and energy to overcome adversity. Here’s a quick way to think about these two very different views of stress. Read the statement, and then think about your own reaction to the biological changes that occur during times of stress. 1. When I’m stressed, my body releases adrenaline and cortisol. My heart is beating faster. This means that:

Common View: Stress is increasing my risk for cardiovascular disease and heart attack.

Alternative View: My heart is working harder and my body is mobilizing its energy to get ready for this challenge.

2. When I’m stressed, my stress response is causing my breathing rate to increase. This means that:

Common View: My fast breathing is a sign of anxiety. I worry about how stress is affecting my mental and physical health.

Alternative View: I should take a deep breath. My faster breathing means more oxygen is getting to my brain so I can think more clearly.

3. When I’m stressed, my heart and circulatory system respond, causing my blood pressure to rise. This means that:

Common View: I can feel my blood pressure rising. This can’t be good for my health.

Alternative View: Circulatory changes are allowing more oxygen and nutrients to fuel my muscles. I’m feeling stronger and ready for the challenge ahead.

It’s probably clear to you that the alternative view is the better choice for thinking about stress. It may be hard to believe that such a small shift in thinking could make a difference, but that’s what Harvard researchers found when they paid 50 study subjects $25 each to take part in a lab experiment designed to induce stress. The test involves giving a talk in front of a group of unfriendly evaluators, followed by a tricky word test. (Researchers have consistently found that this formula of public speaking plus testing in front of a hostile crowd is incredibly uncomfortable and stress-inducing for the poor people who agree to take part in the study.)

Before the social stress test, one group was allowed to play video games; another was taught to simply ignore stressful feelings if they experienced them during the test. But a third group was given advice similar to the quiz above. They got a primer about the physical stress response and were told how a higher heart rate, faster breathing and internal jitters were all tools for making you strong during a stressful event. They were told how the body’s stress response evolved to help us succeed, and that the increased arousal symptoms of stress can aid your performance during times of stress. The bottom line of the lesson was this: In a tough situation, stress makes you stronger.

The group that learned to rethink the role of stress in their lives did far better on the test. They gave better speeches and were rated as more confident. They smiled more and had more-positive body language. And physiological indicators showed that their bodies were also managing the stress response better than those of test subjects who were taught to ignore stress or given no advice at all.

The Stanford psychologist Kelly McGonigal has been a champion of rethinking stress, noting that the right approach can make you smarter and stronger. Her TED talk on the subject, “How To Make Stress Your Friend,” has been viewed 14 million times.

“What I learned from these studies, surveys and conversations truly changed the way I think about stress,” Dr. McGonigal wrote in her book “The Upside of Stress: Why Stress Is Good for You, and How to Get Good at It.” “The best way to manage stress isn’t to reduce or avoid it, but rather to rethink and even embrace it.”

Learn skills to better handle stress.

Stress Inoculation

The best way to get better at stress is to practice it. Scientists call this “stress inoculation,” and just as exposure to a virus will inoculate you from contracting a virus a second time, regular exposure to small amounts of stress can inoculate you from the most detrimental effects of stress when you suffer a big stressful event in your life.

Stress inoculation has three phases.

1. Education: Learn what to expect. If you need chemotherapy, are experiencing a divorce or have had a setback at work, talk to people who have been through it and learn what to expect going forward so you can be prepared, rather than blindsided, by the stressors ahead of you.

2. Rehearsal: While you can’t rehearse for life’s biggest moments, you can live your life in a way that prepares you for stress. It can be a physical challenge like competing in a triathlon or conquering a mountain. It can be an intellectual stressor like reading your poetry in public or giving a speech. The point is that you need to rehearse stressful situations in order to perform your best under stress.

3. Implementation: When the stressful event hits, you are prepared. You know what to expect, and you’ve experienced stressful situations before. You’ve got this.

Still Skeptical?

Think about how firefighters train. They educate themselves about fire and how it behaves in different situations. They put themselves through grueling physical training to practice carrying heavy equipment, navigating smoky, dark buildings and stairwells, and braving the heat of a raging fire. They practice running into burning buildings. The training is hard and highly stressful.

Now imagine you are out for a nightly walk and you see that a neighbor’s house is on fire. Your heart races. You panic. You fumble with your phone. You take a step toward the house. You hesitate. What do you do? Fortunately, the firefighters arrive and race into the home without hesitation. Your moment of stress and anxiety is just another day at the office for them. They know what to expect. They trained for it.

You can practice for everyday stress in similar ways, by putting yourself in challenging situations. The good news is that practicing stress can actually be enjoyable, even thrilling. The key is to push yourself out of your comfort zone. Here are some suggestions:

Run a marathon

Play in a Scrabble competition

Read an original poem at a poetry slam

Climb a mountain

Sing karaoke

Tell a story in front of a crowd

Take on a tough project at work

Kayak the Colorado rapids

Train to scuba dive

Attend a boot camp

Not only will challenging experiences give you more confidence, but the repeated exposure to stressful situations can also change your body’s biological response to stress. Your stress hormones become less responsive, allowing you to better handle stress when it comes.

Dr. Dennis Charney, a psychiatrist and the dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, notes that programs like Outward Bound and basic military training are all designed to make people uncomfortable and build their skills so that they will be better able to handle stress later on. When his children were young, he took them on adventure trips that included “a degree of anxiety” like exposure to wildlife or kayaking in remote areas as a way to build confidence and prepare them to deal with stressful events. Putting yourself or your children in difficult social situations or speaking in public can help adults and children accumulate social and intellectual skills that help in times of stress.

“Live your life in a way that you get the skills that enable you to handle stress,” says Dr. Charney. “Put yourself out of your comfort zone.”

An Rx for Resilience

Another factor in how you handle a stressful situation is resilience. The American Psychological Association defines resilience this way:

Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress — such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems or workplace and financial stressors. It means “bouncing back” from difficult experiences.

You can boost your resilience in a number of ways. In the book “Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life’s Greatest Challenges,” the authors, Dr. Steven M. Southwick and Dr. Charney, studied people who experienced great stressors — prisoners of war, men in the special forces, victims of trauma or survivors of catastrophic events. They found that people with the most resilience in the face of extreme challenges shared several behaviors and mind-sets. From that research, the duo identified 10 factors associated with resilience. You don’t need to practice all 10 behaviors to build resilience; just pick the two or three or four that speak to you.

1. Adopt a positive attitude. Optimism is strongly related to resilience.

2. Reframe the situation. Just like the stressed-out study subjects were taught to reappraise stress as their friend, people who are resilient typically reframe a negative situation as an opportunity for growth, learning or change.

3. Focus on core beliefs. People with a deeply held core belief, strong faith or a commitment to altruism often show more resilience.

4. Find a role model. Seeing someone else who has come through adversity can strengthen your own resilience.

5. Face your fears. Confronting a challenge rather than avoiding it will help you cope and build confidence.

6. Fall back on religion or spirituality. For many people, strong faith or spiritual beliefs can fuel resilience.

7. Seek social support. People who reach out to friends, family and support groups fare better during stressful times.

8. Exercise. It improves mood, relieves stress and makes you physically stronger.

9. Inoculate against stress. Challenge yourself regularly in the areas of emotional intelligence, moral integrity and physical endurance.

10. Find meaning and purpose. Having a clear purpose in life can boost your emotional strength during difficult times.

Numerous studies have shown us that exercise can improve your mood.

Exercise can channel your stress response into something constructive and distract your mind from the challenges at work or home that make you feel chronically stressed. In many ways exercise appears to be a form of stress inoculation. In studies, mice given access to running wheels and tubes to explore for just two weeks became resistant to stress compared with mice who had not exercised. They measured this by exposing the mice to an aggressive mouse. After the bullying, the exercising-mice bounced back, but the sedentary mice continued to show signs of stress. The bottom line: Exercise doesn’t eliminate stress, but it does give your body the physical conditioning it needs to recover from it.

How Much Exercise Do I Need to Manage Stress? It doesn’t take much. Even small amounts of exercise can help you manage your stress. The key is consistency. Don’t let the stress of your day push exercise off the schedule.

Does the Type of Exercise Matter? The exercise that is best for relieving stress is the one you will do consistently. Find something that fits your schedule and that you enjoy. For some, that will be a morning spin class or an evening run. For others, it will be a 30-minute walk at lunch time. A Norwegian study found that people who engaged in any exercise, even a small amount, reported improve mental health compared with people who never exercised.

What About Weight Training? One study showed that six weeks of bicycle riding or weight training eased symptoms in women who received a diagnosis of anxiety disorder. The weight training was especially effective at reducing irritability .

Indeed, some research suggests that when it comes to reducing stress, you’ll get more out of exercise if you incorporate some weight training. Studies show that anaerobic or resistance exercises (working with weights) taxes muscles more than aerobic exercise like walking or running. The result is that weight training, done right, may produce more mood-boosting endorphins than cardio exercise. Exercises that stress the large muscles seem to have the biggest effect, like squats, leg presses, incline situps, military presses and bench presses.

Take it Outside

Simply taking your exercise outdoors can have a significant effect on your mood.

In a number of recent studies, volunteers who walked outdoors reported enjoying the activity more than those who walked indoors on a treadmill. Subsequent psychological tests showed outdoor exercisers scored significantly higher on measures of vitality, enthusiasm, pleasure and self-esteem and lower on tension, depression and fatigue.

A study last year of older adults found that those who exercised outside did so longer and more often than those working out indoors. The outdoor exercisers averaged about 30 minutes more exercise each week than those who walked or otherwise exercised indoors.

A few small studies have found that people have lower blood levels of cortisol, a hormone related to stress, after exerting themselves outside as compared with inside. There’s speculation, too, that exposure to direct sunlight, known to affect mood, plays a role.

A study in Austria found that almost all the participants reported that the outdoor effort had felt less strenuous to them than their time on the treadmill. And they enjoyed it more.

A small study from the University of Essex found that exercisers exposed to the color green found it easier to exercise and were in a better mood than exercisers exposed to gray or red. (Think green trees versus a cement-walled gym.)

Exercise your mind and let it rest to help it better process stress.

Giving Your Mind a Rest

For people dealing with high levels of stress, it can be hard to fathom how a few moments of meditation will help. After meditation, the stressors are still there — you’re still getting divorced, caring for an aging parent, struggling with the demands of a high-stress job. How can a few moments of deep thought possibly help your life?

It may help to think about how muscles get stronger. Unrelenting exercise simply tears down a muscle and leads to injury. Smart exercisers know the value of a day of rest — that’s when your muscles regenerate and come back stronger than before.

Now think about your mind as an emotional muscle. Unrelenting stress without a break will not make it stronger. Your emotions, your brain and your body need moments of recovery to get stronger from stress.

“It’s about stress and recovery. Just like you build a physical muscle, just like you build biceps, you have to take the same approach to life stressors,” says Jack Groppel, co-founder of the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute , which offers a course called “The Power of Positive Stress.“

Think of meditation like high-intensity interval training (H.I.I.T.) for the brain. During H.I.I.T., you go as hard as you can, then you give yourself a few minutes of recovery before returning to the exercise. This cycle is repeated multiple times and has been shown to be more effective for building strength than long, slow bouts of exercise.

Now imagine a high-intensity, high-stress workday. But every hour, you take two minutes to let your brain recover. “Stress is the stimulus for growth,” says Dr. Groppel. “Recovery is when growth occurs. If there is no recovery, there is no growth. That’s how we build the resilience muscle.”

Controlled Breathing

Controlled breathing has been shown to reduce stress, increase alertness and boost your immune system. For centuries yogis have used breath control, or pranayama, to promote concentration and improve vitality. The Buddha advocated breath-meditation as a way to reach enlightenment.

Science is just beginning to provide evidence that the benefits of this ancient practice are real. Studies have found, for example, that breathing practices can help reduce symptoms associated with anxiety, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and attention deficit disorder.

When your mind is racing or you feel keyed up, try Rock and Roll breathing, which has the added benefit of strengthening your core.

1. Sit up straight on the floor or the edge of a chair.

2. Place your hands on your belly.

3. As you inhale, lean forward and expand your belly.

4. As you exhale, squeeze the breath out and curl forward while leaning backward; exhale until you’re completely empty of breath.

5. Repeat 20 times.

One study recruited 35 unemployed men and women who were seeking work and experiencing considerable stress. All of them participated in stretching exercises, but half of them were also taught formal mindfulness meditation. After three days, everyone said they felt refreshed and better able to withstand the stress of unemployment. Yet follow-up brain scans showed differences in only those who underwent mindfulness meditation. There was more activity, or communication, among the portions of their brains that process stress-related reactions and other areas related to focus and calm. Four months later, those who had practiced mindfulness showed much lower levels in their blood of a marker of unhealthy inflammation than the relaxation group, even though few were still meditating.

To learn more about meditation, try the introductory exercise below.

Basic Mindfulness Meditation

Learn how to pay close attention to the present moment with this meditation exercise.

Find a comfortable place to sit, and a posture that is both alert and relaxed at the same time. See if you can make the spine erect, without being too rigid. STEP 2

Close your eyes (or leave them slightly open if you prefer), and take a few slow breaths. Take a few moments to loosen your body from your head to your toes, and take a few more deep breaths.

Stop to notice the sensations throughout your body — the warmth, the coolness or any discomfort. Be aware of them, but try not to fidget too much.

Pick one sensation — such as the feeling of your breath going in and out — and devote your attention to it. Just focus on that.

When your mind wanders, bring your attention back to the breath. After a few moments, your mind may wander again. Once again, notice that and simply return your attention back to the present moment.

When you’re ready — after one minute, 10 minutes or 30 minutes — open your eyes. Though your formal meditation practice may have ended, your mindful awareness can continue throughout the day.

Write it down

Another way to cope with stress: writing. It is based on the idea that we all have a personal narrative that shapes our view of the world and ourselves. But sometimes our inner voice doesn’t get it completely right. Some researchers believe that by writing and then editing our own stories, we can change our perceptions of ourselves and identify obstacles that stand in the way of better health. It may sound like self-help nonsense, but research suggests the effects are real.

Timothy D. Wilson, a University of Virginia psychology professor and author of “Redirect: Changing the Stories We Live By,” believes that while writing doesn’t solve every problem, it can definitely help people cope. “Writing forces people to reconstrue whatever is troubling them and find new meaning in it,” he said.

There are a number of methods to tap into the power of expressive writing:

Journal every day. Just writing about your thoughts, feelings and experiences every day can help. Explore your thoughts and feelings about an issue. Don’t just re-live the stress in your life but try to find meaning in it or explore how well you’ve handled certain situations. Be disciplined and write at the same time every day so it becomes a habit. In a University of Texas study, students who wrote about stressful or traumatic events for four days in a row reaped the benefits for months after. For the next six months, the writing students had fewer visits to the campus health center and used fewer pain relievers than the students in the experiment who wrote about trivial matters.

Change your story. Use writing to force yourself to confront the changes you need to make in your life. On the first day, write down your goals, then write down why you haven’t achieved them (“I don’t have the time or the money,” “Too many family responsibilities,” etc.) The next day review your writing. Now ask: What is really standing in the way of your goals? Change the story so you have control. Maybe the answer is: I don’t put myself first. I don’t make exercise a priority. I let other people talk me into spending money rather than saving.

Write a mission statement. People deal with stress better when they have a strong moral compass. This means knowing what you value in life and using that as a guidepost for all decision. By creating a mission statement people can begin to identify the underlying causes of behaviors, as well as what truly motivates them to change. “A mission statement becomes the North Star for people,” says Dr. Groppel. “It becomes how you make decisions, how you lead and how you create boundaries.” To learn more, read our article “Creating a New Mission Statement.”

Stress and Your Appetite

Stress can have a huge impact on your eating habits. During acute stress (the hours after a car accident or the shock of a layoff announcement at work), the stress response can shut down appetite. The fight-or-flight response is designed to suppress hunger — you won’t be effective in battle or run that fast if you are thinking about food. But chronic stress has the opposite effect. Repeated doses of cortisol in your body due to high stress can lead to an increase in appetite.

According to the Harvard Health Letter, gender can play a role in how you eat during times of stress. Some research suggests women are more likely overeat due to stress while men turn to alcohol or smoking.

And the reality is that food really can make you feel better during times of stress. So-called comfort food like chocolate cake and ice cream literally blunt the body’s response to chronic stress. The problem with continuing to self-medicate chronic stress with comfort foods is that it will lead to weight gain and poor health.

Just as you need to reframe your view of stress and exercise and meditate to give your body a break from stress, you can also adopt strategies to use food to help you better cope with stress.

Mindful Eating

During times of stress, we can be particularly careless about what we eat and resort to mindless snacking, grabbing sweets from the office treat table or eating bags of junk food on the run. During times of stress, it’s particularly important to engage in “mindful eating,” which involves eating slowly and relishing every bite.

“The question isn’t what are the foods to eat, in my mind,” says Dr. Michael Finkelstein, a holistic physician who oversees SunRaven , a holistic-living center in Bedford, N.Y. “Most people have a general sense of what the healthy foods are, but they’re not eating them. What’s on your mind when you’re eating: That’s mindful eating to me.”

Here’s a simple exercise to try next time you are sitting down to a delicious meal:

Place a forkful of food in your mouth. Make it something you love.

Put the fork down and resist the temptation to take a second bite.

Chew slowly. Tune in to the texture of the food, the flavor, the aroma. Focus on the colors on your plate.

Be present in the moment and think only about the food in your mouth. Reflect on the effort that went into growing or producing this food; the effort it took to prepare this meal.

Savor the moment.

To learn more, read “Mindful Eating as Food for Thought.”

Your friends and family can be both a cause of stress and a cure for it.

Lean on Loved Ones

The pressure of family responsibilities is one of the most common forms of stress. But during times of stress, our friends and family members are most likely to give us the support we need to get through it.

One of my favorite friendship studies involved a steep hill, a heavy backpack and 34 university students. Students were fitted with a backpack full of free weights equivalent to 20 percent of their body weight. They stood at the base of a hill on the University of Virginia campus with a 26-degree incline. Wearing the heavy backpack, they had to imagine climbing that hill and guess the incline. When a student stood alone, he or she tended to guess that the hill was very steep. But when they stood next to a friend, the hill didn’t look as daunting. Overall, students in pairs consistently gave lower estimates of the hill’s incline compared with students who were alone. And the longer the friends had known each other, the less steep the hill appeared.

The lesson: The world does not look as challenging with a friend by your side.

For people who study stress, the role of friendship, family and support networks can’t be overstated. Time and again research shows that social support is a defining element in our happiness, quality of life and ability to cope with stress.

Map Your Social Network

During times of high stress we have a tendency to retreat. We cancel social plans and focus on the work, money crisis or trauma that is our source of stress. But friends and social support are among the best forms of therapy to help you escape stress for brief periods of time. Friends can also make you feel better about yourself, and that mountain of stress in your life won’t look so steep.

When Dr. Southwick, Yale Medical School psychiatrist, co-wrote his book on resilience, he interviewed a number of people who had shown resilience against all odds, including former prisoners of war and people who had survived trauma. One thing they had in common was social support.

“The resilient people we interviewed actively reached out for support,” said Dr. Southwick. “They don’t sit around and wait.”

Even POWs held in isolation devised a tapping method of communication with their fellow prisoners. “Most, if not all, said it was life-saving to know they weren’t alone and they were cared for,” said Dr. Southwick.

When Dr. Southwick, a psychiatrist, meets with a new patient, one of the first things he does is construct a diagram of the patient’s social network. Sometimes they just talk about it; some patients want to map it out on paper. “Who is in your life? Who can you count on?” asks Dr. Southwick. Make your own list of your social network and keep it handy when you need to call on someone for support.

Don’t Just Seek Support, Give It

If you lead a highly stressful life, the solution may be to add one more task to your daily to-do list. Give back.

Research consistently shows that helping other people and giving social support is a powerful way to manage the stress in your life and boost your resilience. Volunteer work, mentoring, mowing your elderly neighbor’s lawn, listening to a friend who is struggling — all these can enhance your own ability to manage stress and thrive.“

Time spent helping others, sharing our knowledge and providing social and emotional support gives meaning and purpose to our lives,” said Adam Grant, a Wharton management professor and co-author of the book “Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy” with Sheryl Sandberg. “Getting out of yourself and helping others may be even more powerful than receiving social support.”

Reach Out and Touch Someone

The simple act of touching another person — or being touched — can ease your stress. James A. Coan, an assistant professor of psychology and a neuroscientist at the University of Virginia, recruited 16 women who felt they had strong support in their relationships. To simulate stress, he subjected each woman to a mild electric shock under three conditions, all while monitoring her brain. The shocks were administered in no particular order while the woman was 1) alone, 2) holding a stranger’s hand, and 3) holding her husband’s hand.

Notably, both instances of hand-holding reduced the neural activity in areas of the woman’s brain associated with stress. But when the woman was holding her husband’s hand, the effect was even greater, and it was particularly pronounced in women who had the highest marital-happiness scores. Holding a husband’s hand during the electric shock resulted in a calming of the brain regions associated with pain similar to the effect brought about by use of a pain-relieving drug.

Coan says the study simulates how a supportive marriage and partnership gives the brain the opportunity to outsource some of its most difficult neural work. “When someone holds your hand in a study or just shows that they are there for you by giving you a back rub, when you’re in their presence, that becomes a cue that you don’t have to regulate your negative emotion,” he told me. “The other person is essentially regulating your negative emotion but without your prefrontal cortex. It’s much less wear and tear on us if we have someone there to help regulate us.”

Animals Can Help

Spending time with your pet can offer a temporary reprieve from stress. Spending time with your dog and taking it for a walk is a twofer — you get the stress reduction of a pet plus the stress-busting benefits of a walk outdoors.

The evidence that pets are a source of comfort and stress relief is compelling. At Veterans Affairs hospitals, therapy animals including dogs and parrots have helped patients undergoing treatment for post-traumatic stress reduce their anxiety.

Studies have shown that after just 20 minutes with a therapy dog, patients’ levels of stress hormones drop and levels of pain-reducing endorphins rise.

In a controlled study of therapy dog visits among patients with heart disease, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, found a significant reduction in anxiety levels and blood pressure in the heart and lungs in those who spent 12 minutes with a visiting animal, but no such effect occurred among comparable patients not visited by a dog.

Excessive stress can take a physical toll if it’s not managed correctly.

While some stress is essential for human function, chronic stress creates a cascade of physical changes throughout your body.

Heart: During a stressful event, your heart rate increases and your body releases the stress hormones — cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline. In some parts of the body (skin, digestive system, brain) blood vessels constrict, allowing blood flow to increase to larger systems (heart, large muscles). The body is redirecting oxygen and nutrients to the areas where they are needed most to give you the strength to fight or flee. But blood flowing to a smaller area causes blood pressure to rise. Normally the effects are temporary, but some research suggests that in people with chronic stress, the effects on the heart are unrelenting, raising the risk for high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke.

Immune System: Chronic stress can depress the immune system and make you more vulnerable to colds or more serious illnesses.

Diabetes Risk: During stress, the liver increases glucose production for a boost of energy to propel you during an emergency. Chronic stress can lead to extra blood sugar, increasing risk for diabetes, especially among those already at high risk, such as the overweight or those with a family history of the disease. According to the American Psychological Association , learning to manage your stress can be nearly as effective at controlling blood sugar as medication.

Stomach and Digestion: Stress can affect how fast food moves through your body, stomach acid and the absorption of nutrients. Chronic stress can also lead to overeating or alcohol use. All of these factors can contribute to a number of gastrointestinal issues including acid reflux, heartburn pain, nausea, stomach pain, ulcers and diarrhea.

Sex and Reproduction: In men, chronic stress can affect testosterone levels and sperm count, and contribute to erectile dysfunction. In women, stress can create irregular menstrual cycles and painful periods and exacerbate premenstrual syndrome. Stress can also worsen the symptoms of menopause, including more frequent and more severe hot flashes. In both men and women, chronic stress can dampen sexual desire.

Tara Parker-Pope is a columnist covering health, behavior and relationships. She is the founding editor of Well, The Times's award-winning consumer health site. More about Tara Parker-Pope

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Stress-Free Essay Writing: 11 Techniques to Overcome Stress and Improve Your Writing

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You have (yet) another essay to write, and you feel like you’re losing your mind. There's so much on your plate that you don’t know how or where to start. What’s worse is that the pressure keeps building up!

Writing essays can make you feel like you’re on a hamster wheel – it’s never-ending.

Many students tend to feel anxious and stressed by essays, which impacts their writing quality. However, with a few clever techniques, you can write excellent essays while feeling relaxed and stress-free.

What are signs of anxiety for writers?

Anxiety signs are different for every person. However, common signs include procrastination, self-doubt, and writer's block. When you feel stress and tension while writing, you might stop moving forward. It can cause a vicious cycle of self-doubt and worry, making it challenging to write.

How can I relieve my writing anxiety?

The best way to relieve writing anxiety is to prepare accordingly. Start by breaking down the essay into smaller parts and setting a reasonable deadline for each section. Take regular breaks from writing to stretch and take deep breaths. This allows oxygen to flow freely throughout your body, helping to reduce tension and improve focus.

In this blog post, we'll share eleven techniques to help you overcome stress and improve your essay writing drastically.

1. Understand the topic and purpose of your essay

Before you begin writing, take some time to analyze and interpret the topic and identify the purpose of your essay.

Read relevant materials, such as articles, books, and research papers, to gauge your understanding of the essay topic . This way, you will be clear on the direction you need to take in your writing. It will also help you stay focused when writing and save you time.

Starting to write an essay before understanding the topic and objectives can lead to confusion and stress.

2. Set achievable goals and create a timeline

Writing an essay requires time, so it's essential to set achievable goals and timelines. Decide how many words you intend to write and create a timeline to guide you through the process of researching, writing, and editing.

For instance, you can dedicate a specific time of the day to research and outline. You can also allocate one hour for every 500 words of the essay, depending on the total word count required.

A realistic timeline can help you avoid last-minute stress and ensure enough time to write a high-quality essay.

3. Research well in advance before you start writing

Research is the backbone of any essay. That’s why conducting thorough research for your essays is always essential. Research helps you better understand your topic and positions you to write authoritatively.

Before your start writing, use credible sources such as academic journals and reputable websites to enrich your knowledge of the topic. Remember to take notes while reading to help you organize your thoughts. Researching in advance will reduce anxiety and make the essay-writing process stress-free.

4. Break your essay into manageable parts

Writing an essay can be an uphill task, especially when you try to tackle it as a whole. This is why breaking your essay into manageable parts can be helpful.

Divide your essay into sections such as the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion . Each section should be focused on a specific aspect of the overall topic. This way, you can concentrate on one section at a time and avoid feeling overwhelmed.

When you finish writing one section, take a short break before starting the next section. Breaking your essay into parts helps you stay organized and focused when writing.

5. Create an outline to guide you through

Outlining is crucial when writing an essay—it helps you organize your thoughts, stay focused, and write faster.

Once you understand the topic and purpose of your essay, research and create an outline, and jot down key points under each section of your essay to guide you through writing the essay.

An outline provides a roadmap of the flow and structure of your essay. It also takes the guesswork off your writing and prevents you from veering off the topic when writing.

6. Connect with other students

One effective way to alleviate stress is to connect with other students. Sharing tips, strategies, and helpful resources with one another can reduce the pressure of essay writing.

Find study groups within your college or join essay writing forums on social media where you can engage with other students. This can help you gain new perspectives and ideas you may not have considered. Additionally, working with other students can promote accountability, which can help you stay on track with your writing.

7. Set aside an appropriate amount of time to write

One of the biggest sources of stress when it comes to essay writing is procrastination.

You might be tempted to put off writing until the last minute, but that can increase your stress levels. To avoid this, set aside an appropriate amount of time to write. Determine how long it usually takes you to complete an essay, then set a schedule, and stick to it.

It may also help to determine what time of day suits you best, whether you are more productive in the morning or at night, and schedule to write your essay during that time.

8. Take regular breaks while writing

Writing for prolonged periods can be counterproductive and negatively affect your writing quality. Conversely, regular breaks can help refresh your mind and enhance creativity.

For a stress-free essay writing experience, try taking a 10-minute break for every hour of writing. During these breaks, avoid sitting in front of your computer and, instead, move around.

Take a short walk outside, do stretching exercises, or simply talk to someone. Such breaks can go a long way in refreshing your mind and body so you can write better.

9. Find a comfortable writing environment

The environment in which you write your essay can significantly impact your productivity and concentration. To overcome stress and write a quality essay, you need to find a comfortable writing environment where you can focus and minimize distractions.

For instance, find a quiet place with little or no disturbance, such as a library study room or a coffee shop, where you can fully concentrate on writing your essay.

10. Get feedback from someone you trust

Getting feedback is one of the most effective ways to improve your writing skills and overcome stress when writing essays.

You can get feedback from a colleague, a friend, a tutor, or even your professor. The feedback you'll get will enable you to make necessary adjustments, understand your weaknesses, and refine your writing style. They can also give you a fresh perspective and highlight what you may have missed while writing.

Getting feedback can help reduce the mental pressure of writing a perfect essay, enabling you to write with ease.

11. Practice, practice, practice!

Finally, remember that writing is a skill you can develop with time and practice. The more essays you write, the more comfortable you will become with writing. You will start to identify the best strategies and techniques for you.

You can start by writing simple essays and gradually increase the complexity. Try to look at each essay as an opportunity to improve your skills. With time, you'll become more confident and be able to write essays in a stress-free way.

How do you relax and write essays?

You can relax by playing soft music and breathing exercises to reduce anxiety before you start writing your essay. Go for a brief walk to get your blood flowing, and also try to find a place that gives you peace of mind. It could help to grab a cup of tea or coffee and settle in. Once you feel mentally and physically relaxed, you can start writing.

How do I gain confidence in my essay writing?

The best way to gain confidence is to write more often. Write every day, even if it's just a few sentences. Seek feedback on your essay writing to help you learn what works and what doesn't. You might also consider taking a writing class or workshop to develop and share skills with other writers. Participating in a writing community can also help build your confidence in writing.

Key takeaway

Essay writing can be stress-free if you approach it with the right mindset and strategy. Even though writing well takes time and patience, writing under stress can affect the quality of your essays. As a result, you’ll earn fewer marks or even miss deadlines.

With the techniques explored in this article, you can reduce stress, overcome writer's block, and improve your writing skills. Remember to work on your confidence and practice self-care consistently.

If you feel too overwhelmed to handle your essays, don’t hesitate to hire a professional essay writer .

With our team of subject-matter experts, we can deliver 100% original, custom-written essays on time and as per your requirements. Whether you need it in 15 days or 5 hours, we have the resources to take away the stress that comes with writing essays and assignments.

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What is stress management?

Tip 1: identify the sources of stress in your life, tip 2: cut out unhealthy ways of dealing with stress.

• Tip 3: Practice the 4 A's of stress management

Tip 4: Get moving

Tip 5: connect to others, tip 6: make time for fun and relaxation, tip 7: manage your time better, tip 8: maintain balance with a healthy lifestyle, tip 9: learn to relieve stress in the moment, stress management: how to reduce and relieve stress.

While it may seem like there’s nothing you can do about stress at work and home, there are steps you can take to destress and regain control.

It may seem like there’s nothing you can do about stress. The bills won’t stop coming, there will never be more hours in the day, and your work and family responsibilities will always be demanding. But you have a lot more control than you might think.

If you’re living with high levels of stress, you’re putting your entire well-being at risk. Stress wreaks havoc on your emotional equilibrium, as well as your overall physical and mental health. It narrows your ability to think clearly, function effectively, and enjoy life.

Effective stress management helps you break the hold stress has on your life, so you can be happier, healthier, and more productive. The ultimate goal is a balanced life, with time for work, relationships, relaxation, and fun—and the resilience to hold up under pressure and meet challenges head on. But stress management is not one-size-fits-all. That’s why it’s important to experiment and find out what works best for you. The following stress management tips can help you do that.

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Stress management starts with identifying the sources of stress in your life. This isn’t as straightforward as it sounds. While it’s easy to identify major stressors such as changing jobs, moving, or going through a divorce, pinpointing the sources of chronic stress can be more complicated. It’s all too easy to overlook how your own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors contribute to your everyday stress levels.

Sure, you may know that you’re constantly worried about work deadlines, but maybe it’s your procrastination, rather than the actual job demands, that is causing the stress.

To identify what’s really stressing you out, look closely at your habits, attitude, and excuses:

• Do you explain away stress as temporary (“I just have a million things going on right now”) even though you can’t remember the last time you took a breather?
• Do you define stress as an integral part of your work or home life (“Things are always crazy around here”) or as a part of your personality (“I have a lot of nervous energy, that’s all”)?
• Do you blame your stress on other people or outside events, or view it as entirely normal and unexceptional?

Until you accept responsibility for the role you play in creating or maintaining it, your stress level will remain outside your control.

Start a stress journal

A stress journal can help you identify the regular stressors in your life and the way you deal with them. Each time you feel stressed, make a note of it in your journal or use a stress tracker on your phone. Keeping a daily log will enable you to see patterns and common themes. Write down:

• What caused your stress (make a guess if you’re unsure).
• How you felt, both physically and emotionally.
• How you acted in response.
• What you did to make yourself feel better.

Many of us feel so stressed out, we resort to unhealthy and unproductive ways to cope. A lot of these unhelpful strategies can temporarily reduce stress, but in the long run, they actually cause even more damage:

• Smoking, drinking too much, or using drugs to relax.
• Bingeing on junk or comfort food.
• Zoning out for hours in front of the TV or phone.
• Withdrawing from friends, family, and social activities.
• Sleeping too much.
• Filling up every minute of the day to avoid facing problems.
• Procrastinating.
• Taking out your stress on others (lashing out, angry outbursts, physical violence).

[Read: Self-Medicating Depression, Anxiety, and Stress]

If your methods of coping with stress aren’t contributing to your greater emotional and physical health, it’s time to find healthier ones that leave you feeling calm and in control.

Tip 3: Practice the 4 A’s of stress management

While stress is an automatic response from your nervous system, some stressors arise at predictable times: your commute to work, a meeting with your boss, or family gatherings, for example. When handling such predictable stressors, you can either change the situation or change your reaction.

When deciding which option to choose in any given scenario, it’s helpful to think of the four A’s: avoid , alter , adapt , or accept .

Avoid unnecessary stress

It’s not healthy to avoid a stressful situation that needs to be addressed, but you may be surprised by the number of stressors in your life that you can eliminate.

Learn how to say “no.” Know your limits and stick to them. Whether in your personal or professional life, taking on more than you can handle is a surefire recipe for stress.

Avoid people who stress you out. If someone consistently causes stress in your life, limit the amount of time you spend with that person, or end the relationship.

Take control of your environment. If the evening news makes you anxious, turn off the TV. If traffic makes you tense, take a longer but less-traveled route. If going to the market is an unpleasant chore, do your grocery shopping online.

Avoid hot-button topics . If you get upset over religion or politics, cross them off your conversation list. If you repeatedly argue about the same subject with the same people, stop bringing it up or excuse yourself when it’s the topic of discussion.

Pare down your to-do list. Analyze your schedule, responsibilities, and daily tasks. If you’ve got too much on your plate, distinguish between the “shoulds” and the “musts.” Drop tasks that aren’t truly necessary to the bottom of the list or eliminate them entirely.

Alter the situation

If you can’t avoid a stressful situation, try to alter it. Often, this involves changing the way you communicate and operate in your daily life.

Express your feelings instead of bottling them up. If something or someone is bothering you, communicate your concerns in an open and respectful way. If you don’t voice your feelings, resentment will build and the stress will increase.

Be willing to compromise. When you ask someone to change their behavior, be willing to do the same. If you both are willing to bend at least a little, you’ll have a good chance of finding a happy middle ground.

Be more assertive.  Don’t take a backseat in your own life. Deal with problems head on, doing your best to anticipate and prevent them. If you’ve got an exam to study for and your chatty roommate just got home, say up front that you only have five minutes to talk.

Find balance. All work and no play is a recipe for burnout. Try to find a balance between work and family life, social activities and solitary pursuits, daily responsibilities and downtime.

Adapt to the stressor

If you can’t change the stressor, change yourself. You can adapt to stressful situations and regain your sense of control by changing your expectations and attitude.

Reframe problems. Try to view stressful situations from a more positive perspective. Rather than fuming about a traffic jam, look at it as an opportunity to pause and regroup, listen to your favorite radio station, or enjoy some alone time.

Look at the big picture. Take perspective of the stressful situation. Ask yourself how important it will be in the long run. Will it matter in a month? A year? Is it really worth getting upset over? If the answer is no, focus your time and energy elsewhere.

Adjust your standards. Perfectionism is a major source of avoidable stress. Stop setting yourself up for failure by demanding perfection. Set reasonable standards for yourself and others, and learn to be okay with “good enough.”

Practice gratitude. When stress is getting you down, take a moment to reflect on all the things you appreciate in your life , including your own positive qualities and gifts. This simple strategy can help you keep things in perspective.

Accept the things you can’t change

Some sources of stress are unavoidable. You can’t prevent or change stressors such as the death of a loved one, a serious illness, or a national recession. In such cases, the best way to cope with stress is to accept things as they are. Acceptance may be difficult, but in the long run, it’s easier than railing against a situation you can’t change.

Don’t try to control the uncontrollable. Many things in life are beyond our control, particularly the behavior of other people. Rather than stressing out over them, focus on the things you can control such as the way you choose to react to problems.

Look for the upside. When facing major challenges, try to look at them as opportunities for personal growth. If your own poor choices contributed to a stressful situation, reflect on them and learn from your mistakes.

Learn to forgive. Accept the fact that we live in an imperfect world and that people make mistakes. Let go of anger and resentments. Free yourself from negative energy by forgiving and moving on.

Share your feelings. Expressing what you’re going through can be very cathartic, even if there’s nothing you can do to alter the stressful situation. Talk to a trusted friend or make an appointment with a therapist.

When you’re stressed, the last thing you probably feel like doing is getting up and exercising. But physical activity is a huge stress reliever—and you don’t have to be an athlete or spend hours in a gym to experience the benefits. Exercise releases endorphins that make you feel good, and it can also serve as a valuable distraction from your daily worries.

While you’ll get the most benefit from regularly exercising for 30 minutes or more, it’s okay to build up your fitness level gradually. Even very small activities can add up over the course of a day. The first step is to get yourself up and moving. Here are some easy ways to incorporate exercise into your daily schedule:

• Put on some music and dance around.
• Take your dog for a walk .
• Walk or cycle to the grocery store.
• Use the stairs at home or work rather than an elevator.
• Park your car in the farthest spot in the lot and walk the rest of the way.
• Pair up with an exercise partner and encourage each other as you work out.
• Play ping-pong or an activity-based video game with your kids.

Deal with stress with mindful rhythmic exercise

While just about any form of physical activity can help burn away tension and stress, rhythmic activities are especially effective. Good choices include walking, running, swimming, dancing, cycling, tai chi, and aerobics. But whatever you choose, make sure it’s something you enjoy so you’re more likely to stick with it.

While you’re exercising, make a conscious effort to pay attention to your body and the physical (and sometimes emotional) sensations you experience as you’re moving. Focus on coordinating your breathing with your movements, for example, or notice how the air or sunlight feels on your skin. Adding this mindfulness element will help you break out of the cycle of negative thoughts that often accompanies overwhelming stress.

There is nothing more calming than spending quality time with another human being who makes you feel safe and understood. In fact, face-to-face interaction triggers a cascade of hormones that counteracts the body’s defensive “fight-or-flight” response. It’s nature’s natural stress reliever (as an added bonus, it also helps stave off depression and anxiety). So make it a point to connect regularly—and in person—with family and friends.

[Read: Social Support for Stress Relief]

Keep in mind that the people you talk to don’t have to be able to fix your stress. They simply need to be good listeners. And try not to let worries about looking weak or being a burden keep you from opening up. The people who care about you will be flattered by your trust. It will only strengthen your bond.

Of course, it’s not always realistic to have a pal close by to lean on when you feel overwhelmed by stress, but by building and maintaining a network of close friends you can improve your resiliency to life’s stressors.

Tips for building relationships

• Reach out to a colleague at work.
• Help someone else by volunteering .
• Have lunch or coffee with a friend.
• Ask a loved one to check in with you regularly.
• Call or email an old friend.
• Go for a walk with a workout buddy.
• Schedule a weekly dinner date.
• Meet new people by taking a class or joining a club.
• Confide in a clergy member, teacher, or sports coach.
• Join a support group—either in-person or via on online therapy platform .

Beyond a take-charge approach and a positive attitude, you can reduce stress in your life by carving out “me” time. Don’t get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of life that you forget to take care of your own needs. Nurturing yourself is a necessity, not a luxury. If you regularly make time for fun and relaxation, you’ll be in a better place to handle life’s stressors.

Set aside leisure time. Include rest and relaxation in your daily schedule. Don’t allow other obligations to encroach. This is your time to take a break from all responsibilities and recharge your batteries.

Do something you enjoy every day. Make time for leisure activities that bring you joy, whether it be stargazing, playing the piano, or working on your bike.

Keep your sense of humor. This includes the ability to laugh at yourself. The act of laughing helps your body fight stress in a number of ways.

Take up a relaxation practice. Relaxation techniques such as yoga, meditation, and deep breathing activate the body’s relaxation response , a state of restfulness that is the opposite of the fight or flight or mobilization stress response. As you learn and practice these techniques, your stress levels will decrease and your mind and body will become calm and centered.

Poor time management can cause a lot of stress. When you’re stretched too thin and running behind, it’s hard to stay calm and focused. Plus, you’ll be tempted to avoid or cut back on all the healthy things you should be doing to keep stress in check, like socializing and getting enough sleep. The good news: there are things you can do to achieve a healthier work-life balance.

Don’t over-commit yourself. Avoid scheduling things back-to-back or trying to fit too much into one day. All too often, we underestimate how long things will take.

Prioritize tasks. Make a list of tasks you have to do, and tackle them in order of importance. Do the high-priority items first. If you have something particularly unpleasant or stressful to do, get it over with early. The rest of your day will be more pleasant as a result.

Break projects into small steps. If a large project seems overwhelming, make a step-by-step plan. Focus on one manageable step at a time, rather than taking on everything at once.

Delegate responsibility. You don’t have to do it all yourself, whether at home, school, or on the job. If other people can take care of the task, why not let them? Let go of the desire to control or oversee every little step. You’ll be letting go of unnecessary stress in the process.

In addition to regular exercise, there are other healthy lifestyle choices that can increase your resistance to stress.

Eat a healthy diet . Well-nourished bodies are better prepared to cope with stress, so be mindful of what you eat. Start your day right with breakfast, and keep your energy up and your mind clear with balanced, nutritious meals throughout the day.

Reduce caffeine and sugar. The temporary “highs” caffeine and sugar provide often end with a crash in mood and energy. By reducing the amount of coffee, soft drinks, chocolate, and sugar snacks in your diet , you’ll feel more relaxed and you’ll sleep better.

Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs. Self-medicating with alcohol or drugs may provide an easy escape from stress, but the relief is only temporary. Don’t avoid or mask the issue at hand; deal with problems head on and with a clear mind.

Get enough sleep. Adequate sleep fuels your mind, as well as your body. Feeling tired will increase your stress because it may cause you to think irrationally.

When you’re frazzled by your morning commute, stuck in a stressful meeting at work, or fried from another argument with your spouse, you need a way to manage your stress levels right now . That’s where quick stress relief comes in.

The fastest way to reduce stress is by taking a deep breath and using your senses—what you see, hear, taste, and touch—or through a soothing movement. By viewing a favorite photo, smelling a specific scent, listening to a favorite piece of music, tasting a piece of gum, or hugging a pet, for example, you can quickly relax and focus yourself.

[Read: Quick Stress Relief]

Of course, not everyone responds to each sensory experience in the same way. The key to quick stress relief is to experiment and discover the unique sensory experiences that work best for you.

More Information

• Stress Management - Learn to manage your stress. (American Heart Association)
• Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School. (Harvard Health) - Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School. (Harvard Health)
• Tolerating Distress - Workbook and information sheets to help you manage feelings of distress. (Centre for Clinical Interventions)
• Building Your Resilience - Learn how to increase your resilience in the face of stress and hardship. (American Psychological Association)
• How To Relax: 8 Relaxation Tips for Your Mental Health
• Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders. (2013). In Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders . American Psychiatric Association. Link
• Can, Yekta Said, Heather Iles-Smith, Niaz Chalabianloo, Deniz Ekiz, Javier Fernández-Álvarez, Claudia Repetto, Giuseppe Riva, and Cem Ersoy. “How to Relax in Stressful Situations: A Smart Stress Reduction System.” Healthcare 8, no. 2 (April 16, 2020): 100. Link
• Norelli, Samantha K., Ashley Long, and Jeffrey M. Krepps. “Relaxation Techniques.” In StatPearls . Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing, 2021. Link
• Toussaint, Loren, Quang Anh Nguyen, Claire Roettger, Kiara Dixon, Martin Offenbächer, Niko Kohls, Jameson Hirsch, and Fuschia Sirois. “Effectiveness of Progressive Muscle Relaxation, Deep Breathing, and Guided Imagery in Promoting Psychological and Physiological States of Relaxation.” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2021 (July 3, 2021): e5924040. Link
• Unger, Cynthia A, David Busse, and Ilona S Yim. “The Effect of Guided Relaxation on Cortisol and Affect: Stress Reactivity as a Moderator.” Journal of Health Psychology 22, no. 1 (January 1, 2017): 29–38. Link
• Singh, Karuna. “Nutrient and Stress Management.” Journal of Nutrition & Food Sciences 6, no. 4 (2016). Link
• Katsarou, Alexia L., Marios M. Vryonis, Athanassios D. Protogerou, Evangelos C. Alexopoulos, Apostolos Achimastos, Dimitrios Papadogiannis, George P. Chrousos, and Christina Darviri. “Stress Management and Dietary Counseling in Hypertensive Patients: A Pilot Study of Additional Effect.” Primary Health Care Research & Development 15, no. 1 (January 2014): 38–45. Link
• Errisuriz, Vanessa L., Keryn E. Pasch, and Cheryl L. Perry. “Perceived Stress and Dietary Choices: The Moderating Role of Stress Management.” Eating Behaviors 22 (August 1, 2016): 211–16. Link
• Choi, Dong-Woo, Sung-Youn Chun, Sang Ah Lee, Kyu-Tae Han, and Eun-Cheol Park. “Association between Sleep Duration and Perceived Stress: Salaried Worker in Circumstances of High Workload.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 15, no. 4 (April 2018): 796. Link
• Blaxton, Jessica M., Cindy S. Bergeman, Brenda R. Whitehead, Marcia E. Braun, and Jessic D. Payne. “Relationships Among Nightly Sleep Quality, Daily Stress, and Daily Affect.” The Journals of Gerontology: Series B 72, no. 3 (May 1, 2017): 363–72. Link
• Saleh, Dalia, Nathalie Camart, Fouad Sbeira, and Lucia Romo. “Can We Learn to Manage Stress? A Randomized Controlled Trial Carried out on University Students.” PLOS ONE 13, no. 9 (September 5, 2018): e0200997. Link
• Loprinzi, Paul D., and Emily Frith. “Protective and Therapeutic Effects of Exercise on Stress-Induced Memory Impairment.” The Journal of Physiological Sciences: JPS 69, no. 1 (January 2019): 1–12. Link
• Salmon, P. “Effects of Physical Exercise on Anxiety, Depression, and Sensitivity to Stress: A Unifying Theory.” Clinical Psychology Review 21, no. 1 (February 2001): 33–61. Link

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Stress relievers: Tips to tame stress

Stress getting to you? Try some of these tips for stress relief.

Is stress making you angry and grouchy? Stress relievers can help bring back calm and peace to your busy life. You don't have to put a lot of time or thought into stress relievers. If your stress is getting out of control and you need quick relief, try one of these tips.

Almost any form of physical activity can act as a stress reliever. Even if you're not an athlete or you're out of shape, exercise can still be a good stress reliever.

Physical activity can pump up your feel-good endorphins and other natural neural chemicals that boost your sense of well-being. Exercise also can refocus your mind on your body's movements. This refocus can improve your mood and help the day's irritations fade away. So go on a walk, take a jog, work in your garden, clean your house, bike, swim, weight train, vacuum or do anything else that gets you active.

Eat a healthy diet

Eating a healthy diet is an important part of taking care of yourself. Aim to eat many fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

Avoid unhealthy habits

Some people may deal with stress with unhealthy habits. These may include drinking too much caffeine or alcohol, smoking, eating too much, or using illegal substances. These habits can harm your health and increase your stress levels.

During meditation, you focus your attention and quiet the stream of jumbled thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress. Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that can help both your emotional well-being and your overall health. Meditation can empower us to enhance our well-being.

You can practice guided meditation, guided imagery, mindfulness, visualization and other forms of meditation anywhere at any time. For example, you could meditate when you're out for a walk, riding the bus to work or waiting at your health care provider's office. Try an app to show you how to do these exercises. And you can try deep breathing anywhere.

A good sense of humor can't cure all ailments. But it can help you feel better, even if you have to force a fake laugh through your grumpiness. When you laugh, it lightens your mental load. It also causes positive physical changes in the body. Laughter fires up and then cools down your stress response.

So read some jokes, tell some jokes, watch a comedy or hang out with your funny friends. Or give laughter yoga a try.

Connect with others

When you're stressed and irritable, you may want to isolate yourself. Instead, reach out to family and friends and make social connections. Even one good friend who listens can make a difference.

Social contact is a good stress reliever because it can offer distraction, give support, and help you put up with life's up and downs. So take a coffee break with a friend, email a relative or visit your place of worship.

Got more time? Try volunteering for a charity and help yourself while helping others.

Assert yourself

You might want to do it all, but you can't, at least not without paying a price. Learning to say no or being willing to delegate can help you manage your to-do list and your stress. Healthy boundaries are important in a wellness journey. Everyone has physical and emotional limits.

Saying yes may seem like an easy way to keep the peace, prevent conflicts and get the job done right. But instead, it may cause you inner conflict because your needs and those of your family come second. Putting yourself second can lead to stress, anger, resentment and even the wish to take revenge. And that's not a very calm and peaceful reaction. Remember, you're a priority.

With its series of postures and breathing exercises, yoga is a popular stress reliever. Yoga brings together physical and mental disciplines that may help you reach peace of body and mind. Yoga can help you relax and ease stress and anxiety.

Try yoga on your own or find a class — you can find classes in many areas. Hatha yoga, especially, is a good stress reliever because of its slower pace and easier movements.

Get enough sleep

Stress can cause you to have trouble falling asleep. When you have too much to do — and too much to think about — your sleep can suffer. But sleep is the time when your brain and body recharge. Most adults need about 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night.

And how well and how long you sleep can affect your mood, energy level, focus and overall functioning. If you have sleep troubles, make sure that you have a quiet, relaxing bedtime routine. For example, listen to soothing music, make sure the area you sleep in is cool, dark and quiet, put phones and tablets away, and stick to a regular schedule.

Keep a journal

Writing down your thoughts and feelings can be a good release for otherwise pent-up feelings. Don't think about what to write — let it happen. Write anything that comes to mind. No one else needs to read it. So don't aim for perfect grammar or spelling.

Let your thoughts flow on paper, or on the computer screen. Once you're done, you can toss out what you wrote or save it to think about later.

Get musical and be creative

Listening to or playing music is a good stress reliever. It can provide a mental distraction, lessen muscle tension and lower stress hormones. Turn up the volume and let your mind be absorbed by the music.

If music isn't one of your interests, turn your attention to another hobby you enjoy. For example, try gardening, sewing, reading or sketching. Or try anything that makes you focus on what you're doing rather than what you think you should be doing.

Seek counseling

If new stressors are making it hard for you to cope or if self-care measures aren't relieving your stress, you may want to think about therapy or counseling. Therapy also may be a good idea if you feel overwhelmed or trapped. You also may think about therapy if you worry a great deal, or if you have trouble carrying out daily routines or meeting duties at work, home or school.

Professional counselors or therapists can help you find the sources of your stress and learn new coping tools.

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• How stress affects your health. American Psychological Association. http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/stress.aspx. Accessed Jan. 24, 2023.
• Relaxation techniques: What you need to know. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. https:// www.nccih.nih.gov/health/relaxation-techniques-what-you-need-to-know. Accessed Jan. 23, 2023.
• Meditation and mindfulness: What you need to know. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation-and-mindfulness-what-you-need-to-know. Accessed Jan. 23, 2023.
• Yoga: What you need to know. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/yoga-what-you-need-to-know. Accessed Jan. 23, 2023.
• Stress and your health. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. https://www.womenshealth.gov/mental-health/good-mental-health/stress-and-your-health. Accessed Jan. 23, 2023.
• I'm so stressed out! Fact sheet. National Institute of Mental Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/so-stressed-out-fact-sheet. Accessed Jan. 24, 2023.
• Seaward BL. Essentials of Managing Stress. 5th ed. Jones & Bartlett Learning; 2021.
• Creagan ET (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic. Feb. 8, 2023.
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How to manage and reduce stress

This content discusses depression, anxiety and alcohol or drug use, which some people may find triggering.

This guide provides you with tips on how to manage and reduce stress

Stress is a feeling of being under abnormal pressure, whether from an increased workload, an argument with a family member, or financial worries.

You can read the guide below, download it as a PDF or buy printed copies in our online shop .

What is stress?

Stress affects us in lots of ways, both physically and emotionally, and in varying intensities.

Research has shown that stress can sometimes be positive. It makes us more alert and helps us perform better in certain situations. However, stress has only been found to be beneficial if it is short-lived. Excessive or prolonged stress can lead to illnesses such as heart disease and mental health problems such as anxiety and depression .

During situations that make you feel threatened or upset, your body creates a stress response. This can cause a variety of physical symptoms, change the way you behave, and lead you to experience more intense emotions.

Physical symptoms of stress

People react differently to stress. Some common symptoms of stress include sleeping problems, sweating, or a change in appetite.

Symptoms like these are triggered by a rush of stress hormones in your body which, when released, allow you to deal with pressures or threats. This is known as the ‘fight or flight’ response. Hormones called adrenaline and noradrenaline raise your blood pressure, increase your heart rate and increase the amount you sweat. This prepares your body for an emergency response. These hormones can also reduce blood flow to your skin and reduce your stomach activity. Cortisol, another stress hormone, releases fat and sugar into your system to boost your energy.

As a result, you may experience headaches, muscle tension, pain, nausea, indigestion and dizziness. You may also breathe more quickly, have palpitations or suffer from various aches and pains. In the long term, you may be putting yourself at risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Humans have inherited these things from our ancient ancestors, who needed to be able to either run away from danger or stay and fight. Once the pressure or threat has passed, your stress hormone levels usually return to normal. However, if you’re constantly under stress, these hormones remain in your body, leading to the symptoms of stress. If you’re stuck in a busy office or on an overcrowded train, you can’t run away, so you can’t use up the chemicals your own body makes to protect you. Over time, the build-up of these chemicals and the changes they produce can be damaging to your health.

Behavioural and emotional effects of stress

When you are stressed you may have lots of different feelings, including anxiety, irritability or low self-esteem, which can lead you to become withdrawn, indecisive or tearful.

You may have periods of constant worry, racing thoughts, or repeatedly going over the same things in your head. Some people experience changes in their behaviour. They may lose their temper more easily, act irrationally or become more verbally or physically aggressive. These feelings can feed on each other and produce physical symptoms, which can make you feel even worse. For example, extreme anxiety can make you feel so unwell that you then worry you have a serious physical condition.

Identifying the signs of stress

Everyone experiences stress. However, when it affects your life, health and well-being, it’s important to tackle it as soon as possible. While stress affects everyone differently, there are common signs and symptoms for you to look out for:

• Feelings of constant worry or anxiety
• Feelings of being overwhelmed
• Difficulty concentrating
• Mood swings or changes in mood
• Irritability or having a short temper
• Difficulty relaxing
• Low self-esteem
• Eating more or less than usual
• Changes in sleeping habits
• Using alcohol, tobacco or illegal drugs to relax
• Aches and pains, particularly muscle tension
• Diarrhoea and constipation
• Feelings of nausea or dizziness
• Loss of sex drive

If you experience these symptoms for a prolonged period of time, and feel they are affecting your everyday life or making you feel unwell, speak to your GP. Ask them for information about the support services and treatments available to you.

What causes stress?

All sorts of situations can cause stress. The most common involve work, money matters and relationships with partners, children or other family members.

Stress can be caused either by major upheavals and life events such as divorce, unemployment, moving house and bereavement, or by a series of minor irritations such as feeling undervalued at work or arguing with a family member. Sometimes, there are no obvious causes. As a result, you may experience headaches, muscle tension, pain, nausea, indigestion and dizziness. You may also breathe more quickly, have palpitations or suffer from various aches and pains. In the long term, you may be putting yourself at risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Relationships and stress

Relationships are a great support in times when we feel stressed. However, from time to time the people close to you, be it a partner, parent, child, friend or colleague, can increase your stress levels.

Events such as ongoing minor arguments and disagreements, to larger family crises, such as an affair, illness or bereavement are likely to affect the way you think, feel and behave. This may consequently have an impact on your stress levels. Find out more about investing in healthy relationships .

Work-life balance and stress

The pressure of an increasingly demanding work culture in the UK is one of the biggest contributors to stress among the general population.

While current, average full-time working hours are 37 hours a week, a recent and dramatic rise in Britain’s working hours suggests this is already on the increase. 20.1% of the UK working population work 45 hours or more each week.

The human costs of unmanaged work-related stress is extensive. Feeling unhappy about the amount of time you spend at work and neglecting other aspects of life because of work may increase your vulnerability to stress. Increased levels of stress can, if not addressed early enough, lead to burnout or more severe mental health problems.

Mental health problems such as anxiety and depression are thought to be the leading cause of work absences, accounting for up to 40% of sick leave. In 2008, mental health accounted for 442,000 cases of work-related illness with a related estimated cost of £13.5 million. As a result, mental ill-health now accounts for a significant proportion of long-term sickness and early retirement, cited as the leading cause of illness for 20% of NHS employees.

Money and stress

Money and debt concerns place huge pressure on us, so it comes as no surprise that they have a marked effect on our stress levels.

The effects of the cost-of-living crisis in 2022 has affected everyone in some capacity. A survey of 3000 adults commissioned by the Mental Health Foundation in November 2022 found that one in ten UK adults was feeling hopeless about their financial circumstances. More than one-third were feeling anxious and almost three in ten were feeling stressed.

The combination of chronic stress and debt can result in depression and anxiety and has been highlighted as a factor linked to suicidal thoughts and attempts. It’s important if you are worried about your finances and debts that you do not try to deal with them alone. There’s a lot of help and support available to you through organisations such as StepChange and Citizens Advice .

You could also talk to your GP or a trusted health professional if you are worried about how debt is affecting your mental and physical health.

Smoking, drinking and drug use and stress

Some people smoke, drink alcohol and use recreational drugs to reduce stress. But, this often makes problems worse.

Research shows that smoking may increase feelings of anxiety. Nicotine creates an immediate, temporary, sense of relaxation, which can then lead to withdrawal symptoms and cravings.

Similarly, people may use alcohol as a means to manage and cope with difficult feelings, and to temporarily reduce feelings of anxiety. But, alcohol can make existing mental health problems worse. It can make you feel more anxious and depressed in the long run. It’s important to know the recommended limits and drink responsibly.

Prescription drugs , such as tranquillisers and sleeping tablets, which may have been prescribed for very good reasons, can also cause mental and physical health problems if used for long periods of time. Street drugs , such as cannabis or ecstasy, are usually taken for recreational purposes. For some people, problems start as their bodies get used to repeated use of the drug. This leads to the need for increased doses to maintain the same effect

How can you help yourself with stress?

Stress is a natural reaction to difficult situations in life, such as work, family, relationships and money problems.

We mentioned earlier on that a moderate amount of stress can help us perform better in challenging situations, but too much or prolonged stress can lead to physical problems. This can include lower immunity levels, digestive and intestinal difficulties such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), or mental health problems such as depression. So, it’s important that we manage our stress and keep it at a healthy level to prevent long-term damage to our bodies and minds.

When you are feeling stressed, try to take these steps:

• Realise when it is causing you a problem. You need to make the connection between feeling tired or ill, with the pressures you are faced with. Don’t ignore physical warnings such as tense muscles, over-tiredness, headaches or migraines.
• Identify the causes. Try to identify the underlying causes. Group the possible reasons for your stress into those with a practical solution, those that will get better anyway given time, and those you can’t do anything about. Try to let go of those in the second and third groups – there’s no point in worrying about things you can’t change or things that will sort themselves out.
• Review your lifestyle. Are you taking on too much? Are there things you are doing which could be handed over to someone else? Can you do things in a more leisurely way? You may need to prioritise things you are trying to achieve and reorganise your life so that you are not trying to do everything at once.

You can also help protect yourself from stress in a number of ways:

• Eat healthily. A healthy diet will reduce the risks of diet-related diseases. Also, there is a growing amount of evidence showing how food affects our mood. Feelings of well-being can be protected by ensuring that our diet provides adequate amounts of brain nutrients such as essential vitamins and minerals, as well as water.
• Be aware of your smoking and drinking . Even though they may seem to reduce tension, this is misleading as they often make problems worse.
• Exercise. Physical exercise can be very effective in relieving stress. Even going out to get some fresh air and doing some light physical exercise, like walking to the shops, can help.
• Take time out. Take time to relax. Saying ‘I just can’t take the time off’ is no use if you are forced to take time off later through ill health. Striking a balance between responsibility to others and responsibility to yourself is important in reducing stress levels.
• Be mindful. Mindfulness meditation can be practised anywhere at any time. Research has suggested that it can reduce the effects of stress, anxiety and other related problems such as insomnia, poor concentration and low moods, in some people. The ‘Be Mindful’ website features a specially-developed online course in mindfulness, as well as details of local courses in your area.
• Get restful sleep. Sleeping problems are common when you’re suffering from stress. Try to make sure you get enough rest. For more tips on getting a good night’s sleep, read our guide ‘How to...sleep better’ .
• Don’t be too hard on yourself. Try to keep things in perspective. After all, we all have bad days.

Seeking help for stress

It’s okay to ask for professional help if you feel that you are struggling to manage on your own. It’s also important to get help as soon as possible so you can begin to get better.

The first person to approach is your GP . They should be able to give you advice about treatment, and may refer you to another local professional. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Mindfulness -based approaches are known to help reduce stress. There are also a number of voluntary organisations which can help you to tackle the causes of stress and advise you about ways to get better.

• Every Mind Matters - The Mental Health Foundation supported the development of the Every Mind Matters stress resource, it offers advice on how to cope with stress.
• Anxiety UK - runs a helpline staffed by volunteers with personal experience of anxiety.
• Citizens Advice - provides free, independent and confidential advice for a range of problems as well as providing information on your rights and responsibilities.
• StepChange - provides help and information for people dealing with a range of debt problems.
• Samaritans - offer emotional support 24 hours a day - in full confidence.
• Specialist mental health services - there are a variety of specialist services that provide a range of treatments, including counselling and other talking therapies . These different services are often coordinated by a community mental health team (CMHT), which is usually based either at a hospital or a local community mental health centre.

Some teams provide 24-hour services so that you can contact them in a crisis. You should be able to contact your local CMHT through your local social services or social work team.

101 tips from you

We’d like to thank everyone who contributed some brilliant tips on how to manage stress. Everybody is different and what works for one person might not work for another. Here are 101 tips, find what works for you and give them a try.

• Meeting a friend
• Setting aside 10 minutes a day to relax and collect my thoughts
• Watching late night TV debates that deal with the realities of the world
• Listening to relaxing music
• Watching funny movies
• Taking a walk in the countryside
• Going to the gym
• Soaking in the bath with lavender oil
• Talking to someone just to vent a little
• Walking the dog
• Getting more sleep
• Reading a book to distract yourself from stressful thoughts
• Do something good for someone else
• Writing a letter to someone to get your feelings across and vent, but not actually sending it
• Painting or drawing
• Book a massage or spend time in a spa with a friend
• Write a list of things to do and cross them off as you do them
• Try putting things into perspective
• Switch off the phone and get some time to yourself
• Do something you like with family or friends like going to a show
• Dancing around in your room to your favourite music
• Going to your friend’s house with another friend and putting the world to rights
• Have a change of scenery
• Go out and meet new people
• Go to a yoga class
• Express your feelings and emotions
• Spend time with positive people around you
• A hot cup of something wonderful, a journal and a pen
• Eat a healthy meal and avoid caffeine
• Getting closer with nature e.g. have a walk on the beach, observing the sunset
• Watch your favourite programme on TV
• Give yourself ‘me time’ just a few minutes to think about pleasant things
• Ask yourself what would other people do
• Thinking of the work you HAVE achieved in a day, rather than what you haven’t done
• Relaxing with reflexology
• Go to uplifting plays, operas and concerts that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up
• Go to bed with a great book 40
• Host a dinner party
• Cheer up someone who is feeling down
• Spend some time doing something you enjoy, like gardening
• Writing down my thoughts
• Play games on the computer
• Avoid putting things off
• Find a quiet place and try to visualise a happy memory
• Do something creative like knitting
• Play a musical instrument
• Play with your pet
• Get some fresh air
• Be gentle to yourself
• Go window shopping
• Write short stories
• Call a loved one
• Talk to a stranger
• Practice CBT (Cognitive behavioural therapy)
• Chat to your friends on Skype or Facebook
• Take a break, even a short one can make a difference
• Going for a walk at lunchtime
• Write poetry
• Eat or drink something you enjoy
• Cuddle a baby (ideally one you know - cuddles with my niece or nephew are amazing for destressing)
• Spend time with children – they really put things in perspective, like ‘Wow there’s a cool cloud’, and remind you of simple things that used to amaze you
• Go out to a Karaoke night
• Imagine living in a different era, maybe wartime or before cars and trains were invented and how much harder life would be
• Bake a cake
• Sitting in a café with a cup of tea and a magazine
• Go for a relaxing swim
• Sit on a park bench and watch the world go by
• Tidy a room or cupboard (other people might find this stressful, but I find it relaxing!)
• Challenge a friend to a game of Scrabble
• Breathe deeply for two minutes, and focus on your breaths
• Make something – knit a scarf, build an Airfix model
• Write a list of the reasons you have to be happy with life
• Take a minute to stretch your body
• Use a relaxing room fragrance or scented candle to create a sense of sanctuary
• Practicing Tai Chi
• Looking at photos of happy memories.
• Have a cup of tea
• Thinking of something you’re looking forward to or something that was fun
• Go to the cinema
• Aquafit classes at lunchtime
• Go for a bike ride
• Listen to the birds singing
• Reminding yourself it could be worse and count your blessings
• Playing board games with your family
• Playing my favourite song and singing it out loud
• Practising calligraphy
• I find moving furniture around the house very soothing
• Write a letter to a loved one
• Play with my children
• Watch some programs on TV
• Go out for a run in the park
• Volunteer at the local homeless shelter, it helps put my worries into perspective
• Play Sudoku or crosswords
• Read some gossip magazines
• Go to a salsa class
• Get a cuddle

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Pressure — How To Reduce Your Stress Levels

How to Reduce Your Stress Levels

• Categories: Pressure Psychotherapy Stress

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Words: 401 |

Published: Apr 11, 2019

Words: 401 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Table of contents

Surround yourself with loved ones, works cited.

• American Psychological Association. (2019). Stress: The Different Kinds of Stress. https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/stress-kinds
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Coping with Stress.
• Cohen, S., Janicki-Deverts, D., & Miller, G. E. (2007). Psychological stress and disease. JAMA, 298(14), 1685-1687.
• Exercise and Stress Relief. (n.d.). American Heart Association.
• Harris, A. (2018). How to Use Exercise to Relieve Stress. Healthline.
• HelpGuide. (n.d.). Stress Symptoms, Signs, and Causes. https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/stress-symptoms-signs-and-causes.htm
• National Institute of Mental Health. (2021). Anxiety Disorders.
• Selye, H. (1936). A syndrome produced by diverse nocuous agents. Nature, 138(3479), 32.
• Smith, A. (2019). Can exercise help anxiety? Harvard Health Publishing. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/can-exercise-help-treat-anxiety-2019102418096
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2019). Treatments for Mental Disorders.

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How to Relax in Stressful Situations: A Smart Stress Reduction System

Yekta said can.

1 Computer Engineering Department, Bogazici University, 34342 Istanbul, Turkey; [email protected] (N.C.); [email protected] (D.E.); rt.ude.nuob@yosre (C.E.)

Heather Iles-Smith

2 Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust/University of Leeds, Leeds LS1 3EX, UK; [email protected]

Niaz Chalabianloo

Javier fernández-Álvarez.

3 General Psychology and Communication Psychology, Catholic University of Milan, 20123 Milan, Italy; [email protected] (J.F.-Á.); [email protected] (C.R.); [email protected] (G.R.)

Claudia Repetto

Giuseppe riva.

Stress is an inescapable element of the modern age. Instances of untreated stress may lead to a reduction in the individual’s health, well-being and socio-economic situation. Stress management application development for wearable smart devices is a growing market. The use of wearable smart devices and biofeedback for individualized real-life stress reduction interventions has received less attention. By using our unobtrusive automatic stress detection system for use with consumer-grade smart bands, we first detected stress levels. When a high stress level is detected, our system suggests the most appropriate relaxation method by analyzing the physical activity-based contextual information. In more restricted contexts, physical activity is lower and mobile relaxation methods might be more appropriate, whereas in free contexts traditional methods might be useful. We further compared traditional and mobile relaxation methods by using our stress level detection system during an eight day EU project training event involving 15 early stage researchers (mean age 28; gender 9 Male, 6 Female). Participants’ daily stress levels were monitored and a range of traditional and mobile stress management techniques was applied. On day eight, participants were exposed to a ‘stressful’ event by being required to give an oral presentation. Insights about the success of both traditional and mobile relaxation methods by using the physiological signals and collected self-reports were provided.

1. Introduction

Stress constitutes a complex process that is activated by a physical or mental threat to the individuals’ homeostasis, comprising a set of diverse psychological, physiological and behavioral responses [ 1 ]. Although it is usually considered a negative response, stress actually constitutes a key process for ensuring our survival. However, when a stress response is repeatedly triggered in the absence of a challenging stimulus, or if there is constant exposure to challenging situations, stress can become harmful. Evidence suggests that, in either of these two contexts, stress is a persistent factor for the development of psycho-pathological conditions [ 2 , 3 ].

When faced with stressful events, people make autonomic and controlled efforts to reduce the negative impact and maximize the positive impact that every specific situation may provoke. Generally, this process is denominated as emotion regulation, formally defined as the process by which individuals can influence what emotions they have, when they have them and how they experience and express those emotions [ 4 ]. It has been suggested that the term emotion regulation can be understood as a broad tag that comprises the regulation of all responses that are emotionally charged, from basic emotions to complex mood states as well as regulation of everyday life [ 5 ].

Failure to address triggers of stress has been shown to lead to chronic stress, anxiety and depression, and attributed to serious physical health conditions such as cardiovascular disease [ 6 ]. The World Health Organization concluded that psychological stress is one of the most significant health problems in the 21st-century and is a growing problem [ 7 ]. There are various interventions to minimize stress based on individual preferences and requirements. Stress management techniques including ancient practices such as Tai Chi [ 8 ] and yoga [ 9 ] as well as other physical activities [ 10 ] are often cited as being helpful in combating stress. Likewise traditional meditation, mindfulness [ 11 ] and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) [ 12 ] all have established benefits. These techniques are not applicable in office or social environments, or during most daily routines. Therefore, a smart device based stress management application may be of benefit. Recently, smartphone applications such as Calm, Pause, Heartmath and Sway have been developed for indoor environments. However, these applications are not individualized nor do they include biofeedback and studies that validate their effects are limited [ 13 ].

In this study, we used the stress level detection scheme using physiological signals and added a physical activity based context analyzer. When the user experiences a high stress level, the system suggests appropriate stress reduction methods (traditional or mobile). We further compare the effects of traditional and mobile stress alleviation methods on physiological data of 15 international Ph.D. students (participants) during eight days of training. In addition, 1440 h of physiological signals from Empatica E4 smart bands were collected in this training event. Stress management techniques based on the emotion regulation model of James Gross [ 4 ] were applied to reduce participant stress levels. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first one suggesting appropriate stress reduction methods based on contextual information and comparing both traditional and mobile stress management interventions in the real-life environment using a commercial smart-band based automatic stress level detection system that eliminates motion artifacts. Using such a system is essential because these offline stress level detection algorithms could be used in real-time biofeedback apps.

Application of our stress level detection algorithm, in a real world context, could allow individuals to receive feedback regarding high stress levels along with recommendations for relaxation methods. Additional continued monitoring may also enable the individual to better understand the effectiveness of any stress reduction methods. However, for our stress detection algorithm to be applied in daily life, the smart device should be unobtrusive (i.e., should not be comprised of cables, electrodes, boards). Our system works on smart-bands which are perfect examples of this type of unobtrusive wearable device.

This paper describes emotion regulation in the context of stress management and how yoga and mindfulness can be used for regulating emotions ( Section 2 ). Methods of detecting stress and analyzing context based on physical activity are described ( Section 3 ) and data are presented related to our method for stress level detection with the use of smart-bands ( Section 4 ). Experimental results and discussion are also presented ( Section 5 ) and we present the conclusions and future works of the study ( Section 6 ).

The major research contributions of this study are the following:

• Developing a physical activity based context analyzer and relaxation method suggestion system
• Comparison of stress reduction methods (mobile mindfulness, traditional mindfulness and yoga) and their effectiveness in the context of stress management with the use of an unobtrusive smartwatch based stress level detection system
• Application of James Gross’s prominent emotion regulation model in the context of stress management and measuring the physiological component with smart bands.

2. Background

2.1. emotion regulation in the context of stress management.

Stress is a normal part of daily life. However, its effects often vary across individuals and despite similar circumstances, some people do not feel under strain while others may be severely affected. Multiple reasons exist for these differences between individuals, including how people perceive reality and how they respond to the numerous stimuli to which they are exposed. When a person believes that a certain situation surpasses their available coping mechanisms, it is referred to as perceived stress. Thus, perceived stress varies from person to person depending on the value that an individual gives to a situation and their self-recognition of the resources to deal with it.

Numerous psychological scientists have investigated perceived stress. Individuals who display a mismatch between contextual demands and perceived resources constantly (rather than during a specific moment in time) are referred to as experiencing chronic stress. Chronic stress has not only been shown to be very relevant in people’s well-being and quality of life, but also important in the appearance and maintenance of several physical and mental diseases [ 14 ].

As a consequence, mounting research has focused on the mechanisms that people implement in order to alleviate the physical and cognitive burden associated with that perceived stress. Coping styles, stress management techniques, self-regulation, or emotion regulation techniques are different labels that define the way people implement certain behavioral, cognitive, or emotional strategies to maintain allosteric load [ 15 ]. In other words, every living organism needs to vary among plasticity and stability in order to survive. Human beings are not the exception to the rule and the complex system that applies to every single person and the necessity of reaching a constant level of regulation permits the individuals to pursue their goals.

Specifically, emotion regulation has been defined as the study of “the processes by which we influence which emotions we have when we have them, and how we experience and express them” [ 4 ]. A large body of evidence has shown that there are very different consequences depending on the effectiveness people achieve to regulate their emotions. Naturally, both at an implicit or explicit level, people regulate emotions in order to maintain those allosteric levels previously mentioned. Therefore, when there are specific stressors that demand a particular cognitive or physical response, the emotional reactivity may be stronger and the need for a proper regulation more relevant. Indeed, emotion regulation has shown to be a transdiagnostic factor that is present at a wide range of mental disorders. In other words, the way people initiate, implement and monitor their emotional processes, in order to reach more desirable states, has a significant impact on the stress levels. Some emotion regulation (ER) strategies have shown to be correlated with mental health issues. Among these strategies, cognitive reappraisal, problem-solving, or acceptance shall be mentioned as strategies that are negatively correlated with psychopathology, while rumination, experiential avoidance, or suppression are positively correlated with psychopathology [ 16 ]. In this regard, hinging on the different ER strategies deployed, ER can constitute a protective factor to face stress responses that all individuals experience after minor or major stressors [ 17 ]. Additionally, an adaptive regulation of emotions, by managing stress, may also be beneficial for clinical populations, such as people suffering from affective disorders [ 18 , 19 ].

Therefore, from whole psychotherapeutic treatments to single self-applied applications, studies in the literature have focused on how people can better regulate their emotions and manage their stress levels. Among many other techniques, cognitive behavioral therapy, autogenic training, biofeedback, breathing exercises, relaxation techniques, guided imagery, mindfulness, yoga, or Tai-Chi, are some of the stress management interventions that have received attention from researchers [ 20 , 21 ].

2.2. Yoga and Mindfulness: As Tools for Emotion Regulation

2.2.1. yoga.

Yoga is an ancient Eastern practice that developed more than 2000 years ago. Although its original creator and source are uncertain, the earliest written word ‘Yoga Sutra’ describes the philosophy of yoga focussing on growing spirituality, regulating emotions and thoughts. Initially, the focus was on awareness of breathing and breathing exercises ‘pranayama’ to calm the mind and body, ultimately reaching a higher state of consciousness.

As yoga evolved, physical movement in the form of postures was included and integrated with yogic breathing ‘prana’ and elements of relaxation. The underlying purpose is to create physical flexibility, reduce pain and unpleasant stimuli and reduce negative thoughts and emotions to calm the mind and body, thereby improving well-being. In the healthcare literature, the benefits are reported to be far-reaching both for mental and physical health conditions such as anxiety, depression, cardiovascular disease, cancer and respiratory symptoms. It is also reported to reduce muscular-skeletal problems and physical symptoms through increasing the awareness of the physical body.

Yoga has become a global phenomenon and is widely practiced in many different forms. Generally, all types of yoga include some elements of relaxation. Additionally, some forms include mainly pranayama and others are more physical in nature. One such practice is vinyasa flow which involves using the inhale and exhale of the breathing pattern to move through a variety of yoga postures; this leads to the movement becoming meditative. The practice often includes pranayama followed by standing postures linked together with a movement called vinyasa, (similar to a sun salutation) which helps to keep the body moving and increases fitness, flexibility and helps maintain linkage with the breath. The practice also often includes a range of seated postures, an inversion (such as headstand or shoulder stand) and final relaxation ‘savasana’.

2.2.2. Mindfulness

Mindfulness involves being more present at the moment by acknowledging the here and now, often referred to as ‘being present’ rather than focussing on the past or future [ 8 ]. Being present may include being aware of our surroundings and the environment, or of what we are eating and drinking and physical sensations such as the sun or wind on our skin.

Acknowledging the thoughts and body are also aspects of mindfulness. Each day humans experience thousands of thoughts, the majority being of no consequence. In some instances, these thoughts are repetitive and negative in nature which can lead to increased stress and the related unpleasant physical symptoms such as feeling anxious, nausea and tension headaches. Being mindful includes an awareness of our thinking and whether we are caught up with our thoughts rather than being aware of the moment. Additionally, on a daily basis, awareness of the physical body may be minimal; being mindful includes increasing this awareness through becoming more connected with the sensations in the body. This might include experiencing the legs moving when walking, or feeling the ground under the feet or the natural way of the body whilst standing.

Mindfulness has been shown to be of benefit to physical and mental health. It is currently recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence [ 22 ] as adjunctive therapy to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for the prevention of relapse depression.

However, it may be challenging for some individuals to do this with a multitude of distractions around them and, therefore, they may choose to identify a particular time and place when and where they can sit in a comfortable position to start to become aware of their breathing and bodily sensations.

2.2.3. Mobile Mindfulness Inspired By Tai-Chi—Pause

Tai-Chi is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for both its defense training, its health benefits and meditation. There is good evidence of benefits for depression, cardiac and stroke rehabilitation and dementia [ 23 ]. The term Tai-Chi refers to a philosophy of the forces of yin and yang, related to the moves. An iPhone application Pause inspired by Tai-Chi is used for guided mindfulness which draws upon the principles of mindfulness meditation to trigger the body’s rest and digest response, quickly restoring attention [ 24 ].

3. Related Work

Researchers have created the ability to detect stress in laboratory environments with medical-grade devices [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]; smartwatches and smart bands started to be used for stress level detection studies [ 29 , 30 , 31 ]. These devices provide high comfort and rich functionality for the users, but their stress detection accuracies are lower than medical-grade devices due to low signal quality and difficulty obtaining data in intense physical activity. If data are collected for long periods, researchers have shown that their detection performance improves [ 32 ]. During movement periods, the signal can be lost (gap in the data) or artifacts might be generated. Stress level detection accuracies for 2-classes by using these devices are around 70% [ 29 , 30 , 33 , 34 ].

After detecting the stress level of individuals, researchers should recover from the stressed state to the baseline state. To the best of our knowledge, there are very few studies that combine automatic stress detection (using physiological data) with recommended appropriate stress management techniques. Ahani et al. [ 35 ] examined the physiological effect of mindfulness. They used the Biosemi device which acquires electroencephalogram (EEG) and respiration signals. They successfully distinguished control (non-meditative state) and meditation states with machine learning algorithms. Karydis et al. [ 36 ] identified the post-meditation perceptual states by using a wearable EEG measurement device (Muse headband). Mason et al. [ 37 ] examined the effect of yoga on physiological signals. They used PortaPres Digital Plethtsmograph for measuring blood pressure and respiration signals. They also showed the positive effect of yoga by using these signals. A further study validated the positive effect of yoga with physiological signals; researchers monitored breathing and heart rate pulse with a piezoelectric belt and a pulse sensor [ 21 ]. They demonstrated the effectiveness of different yogic breathing patterns to help participants relax. There are also several studies showing the effectiveness of mobile mindfulness apps by using physiological signals [ 20 , 38 , 39 ]. Svetlov et al. [ 20 ] monitored the heart rate variability (HRV), electrodermal activity (EDA), Salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) and EEG values. In other studies, EEG and respiration signals were also used for validating the effect of mobile mindfulness apps [ 38 , 39 ]. When the literature is examined, it could be observed that the effect of ancient relaxation methods and mobile mindfulness methods are examined separately in different studies. Ancient methods generally require out of office environments that are not suitable for most of the population, since, in the modern age, people started to spend more time in office-like environments. On the other hand, some smartphone applications such as Pause, HeartMath and Calm do not require extra hardware or equipment and be applicable in office environments. Hence, an ideal solution depends on the context of individuals. A system that monitors stress levels, analyzes the context of individuals and suggests an appropriate relaxation method in the case of high stress will benefit society. Furthermore, mobile methods along with the ancient techniques should be applied in stressful real-life events and their effectiveness should be compared by investigating physiological signals. When the literature is examined, there is not any study comparing the performance of these methods in real-life events (see Table 1 ). Another important finding is that these methods should be compared with unobtrusive wearable devices so that they could be used for a biofeedback system in daily lives. Individuals may be reluctant to use a system with cables, electrodes and boards in their daily life. Therefore, a comparison of different states with such systems could not be used in daily life. There is clearly a need for a suggestion and comparison of ancient and mobile meditation methods by using algorithms that could run on unobtrusive devices. An ideal system should detect high stress levels, suggest relaxation methods and control whether users are doing these exercises right or not with unobtrusive devices. Our algorithm is suitable to be embedded in such daily life applicable systems that use physiological signals such as skin temperature (ST), HRV, EDA and accelerometer (ACC). In this paper, we present the findings of our pilot study that tested the use of our algorithm during general daily activities, stress reduction activities and a stressful event.

Comparison of our work with the studies applying different types of meditation techniques for stress management in the literature.

4. Methodology

4.1. unobtrusive stress detection system with smart bands.

Our stress detection system developed in [ 32 ] allows users to be aware of their stress levels during their daily activities without creating any interruption or restriction. The only requirement to use this system is the need to wear a smart band. Participants in this study wore the Empatica E4 smart band on their non-dominant hand. The smart band provides Blood Volume Pressure, ST, EDA, IBI (Interbeat Interval) and 3D Acceleration. The data are stored in the memory of the device. Then, the artifacts of physiological signals were detected and handled. The features were extracted from the sensory signals and fed to the machine learning algorithm for prediction. In order to use this system, pre-trained machine learning models are required. For training the models, feature vectors and collected class labels were used.

4.1.1. EDA Preprocessing Artifact Detection and Removal Methods

The body sweats when emotional arousal and stress are experienced and, therefore, skin conductance increases [ 40 ]. This makes EDA a promising candidate for stress level detection. Intense physical activity and temperature changes contaminate the SC (Skin Conductance) signal. Therefore, affected segments (artifacts) should be filtered out from the original signal. In order to detect the artifacts in the SC signal, we used an EDA toolkit [ 41 ] which is 95% accurate on the detection of the artifacts. While developing this tool, technicians labeled the artifacts manually. They trained a machine learning model by using the labels. In addition to the SC signal, 3D acceleration and ST signals were also used for artifact detection. We removed the parts that this tool detected as artifacts from our signals. We further added batch processing and segmentation to this tool by using custom software built-in Python 2.7.

4.1.2. EDA Feature Extraction Methods

After the artifact removal phase, features were extracted from the EDA signal. This signal has two components phasic and tonic; features from both components were extracted (see Table 2 ). The cvxEDA tool [ 42 ] was used for the decomposition of the signal into these components. This tool uses convex optimization to estimate the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) activity that is based on Bayesian statistics.

EDA features and their definitions.

Tonic Component Features

The tonic component in the EDA signal represents the long-term slow changes. This component is also known as the skin conductance level. It could be regarded as the indicator of general psychophysiological activation [ 43 ].

Phasic Component Features

The phasic component represents faster (event-related ) differences in the SC signal. The Peaks of phasic SC component as a reaction to a stimulus is also called Skin Conductance Response [ 43 ]. After we decompose the phasic component from the EDA signal, peak related features were extracted.

4.1.3. Heart Activity Preprocessing (Artifact Detection and Removal) and Feature Extraction Methods

Heart activity (or, more specifically, HRV) reacts to changes in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) caused by stress [ 44 ] and it is, therefore, one of the most commonly used physiological signal for stress detection [ 40 ]. However, vigorous movement of subjects and improperly worn devices may contaminate the HRV signal collected from smartwatches and smart bands. In order to address this issue, we developed an artifact handling tool in MATLAB programming language [ 45 ] that has batch processing capability. First, the data were divided into 2 min long segments with 50% overlapping. Two-minute segments were selected because it is reported that the time interval for stress stimulation and recovery processes is around a few minutes [ 46 ]. The artifact detection percentage rule (also employed in Kubios [ 47 ]) was applied after the segmentation phase. In this rule, each data point was compared with the local average around it. When the difference was more than a predetermined threshold percentage, (20% is commonly selected in the literature [ 48 ]), the data point was labeled as an artifact. In our system, we deleted the inter-beat intervals detected as the artifacts and interpolated these points with the cubic spline interpolation technique which was used in the Kubios software [ 47 ]. The time-domain features of HRV are calculated. In order to calculate the frequency domain features, we interpolated the RR intervals to 4 Hz. Then, we applied the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). These time and frequency domain features (see Table 3 ) were selected because these are the most discriminative ones in the literature [ 30 , 49 , 50 ].

HRV features and their definitions [ 32 ].

4.1.4. Accelerometer Feature Extraction Methods

Research has shown that movements of the human body and postures can indeed be employed as a means to detect signs of different emotional states. The dynamics of body movement were investigated by Castellano et al. who used multimodal data to identify human affective behaviors. Specific movement metrics, such as the amount of movement, intensity and fluidity, were used to help deduct emotions, and it was found that the amount of movement was a major factor in distinguishing different types of emotions [ 51 ]. Melzer et al. investigated whether movements comprised of collections of Laban movement components could be recognized as expressing basic emotions [ 52 ]. The results of their study confirm that, even when the subject has no intention of expressing emotions, particular movements can assist in the perception of bodily expressions of emotions. Accelerometer sensors may be used to detect these movements and different types of affect. The accelerometer sensor data are used for two different purposes in our system. Firstly, we extracted features from the accelerometer sensor, for detecting stress levels. We also selected the features to be used as described in Table 4 [ 53 ] and, as mentioned above, this sensor was also employed to clean the EDA signal in the EDAExplorer Tool [ 41 ].

ACC features and their definitions.

4.1.5. Skin Temperature

A skin temperature signal is used for the artifact detection phase of the EDA signal in the EDAExplorer Tool [ 41 ]. After we divide our data into segments, different modalities were merged into one feature vector. The heart activity signal started with a delay (to calculate heartbeats per minute at the start) and all signals were then synchronized. We included start and end timestamps for each segment, and each modality was merged with a custom Python script.

4.1.6. Machine Learning Classifier Algorithms

The Weka machine learning toolkit [ 54 ] is used for identifying stress levels. The Weka toolkit has several preprocessing features before classification. Our data set was not balanced when the number of instances belonging to each class was considered. We solved this issue by removing samples from the majority class. We selected random undersampling because it is the most commonly applied method [ 55 ]. In this way, we prevented classifiers from biasing towards the class with more instances. In this study, we employed five different machine learning classification algorithms to recognize different stress levels: MultiLayer Perceptron (MLP), Random Forest (RF) (with 100 trees), K-nearest neighbors (kNN) ( n = 1–4), Linear discriminant analysis (LDA), Principal component analysis (PCA) and support vector machine (SVM) with a radial basis function. These algorithms were selected because they were the most commonly applied and successful classifiers for detecting stress levels [ 30 , 48 ]. In addition, 10-fold stratified cross-validation was then applied and hyperparameters of the machine learning algorithms were fine-tuned with grid search. The best performing models have been reported.

4.1.7. Dimensionality Reduction

We applied correlation-based feature selection (CBFS) technique which is available in the Weka machine learning package for combined signal [ 56 ]. The CBFS method removes the features that are less correlated with the output class. For every model, we selected the ten most important features. This method is applied for MLP, RF, kNN and LDA. In order to create an SVM based model, we applied PCA based dimensionality reduction where the covered variance is selected as 0.95 (the default setting).

4.1.8. Insights from the Feature Selection Process

The CBFS method computes the correlation of features with the ground truth label of the stress level. Insights about the contribution of the features to the stress detection performance can be obtained from Figure 1 and Figure 2 . Three of the best features (over 0.15 correlation) are frequency domain features. These features are high, low and very-low frequency components of the HRV signal (see Figure 1 ). When we examine the EDA features, peaks per 100 s feature are the most important and distinctive feature by far. Since the EDA signal is distorted under the influence of the stimuli, the number of peaks and valleys increases. Lastly, when the acceleration signal is investigated, the most discriminative feature is mean acceleration in the z -axis (see Figure 2 b). This could be due to the nature of hand and body gestures which are caused by stressed situations.

Top-ranking features selected for the HRV signal.

Top-ranking features selected for the EDA and ACC signals.

4.2. Relaxation Method Suggestion by Analyzing the Physical Activity-Based Context

Context is a broad term that could contain different types of information such as calendars, activity type, location and activity intensity. Physical activity intensity could be used to infer contextual information. In more restricted environments such as office, classrooms, public transportation and physical activity intensity could be low, whereas, in outdoor environments, physical activity intensity could increase. Therefore, an appropriate relaxation method will change according to the context of individuals.

For calculating physical activity intensity, we used the EDAExplorer tool [ 41 ]. The stillness metric is used for this purpose. It is the percentage of periods in which the person is still or motionless. Total acceleration must be less than a threshold (default is 0.1 [ 41 ]) for 95 percent of a minute in order for this minute to count as still [ 41 ]. Then, the ratio of still minutes in a session can be calculated. For the ratio of still minutes in a session, we labeled sessions below 20% as still, above 20% as active and suggested relaxation method accordingly (see Figure 3 ).

The whole system diagram is depicted. When a high stress level is experienced, by analyzing the physical activity based context, the system suggests the most appropriate reduction method.

4.3. Description of the Data Collection Procedure

The proposed stress level monitoring mechanism, for real-life settings, was evaluated during an eight day Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network (ITN) training event in Istanbul, Turkey, for the AffecTech project. AffecTech is a program funded by Horizon 2020 (H2020) framework established by the European Commission. The AffecTech project is an international collaborative research network involving 15 PhD students (early stage researchers (ESR)) with the aim of developing low-cost effective wearable technologies for individuals who experience affective disorders (for example, depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder).

The eight-day training event included workshops, lectures and training with clearly defined tasks and activities to ensure that the ESR had developed the required skills, knowledge and values outline prior to the training event. At the end of the eight-day training, ESRs were required to deliver a presentation about their PhD work to two evaluators from the European Union where they received feedback about their progress (see Figure 4 for raw physiological signals at the start of the presentation). For studying the effects of emotion regulation on stress, yoga, guided mindfulness and mobile-based mindfulness, sessions were held by a certified instructor.

Sample data belong to a presentation session. The increase in EDA, ST and IBI could be observed when the subject started the presentation.

During the training, physiological and questionnaire data were collected from the 16 ESR participants (9 men, mean age 28); 15 ESRs and one of the AffecTech project academics, all of whom gave informed consent to participate in the study. Participants were from different countries with diverse nationalities (two from Iran, two from Spain, two from Italy, one from Argentina, one from Pakistan, one from China, one from Switzerland, one from Belarus, one from France, one from England, one from Barbados, one from Turkey and one from Bulgaria). Due to the fault of one of the Empatica E4 devices, it was not possible to include data from one participant. The remaining 15 participants completed all stages of the study successfully.

During the eight days of training and presentations, psychophysiological data were collected from 16 participants during the training event from Empatica E4 smart band while they are awake. For studying the effects of emotion regulation on stress, yoga, guided mindfulness and mobile-based mindfulness sessions were held by a certified instructor. The timeline of the event is shown in Figure 5 .

Time-line depicting eight days of the training event. Presentations, relaxations and lectures are highlighted.

4.3.1. Physiological Stress Data

The psychophysiological signal data were collected using the Empatica E4 smart band whilst participants were awake throughout the eight days of the AffecTech training. Physiological data included IBI, EDA, ACC (Accelerometer) and ST and stored in different csv files. In addition, 27.39% of the data are obtained from free times (free day and after training until subjects slept 5:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m.), 43.83% of the data comes from lectures in the training, 11.41% is the presentation session and relax sessions consist of 17.35% of the data. As mentioned previously, we randomly undersampled (most commonly applied method [ 55 ] ) the data to overcome the class imbalance problem. The participants’ blood pressure (BP) was also recorded using CE(0123) Harvard Medical Devices Ltd. automated sphygmomanometer prior to and after each stress reduction event (yoga and mindfulness), in order to demonstrate whether the participants stress levels were modified. On each occasion that the participants’ BP was recorded, the mean of three recordings was used as the final BP. A reduction in the participants’ blood pressure and/or pulse rate may be seen, which demonstrates a reduction in stress level.

4.3.2. Ethics

The procedure used in this study was approved by the Institutional Review Board for Research with Human Subjects of Boğaziçi University with the approval number 2018/16. Prior to data acquisition, each participant received a consent form describing the experimental procedure and its benefits and implications to both the society and the subject. The procedure was also explained verbally to the subject. All of the data are stored anonymously.

4.3.3. Questionnaire Self-Report Stress Data

A session-based self-report questionnaire comprised of six questions based on the Nasa Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) [ 57 ]. The frustration scale was specifically used to measure perceived stress levels [ 32 ]. We asked the following question to the participants for each session:

How irritated, stressed and annoyed versus content, relaxed and complacent did you feel during the task?

Questionnaires were completed daily (at the end of the day) and, after each presentation, lecture and stress reduction event (such as yoga and mindfulness).

4.3.4. Stress Management Scheme Using Yoga and Mindfulness

During the eight day training, it is assumed that the participants’ stress levels are likely to have increased day by day because they were required to give a presentation (perceived as a stressful event) reporting their PhD progress to the EU project evaluators at the end of the training.

Underpinned by James Gross’s Emotion Regulation model (see Figure 6 ) [ 4 ], we modified the situation to help the participants to reduce their thoughts of the end of the training presentation. To help participants manage their stress levels, we applied Yoga and mindfulness sessions on two separate days (day three and day four, respectively). These sessions lasted approximately 1 h and, throughout the sessions, participants wore an Empatica E4 smartband. In addition to the physiological signals coming from the Smartbands, participants’ blood pressure values were also recorded before and after the yoga and mindfulness sessions.

Application of James Gross’s Emotion Regulation model [ 4 ] in the context of stress management.

5. Experimental Results and Discussion

5.1. statistical data analysis, 5.1.1. validation of different perceived stress levels by using the self-reports.

In order to validate that the participants experienced different perceived stress levels in different contexts (lecture, relaxation, presentation), we used the Frustration item (see Section 4.5) from the NASA-TLX [ 57 ]. The distribution of answers is demonstrated in Figure 7 . Our aim is to show that the perceived stress levels (obtained from self-report answers) differ in relaxation sessions considerably when compared to the presentation session (high stress). To this end, we applied the t -test (in R programming language) to the perceived stress self-report answers of yoga versus presentation, mindfulness versus presentation and pause (mobile mindfulness) versus presentation session pairs. The paired t -test is used to evaluate the separability of each session. The degree of freedom is 15. We applied the variance test to each session tuple; we could not identify equal variance in any of the session tuples. Thus, we selected the variance as unequal. We used 99.5% confidence intervals. The t -test results’ ( p -values and test statistics) are provided in Table 5 . For all tuples, the null hypothesis stating that the perceived stress of the relaxation method is not less than the presentation session is rejected. The perceived stress levels of participants for all meditation sessions are observed to be significantly lower than the presentation session (high stress).

Visual representation of the frustration scores collected in different types of sessions.

T -test results for session tuple comparison of perceived stress levels using self-reports.

5.1.2. Before and After Physiological Measurements for Evaluating Performance of Yoga and Mindfulness with Blood Pressure

In this section, we compared the effect of stress management tools such as yoga and mindfulness on blood pressure. It is expected that blood pressure sensors will be part of unobtrusive wrist-worn wearable sensors soon. We plan to integrate a blood pressure (BP) module to our system when they are available. Therefore, by using the measurements of a medical-grade blood pressure monitor, we provided insights about how stress reaction affects BP. We further applied and tested the prominent emotion regulation model of James Gross by analyzing these measurements in the context of stress management. We measured the diastolic and systolic BP and pulse using a medical-grade blood pressure monitor before and after the yoga and mindfulness sessions. In order to ensure that the participants were relaxed and that an accurate BP was recorded, BP was measured three times with the mean as the recorded result. A one-sample t -test was applied to the difference between mean values. The results are shown in Table 6 .

The difference between the mean diastolic blood pressure, the mean systolic blood pressure and the mean pulse, before and after sessions of guided mindfulness and guided yoga. (* p < 0.05).

Mindfulness decreased the systolic BP, –1.13% (ns), increased diastolic BP, +1.75% ( p < 0.05) and decreased the pulse –5.75% ( p < 0.05). Medicine knows that systolic blood pressure (the top number or highest blood pressure when the heart is squeezing and pushing the blood around the body) is more important than diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number or lowest blood pressure between heartbeats) because it gives the best idea of the risk of having a stroke or heart attack. In this view, the significant reduction of systolic BP after mindfulness is an important result.

Moreover, the difference between systolic and diastolic BP is called pulse pressure. For example, 120 systolic minus 60 diastolic equals a pulse pressure of 60. It is also known that a pulse pressure greater than 60 can be a predictor of heart attacks or other cardiovascular diseases, while a low pulse pressure (less than 40) may indicate poor heart function. In our study, pulse pressure was lower after mindfulness (we had both a significant reduction in systolic BP and an increase in diastolic BP), but its value was higher than 40 (42.69 mean difference before the mindfulness and 40.48 mean difference after the mindfulness), suggesting that this result can also be considered clinically positive.

During yoga, there was a decrease in systolic BP by −5.81% ( p < 0.05), diastolic BP by −1.93% (ns) and increase in pulse +8.06% ( p < 0.05). Yoga appears to be more effective than mindfulness at decreasing systolic and diastolic blood pressure, although mindfulness seems to be more effective than yoga for decreasing the pulse due to the activity involved in yoga.

5.2. Physiological Stress Level Detection with Wearables by Using Context Labels as the Class Label

We tested our system by using the known context labels of sessions as the class label. We used Lecture (mild stress), Yoga and Mindfulness (relax) and Presentation in front of the board of juries (high stress) as class labels by examining perceived stress self-report answers in Figure 6 . We investigated the success of relaxation methods, different modalities and finding the presenter.

5.2.1. Effect of Different Physiological Signals on Stress Detection

We evaluated the effect of using the interbeat-interval, the skin conductance and the accelerometer signals separately and in a combined manner on two and three class classification performance. These classes are mild stress, high stress and relax states from mindfulness and yoga sessions. The results are shown in Table 7 , Table 8 and Table 9 . For the three-class classification problem, we achieved a maximum accuracy of 72% by using MLP on only HRV features and 86.61% with only accelerometer features using the Random Forest classifier and 85.36% accuracy combination of all features with LDA classifier (see Table 7 ). The difficulty in this classification task is a similar physiological reaction to relax and mild stress situations. However, since the main focus of our study is to discriminate high stress from other classes to offer relaxation techniques in this state, it did not affect our system performance. We also investigated high-mild stress and high stress-relax 2-class classification performance. For the discrimination of high and mild stress, HRV outperformed other signals with 98% accuracy using MLP (see Table 8 ). In the high stress-relax 2-class problem, only HRV features with RF achieved a maximum accuracy of 86%, whereas ACC features with MLP achieved a maximum of 94% accuracy. In this problem, the combination of all signals with RF achieved 92% accuracy which is the best among all classifiers (see Table 9 ). For all models, EDA did not perform well. This might be caused by the loose contact with EDA electrodes in the strap due to loosely worn smartbands.

Effect of different modalities and their combination on the system performance. Note that the number of classes is fixed at 3 (high stress, mild stress and relax).

Effect of different modalities and their combination on the system performance. Note that the number of classes is fixed at 2 (high stress and mild stress).

Effect of different modalities and their combination on the system performance. Note that the number of classes is fixed at 2 (high stress and relax).

5.2.2. Effectiveness of Yoga, Mindfulness and Mobile Mindfulness (Pause)

We applied three different relaxation methods to manage stress levels of individuals. In order to measure the effectiveness of each method, we examined how easily these physiological signals in the relaxation sessions can be separated from high stress presentations. If it can be separated from high stress levels with higher classification performance, it could be inferred that they are more successful at reducing stress. As seen in Table 10 and Table 11 , mobile mindfulness has lower success in reducing stress levels. Yoga has the highest classification performance with both HR and EDA signals.

The classification accuracy of the relaxation sessions using stress management methods and stressful sessions using EDA.

The classification accuracy of the relaxation sessions using stress management methods and stressful sessions using HRV.

6. Conclusions

In this study, by using our automatic stress detection system with the use of Empatica-E4 smart-bands, we detected stress levels and suggested appropriate relaxation methods (i.e., traditional or mobile) when high stress levels are experienced. Our stress detection framework is unobtrusive, comfortable and suitable for use in daily life and our relaxation method suggestion system makes its decisions based on the physical activity-related context of a user. To test our system, we collected eight days of data from 16 individuals participating in an EU research project training event. Individuals were exposed to varied stressful and relaxation events (1) training and lectures (mild stress), (2) yoga, mindfulness and mobile mindfulness (PAUSE) (relax) and (3) were required to give a moderated presentation (high stress). The participants were from different countries with diverse cultures.

In addition, 1440 h of mobile data (12 h in a day) were collected during this eight-day event from each participant measuring their stress levels. Data were collected during the training sessions, relaxation events and the moderated presentation and during their free time for 12 h in a day, demonstrating that our study monitored daily life stress. EDA and HR signals were collected to detect physiological stress and a combination of different modalities increased stress detection, performance and provided the most discriminative features. We first applied James Gross ER model in the context of stress management and measured the blood pressure during the ER cycle. When the known context was used as the label for stress level detection system, we achieved 98% accuracy for 2-class and 85% accuracy for 3-class. Most of the studies in the literature only detect stress levels of individuals. The participants’ stress levels were managed with yoga, mindfulness and a mobile mindfulness application while monitoring their stress levels. We investigated the success of each stress management technique by the separability of physiological signals from high-stress sessions. We demonstrated that yoga and traditional mindfulness performed slightly better than the mobile mindfulness application. Furthermore, this study is not without limitations. In order to generalize the conclusions, more experiments based on larger sample groups should be conducted. As future work, we plan to develop personalized perceived stress models by using self-reports and test our system in the wild. Furthermore, attitudes in the psychological field constitute a topic of utmost relevance, which always play an instrumental role in the determination of human behavior [ 58 ]. We plan to design a new experiment which accounts for the attitudes of participants towards relaxation methods and their effects on the performance of stress recognition systems.

Acknowledgments

We would like to show our gratitude to the Affectech Project for providing us the opportunity for the data collection in the training event and funding the research.

Author Contributions

Y.S.C. is the main editor of this work and made major contributions in data collection, analysis and manuscript writing. H.I.-S. made valuable contributions in both data collection and manuscript writing. She was the yoga and mindfulness instructor in the event and contributed the related sections regarding traditional and mobile methods. She also led the blood pressure measurement efforts before and after relaxation methods. D.E. and N.C. contributed equally to this work in design, implementation, data analysis and writing the manuscript. J.F.-Á., C.R. and G.R. contributed the experiment design and provided valuable insights into both emotion regulation theory. They also contributed to the related sections in the manuscript. C.E. provided invaluable feedback and technical guidance to interpret the design and the detail of the field study. He also performed comprehensive critical editing to increase the overall quality of the manuscript. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

This work has been supported by AffecTech: Personal Technologies for Affective Health, Innovative Training Network funded by the H2020 People Programme under Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 722022. This work is supported by the Turkish Directorate of Strategy and Budget under the TAM Project number DPT2007K120610.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

How to Beat Stress? Essay

Nowadays, people have to live with stress every day due to all that chaos happening around and the inability to cope with a number of social things and concerns observed every day. Being involved in numerous activities and the necessity to meet expectations and perform duties, people cherish a dream to have at least one day without stress. Stress seems to follow us everywhere and every minute, so that it is not always possible for people to find the time and think of the ways to beat stress and live quietly with no more negative vibes.

According to the American Psychological Association, about 63% of people experience stress because of the necessity to think of the “future of our nation,” 62% of people are bothered with money, and 61% of Americans are challenged by work issues (1). Scholle claims that “the over-activation of our stress hormones has been linked to high blood pressure, heart attacks, lower immunity, depression, anxiety, and more.” So obviously, stress is not the issue to be ignored nowadays.

People must understand that stress is dangerous for them, and it is not enough to avoid it. It is necessary to be ready to fight stress and all possible stressors. In this essay, I will talk about why people and students, in particular, experience stress, how to beat stress and improve the quality of life, and what the benefits of having a relaxing life with no stress are.

Millions of stressors are around us, including home, family relationships, society, finance, or unstable economic and political situations. When it comes to students, it is necessary to add such causes as exams, obligations to meet deadlines, and thoughts about their future. Numerous unexpected changes usually wait for people as soon as they graduate, and not all students are actually ready for new living standards.

In fact, stress may be caused by millions of things that are hard to predict and identify. Sometimes, students have to deal with unexpected deaths, divorces, or the necessity to make serious financial decisions. Uncertainty and the lack of confidence challenge people a lot due to the inability to predict the results and improve the outcomes. People can face all different types of situations that make them fall into a zone of nothing but stress. Therefore, instead of searching for some new methods to predict or avoid stress, it is better to think of the ways how to reduce the level of stress or to beat it for good.

Change is a good solution in many situations. Just thinking about ways to deal with stress on our daily basis is simply going to be helpful to kill out stress unknowingly. The idea of making time to beat stress, feel better about the things around, and let this out of our thoughts are the first steps to promote a difference. As soon as this stage is over, a person is able to notice how effective such therapy can be and how proud and relieved people may be.

Though some people admit that change is one of the causes of stress, it is necessary to remember that changing something is a solution to many stressful situations. People should not wait when everything can be cleared up. They have to do something or, at least, consider all their options for doing something. Change is something people should not be afraid of, but make use of any time they can.

In fact, there are many well-known ways and studies in terms of which stress reduction and management are possible. For example, healthy eating is proved to be a helpful step. In her research, Scholle addresses Dr. Mark Hyman, who said that “eating whole, real foods restores balance and reduces the effects of stress on your body.” Many people might not pay attention to the fact that healthy eating can help to deal with stress in different ways. However, as soon as several changes in eating habits occur, stress reduction can be noted as a pleasant outcome.

Another method with the help of which it is possible to reduce stress is dancing. People do it for fun and enjoy their time at parties or at home. Still, recent studies demonstrate that dancing can kill stress and make us feel fresh and better, and it is enough to dance about five minutes to forget about stress (Scholle). Even if a person does not feel like dancing, it is possible to try this method and turn on music. The solution can come in a short period of time, and certain improvements can be observed.

Also, sleeping enough and very well can reduce stress. The investigations of Alyssa Sparacino about the benefits of sleep underline the importance of rest for the appropriate mood and the promotion of a healthy lifestyle. She uses the investigations of a director of sleep medicine, Dr. Raymodne, who explains that “many things that we take for granted are affected by sleep… if you sleep better, you can certainly live better” (Sparacino). Therefore, as one of the important lessons in human intentions to deal with sleep is the attention to the work of our sleeping system. It is necessary to make sure that we get enough sleep every night and put in mind that sleeping in the daylight instead of the night does not count as a healthy sleeping.

Students, as well as other people who are exposed to stress, should remember the importance of relaxation as one of the main fighters against stress in a magnificent way. Looking up for millions of ideas on how to relax your body and soul every day, people should consider their personal preferences and interests. Few exercises can be enough to make relaxation possible, and one thing you can do is to get yourself time outside the world.

This time is the period when a person may contact nobody, just closing the eyes and the mind, thinking of nothing, and taking a deep breath in and out for five minutes only. Yoga is one of the possible methods of relaxation that is available to all people. Some yoga classes can be found online. People may also address experts and professional trainers to take yoga classes in specialized places. Relaxation is possible when people try to walk regularly. Healthy and calm walking every day only for 3o minutes can help people forget about stress and improve their quality of life.

One of the most unexpected ways for many people to deal with stress is crying. People might think that it is something ridiculous and has no relation to the reduction of stress. Otherwise, it has a big effect on stress reduction. Delena Chew uses the investigations of Dr. Sinatra, who said that “crying is one of the most cleansing experiences you can go through.” Regarding the scientific aspect, crying is a possibility to release neurochemicals with the help of which people can reach a calm state (Chew).

Simply speaking, crying will help to clean out your soul and your mind. Deep crying will open the chest and the diaphragm to produce more energy. So be free to let your tears out every time you felt like it. There is nothing wrong with crying and sobbing. It is a good and healthy practice for many people.

If people are interested in calm and regular activities, reading can be used as an option. Reading good books about something you want to achieve is a great job. There are many classic literature sources, as well as modern journals and magazines, to pay attention to. Sometimes, it is enough to grab a book about beating stress and learn something from it. Today, many movies based on books are available to people. This option can also be put on the list of methods to deal with stress.

There are plenty of ways to beat stress if a person makes a strong decision about the necessity to find a solution to this problem. “The wear and tear on the body from lots of stress changes the nervous system,” said Bruce McEwen, a neuroscientist at Rockefeller University in New York (“Studies Show Stress”). Obviously, even in early life, stress, like in the womb, can affect people badly. Therefore, pregnant women are always advised to relax and happy during their pregnancy and avoid stress by any possible means.

Many studies prove how a neonate can be shaped and influenced by the emotions experienced by a mother during pregnancy. Emotional problems, difficulties in learning and remembering, and hyperactivity disorders are the possible outcomes of stress in such situations (Glover 27). Stress can have different, unexpected roots. Many young people believe that they have enough power and opportunities to deal with stress and make correct decisions. Still, though self-confidence is a good quality in dealing with stress, credible guidelines and the suggestions of medical workers and other experts can contribute to the best solution.

Stress reduction is the goal millions of people establish every day despite their age, gender, race, geographical location, occupation, or social status. Stress is a global problem that does not have one simple solution. The idea of beating stress is a great achievement. However, not all people are ready to complete this task. Stressors may vary, and people should understand that help can be found anywhere. The only task is to recognize such a source of help and use it properly.

The benefits of life without stress are numerous. People can make free and properly weighted decisions. Productivity and creativity can be increased. Communication and cooperation between different groups of people may be improved. Finally, the percentage offered by the American Psychological Association about the reasons for stress and their outcomes can be reduced.

In general, stress management is a significant activity for people to be involved in. Stress may negatively influence human health, change the work of mental processes, promote wrong behaviors, and support harmful emotions. Stress occurs as soon as a person is not able to meet needs or find appropriate resources. It is a normal thing in human life. Therefore, instead of trying to live properly and avoid stress, people can learn how to deal with stressful situations and assist each other in meeting similar goals. Life without stress is hard to imagine. However, it is easy to manage stress and take the steps with the help of which human potential can be discovered and used in many different ways.

Works Cited

American Psychological Association. Stress in America: The State of Our Nation . 2017. Web.

Chew, Delena. “ 7 Tips for Fighting Stress. ” Wealth Mastery . 2013. Web.

Glover, Vivette. “Maternal Depression, Anxiety, and Stress during Pregnancy and Child Outcome: What Needs to Be Done.” Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics and Gynaecology, vol. 28, no. 1, 2014, pp. 25-35.

Scholle, Anne. “ 5 Ways to Relieve Stress. ” The Center for Mind-Body Medicine . 2015. Web.

Sparacino, Alyssa. “ 11 Surprising Health Benefits of Sleep. ” Health . 2013. Web.

“ Studies Show Stress Can Reshape the Brain. ” The Guardian . 2008. Web.

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How to Reduce Stress

Stress is evident everywhere in our fast-paced world. It’s a mental, emotional, or physical strain caused by anxiety or overwork. We all feel stress and often suffer the results of it in some way or other. What you are about to read can have a significant impact on the levels of stress you experience. This post is not about how to deal with stress; it’s about how to reduce and avoid it. Most of the stress we experience can be broken down into three categories.

1. Stress we can’t control—such as the loss of a job, loss of a loved one, or encountering major health challenges. . Natural stress—such as what we feel when we set goals, push ourselves outside our comfort zones, and strive to get better. 3. Stress we can control—such as being late to an appointment, having a breakdown in a relationship, or getting upset sitting in traffic. When you identify and learn how to manage the things that create stress, you will experience improvements in every area of your life—from your relationships to your performance, from your health to your outlook on life.

Let me encourage you to print these 33 points and highlight the ones that you are determined to work on.

The realization that you are in control of your stress is the foundation of stress management. 1. Don’t over commit. Whether in your personal or professional life, learn your limits and set boundaries. Know when to say, “No! ” Don’t take on more than you can reasonably handle.

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2. Avoid people who stress you out. If someone is a constant source of stress and you can’t turn the relationship around, limit the amount of time you spend with that person, or end the relationship entirely. 3. Avoid heated topics. You know the topics that cause your blood pressure to rise, so learn to avoid them. 4.

Practice relaxation techniques. Techniques such as yoga, meditation, and deep breathing activate the body’s relaxation response—a state of restfulness opposite of the stress response. When practiced regularly, you will enjoy a reduction in your everyday stress levels, benefit by a boost in your feelings of peace and serenity, and increase your ability to stay calm under pressure. 5. Change how you view things. Practice viewing stressful situations from a more positive perspective. Rather than getting stressed out about sitting in traffic, look at it as an opportunity to pause and regroup, to listen to your favorite usic or self-improvement CD, or to just enjoy some quiet time. 6. Practice positive thinking. How you think can have a profound effect on your emotional and physical well-being. People who maintain a positive attitude and practice positive thinking experience less stress than those who are pessimistic and negative. 7. Anticipate problems. When issues arise, address them head on before they escalate. The best way to avoid big problems is by addressing them when they are small. 8. Express your feelings. When something or someone is upsetting you, learn to communicate your concerns in an open and respectful manner.

Even if it’s just sharing what you are going through with a friend, you will likely feel better. 9. Practice good time management. Every improvement you make in how you spend your time gives you greater control of your life and plays a small role in reducing your everyday stress levels. 10. Don’t procrastinate. Putting things off until the last minute is a guaranteed way to increase your stress levels. Start doing what you know you should do when you know you should do it. Become a do-it-now person. 11. Stop striving for perfection.

We should push ourselves to improve and to always do our best, BUT we need to know when something is good enough. On a scale of 1-10, start shooting for 8’s and 9’s. 12. Look for the upside. When problems and challenges present themselves, look at them as opportunities for personal growth. The next time you are faced with a challenge remember this African proverb: “Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors. ” 13. Set aside relaxation time. Block out time each day to rest, relax, and recharge your batteries. Look at your daily schedule and identify one or more periods of time when you can take a break.

Do something you enjoy during these blocks of time. 14. Keep your sense of humor. Smiling and laughing are great ways to reduce stress. 15. Exercise regularly. It is well documented that physical activity plays a key role in reducing the effects of stress on the body. Make time for at least 30 minutes of exercise, three times per week. A brisk walk can do wonders to reduce stress. 16. Consume healthy food and beverages. When we nourish our bodies with healthy foods and beverages our bodies are better prepared to cope with stress. 17. Get enough sleep. Getting a good night’s sleep allows you to rest your mind and body.

When you are tired and fatigued, you experience more stress than when you are fresh and full of energy. 18. Use a “To Do” list. Writing down everything you need to do in a prioritized sequence is a huge stress reducer. When you are doing exactly what you should be doing in the exact sequence in which things need to be completed, you will feel more at peace. 19. Don’t accept stress. Refuse to get stressed out. As an example, if you are feeling stress because of everything you have to do, but yet you are giving 100% of yourself and you are working on things in a prioritized sequence, say, “I’m doing all I can do.  This is a conversation I have with myself several times each week as I consider all that I have to do. 20. Put together a debt-reduction plan. Putting together a plan to decrease your debt will do wonders to reduce financial stress. Much of the financial pressure people live with is a result of not having a budget or plan. 21. Build valued relationships. If you put an emphasis on building valued relationships, you will not only find greater enjoyment in life, but you will have fewer conflicts. Spending time with positive and encouraging people makes you feel better and reduces stress. 2. Stop stressing over little things. So much stress comes from getting worked up over petty little things—such as the person driving slowly in front of you, or listening to someone who has an opposing view on an insignificant subject. Use your self-control to ignore the little things that bug you. 23. Learn to respond, not react. When something upsets you, don’t react in haste. Instead pause and consider the best way to respond—a way that you will be proud of later. 24. Write things down. Stop trying to remember everything; start taking notes or making lists.

This frees the mind and, because you don’t need to remember things, you will feel a whole lot less stress. 25. Don’t pick fights. You know the types of things that cause conflict. Unless it is something really important to you, learn to let it go. 26. Plan ahead and arrive early. We have all experienced the stress of running late for an appointment. When you have to be somewhere at a specific time, plan ahead and arrive early. 27. Stop expecting people to live by your rules. Dealing with unmet expectations is a huge source of stress. Make sure you set proper expectations for yourself.

When you set expectations for others, make sure they understand them. Expecting people to fulfill your unspoken expectations is a sure fire way to get a dose of unwanted stress. 28. Get organized. How do you feel when your home, car, or workplace is a mess, or when you are working on a project and can’t find things? Take the time to get organized; then do the little things each day to stay organized. 29. Present yourself as being calm and in control. When you present yourself in this manner, you will feel less hurried and more confident, both of which will reduce the stress you feel. 30. Learn to estimate how long activities take.

Start tracking how long things take to complete. In most cases, the actual amount of time it takes to do something is more than you initially estimated. By clearly understanding how long an activity “really” takes, you can better control your schedule and commitments. 31. Don’t try to control the uncontrollable. Many things in life are beyond our control, including the behavior of other people. Rather than stressing out over them, focus on the things you can control, such as how you should respond to them. 32. Learn to forgive. Accept the fact that we live in an imperfect world and that we all make mistakes.

Let go of anger, resentment, and negative energy by forgiving those who have hurt you. 33. Be grateful. Take time each day to reflect on the things you appreciate in your life, including your own positive qualities and gifts. This will increase your happiness and help you keep things in perspective. Let me encourage you to take some time and make a list of the things that cause you to feel stressed. As you look at each point, determine what you can do to reduce the stress it causes you. As you go about each day, be aware of your stress levels and their sources.

If watching the news impacts your stress levels, then stop watching it. If some of your choices are creating stressful situations, then learn from them and avoid them in the future. Managing stress is all about taking control of your thoughts, your emotions, your schedule, your environment, and the way you deal with problems. The ultimate goal is a balanced life, with time for work, relationships, relaxation, and fun. Learning healthier ways to manage stress If your methods of coping with stress aren’t contributing to your greater emotional and physical health, it’s time to find healthier ones.

There are many healthy ways to manage and cope with stress, but they all require change. You can either change the situation or change your reaction. When deciding which option to choose, it’s helpful to think of the four As: avoid, alter, adapt, or accept. Since everyone has a unique response to stress, there is no “one size fits all” solution to managing it. No single method works for everyone or in every situation, so experiment with different techniques and strategies. Focus on what makes you feel calm and in control. ————————————————- Dealing with Stressful Situations: The Four A’s

Change the situation: * Avoid the stressor * Alter the stressor| Change your reaction: * Adapt to the stressor * Accept the stressor| ————————————————- Stress management strategy #1: Avoid unnecessary stress Not all stress can be avoided, and it’s not healthy to avoid a situation that needs to be addressed. You may be surprised, however, by the number of stressors in your life that you can eliminate. * Learn how to say “no” – Know your limits and stick to them. Whether in your personal or professional life, refuse to accept added responsibilities when you’re close to reaching them.

Taking on more than you can handle is a surefire recipe for stress. * Avoid people who stress you out – If someone consistently causes stress in your life and you can’t turn the relationship around, limit the amount of time you spend with that person or end the relationship entirely. * Take control of your environment – If the evening news makes you anxious, turn the TV off. If traffic’s got you tense, take a longer but less-traveled route. If going to the market is an unpleasant chore, do your grocery shopping online. * Avoid hot-button topics – If you get upset over religion or politics, cross them off your conversation list.

If you repeatedly argue about the same subject with the same people, stop bringing it up or excuse yourself when it’s the topic of discussion. * Pare down your to-do list – Analyze your schedule, responsibilities, and daily tasks. If you’ve got too much on your plate, distinguish between the “shoulds” and the “musts. ” Drop tasks that aren’t truly necessary to the bottom of the list or eliminate them entirely. ————————————————- Stress management strategy #2: Alter the situation If you can’t avoid a stressful situation, try to alter it.

Figure out what you can do to change things so the problem doesn’t present itself in the future. Often, this involves changing the way you communicate and operate in your daily life. * Express your feelings instead of bottling them up. If something or someone is bothering you, communicate your concerns in an open and respectful way. If you don’t voice your feelings, resentment will build and the situation will likely remain the same. * Be willing to compromise. When you ask someone to change their behavior, be willing to do the same. If you both are willing to bend at least a little, you’ll have a good chance of finding a happy middle ground. Be more assertive. Don’t take a backseat in your own life. Deal with problems head on, doing your best to anticipate and prevent them. If you’ve got an exam to study for and your chatty roommate just got home, say up front that you only have five minutes to talk. * Manage your time better. Poor time management can cause a lot of stress. When you’re stretched too thin and running behind, it’s hard to stay calm and focused. But if you plan ahead and make sure you don’t overextend yourself, you can alter the amount of stress you’re under. ————————————————-

Stress management strategy #3: Adapt to the stressor If you can’t change the stressor, change yourself. You can adapt to stressful situations and regain your sense of control by changing your expectations and attitude. * Reframe problems. Try to view stressful situations from a more positive perspective. Rather than fuming about a traffic jam, look at it as an opportunity to pause and regroup, listen to your favorite radio station, or enjoy some alone time. * Look at the big picture. Take perspective of the stressful situation. Ask yourself how important it will be in the long run. Will it matter in a month? A year?

Is it really worth getting upset over? If the answer is no, focus your time and energy elsewhere. * Adjust your standards. Perfectionism is a major source of avoidable stress. Stop setting yourself up for failure by demanding perfection. Set reasonable standards for yourself and others, and learn to be okay with “good enough. ” * Focus on the positive. When stress is getting you down, take a moment to reflect on all the things you appreciate in your life, including your own positive qualities and gifts. This simple strategy can help you keep things in perspective. ————————————————-

Adjusting Your Attitude How you think can have a profound effect on your emotional and physical well-being. Each time you think a negative thought about yourself, your body reacts as if it were in the throes of a tension-filled situation. If you see good things about yourself, you are more likely to feel good; the reverse is also true. Eliminate words such as “always,” “never,” “should,” and “must. ” These are telltale marks of self-defeating thoughts. ————————————————- Stress management strategy #4: Accept the things you can’t change Some sources of stress are unavoidable.

You can’t prevent or change stressors such as the death of a loved one, a serious illness, or a national recession. In such cases, the best way to cope with stress is to accept things as they are. Acceptance may be difficult, but in the long run, it’s easier than railing against a situation you can’t change. * Don’t try to control the uncontrollable. Many things in life are beyond our control— particularly the behavior of other people. Rather than stressing out over them, focus on the things you can control such as the way you choose to react to problems. * Look for the upside.

As the saying goes, “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. ” When facing major challenges, try to look at them as opportunities for personal growth. If your own poor choices contributed to a stressful situation, reflect on them and learn from your mistakes. * Share your feelings. Talk to a trusted friend or make an appointment with a therapist. Expressing what you’re going through can be very cathartic, even if there’s nothing you can do to alter the stressful situation. * Learn to forgive. Accept the fact that we live in an imperfect world and that people make mistakes. Let go of anger and resentments.

Free yourself from negative energy by forgiving and moving on. ————————————————- Stress management strategy #5: Make time for fun and relaxation Beyond a take-charge approach and a positive attitude, you can reduce stress in your life by nurturing yourself. If you regularly make time for fun and relaxation, you’ll be in a better place to handle life’s stressors when they inevitably come. ————————————————- Healthy ways to relax and recharge * Go for a walk. * Spend time in nature. * Call a good friend. * Sweat out tension with a good workout. Write in your journal. * Take a long bath. * Light scented candles. | * Savor a warm cup of coffee or tea. * Play with a pet. * Work in your garden. * Get a massage. * Curl up with a good book. * Listen to music. * Watch a comedy. | Don’t get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of life that you forget to take care of your own needs. Nurturing yourself is a necessity, not a luxury. * Set aside relaxation time. Include rest and relaxation in your daily schedule. Don’t allow other obligations to encroach. This is your time to take a break from all responsibilities and recharge your batteries. Connect with others. Spend time with positive people who enhance your life. A strong support system will buffer you from the negative effects of stress. * Do something you enjoy every day. Make time for leisure activities that bring you joy, whether it be stargazing, playing the piano, or working on your bike. * Keep your sense of humor. This includes the ability to laugh at yourself. The act of laughing helps your body fight stress in a number of ways. ————————————————- Stress management strategy #6: Adopt a healthy lifestyle

You can increase your resistance to stress by strengthening your physical health. * Exercise regularly. Physical activity plays a key role in reducing and preventing the effects of stress. Make time for at least 30 minutes of exercise, three times per week. Nothing beats aerobic exercise for releasing pent-up stress and tension. * Eat a healthy diet. Well-nourished bodies are better prepared to cope with stress, so be mindful of what you eat. Start your day right with breakfast, and keep your energy up and your mind clear with balanced, nutritious meals throughout the day. * Reduce caffeine and sugar.

The temporary “highs” caffeine and sugar provide often end in with a crash in mood and energy. By reducing the amount of coffee, soft drinks, chocolate, and sugar snacks in your diet, you’ll feel more relaxed and you’ll sleep better. * Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs. Self-medicating with alcohol or drugs may provide an easy escape from stress, but the relief is only temporary. Don’t avoid or mask the issue at hand; deal with problems head on and with a clear mind. * Get enough sleep. Adequate sleep fuels your mind, as well as your body. Feeling tired will increase your stress because it may cause you to think irrationally.

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Top 10 Stress Management Techniques for Students

Elizabeth Scott, PhD is an author, workshop leader, educator, and award-winning blogger on stress management, positive psychology, relationships, and emotional wellbeing.

Akeem Marsh, MD, is a board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist who has dedicated his career to working with medically underserved communities.

Most students experience significant amounts of stress. This can significantly affect their health, happiness, relationships, and grades. Learning stress management techniques can help these students avoid negative effects in these areas.

Why Stress Management Is Important for Students

A study by the American Psychological Association (APA) found that teens report stress levels similar to adults. This means teens are experiencing significant levels of chronic stress and feel their stress levels generally exceed their ability to cope effectively .

Roughly 30% of the teens reported feeling overwhelmed, depressed, or sad because of their stress.

Stress can also affect health-related behaviors. Stressed students are more likely to have problems with disrupted sleep, poor diet, and lack of exercise. This is understandable given that nearly half of APA survey respondents reported completing three hours of homework per night in addition to their full day of school work and extracurriculars.

Common Causes of Student Stress

Another study found that much of high school students' stress originates from school and activities, and that this chronic stress can persist into college years and lead to academic disengagement and mental health problems.

Top Student Stressors

Common sources of student stress include:

• Extracurricular activities
• Social challenges
• Transitions (e.g., graduating, moving out , living independently)
• Relationships
• Pressure to succeed

High school students face the intense competitiveness of taking challenging courses, amassing impressive extracurriculars, studying and acing college placement tests, and deciding on important and life-changing plans for their future. At the same time, they have to navigate the social challenges inherent to the high school experience.

This stress continues if students decide to attend college. Stress is an unavoidable part of life, but research has found that increased daily stressors put college-aged young adults at a higher risk for stress than other age groups.

Making new friends, handling a more challenging workload, feeling pressured to succeed, being without parental support, and navigating the stresses of more independent living are all added challenges that make this transition more difficult. Romantic relationships always add an extra layer of potential stress.

Students often recognize that they need to relieve stress . However, all the activities and responsibilities that fill a student’s schedule sometimes make it difficult to find the time to try new stress relievers to help dissipate that stress.

10 Stress Management Techniques for Students

Here you will learn 10 stress management techniques for students. These options are relatively easy, quick, and relevant to a student’s life and types of stress .

Get Enough Sleep

Blend Images - Hill Street Studios / Brand X Pictures / Getty Images

Students, with their packed schedules, are notorious for missing sleep. Unfortunately, operating in a sleep-deprived state puts you at a distinct disadvantage. You’re less productive, may find it more difficult to learn, and may even be a hazard behind the wheel.

Research suggests that sleep deprivation and daytime sleepiness are also linked to impaired mood, higher risk for car accidents, lower grade point averages, worse learning, and a higher risk of academic failure.

Don't neglect your sleep schedule. Aim to get at least 8 hours a night and take power naps when needed.

Use Guided Imagery

David Malan / Getty Images

Guided imagery can also be a useful and effective tool to help stressed students cope with academic, social, and other stressors. Visualizations can help you calm down, detach from what’s stressing you, and reduce your body’s stress response.

You can use guided imagery to relax your body by sitting in a quiet, comfortable place, closing your eyes, and imagining a peaceful scene. Spend several minutes relaxing as you enjoy mentally basking in your restful image.

Consider trying a guided imagery app if you need extra help visualizing a scene and inducting a relaxation response. Research suggests that such tools might be an affordable and convenient way to reduce stress.

Exercise Regularly

One of the healthiest ways to blow off steam is to get regular exercise . Research has found that students who participate in regular physical activity report lower levels of perceived stress. While these students still grapple with the same social, academic, and life pressures as their less-active peers, these challenges feel less stressful and are easier to manage.

Finding time for exercise might be a challenge, but there are strategies that you can use to add more physical activity to your day. Some ideas that you might try include:

• Doing yoga in the morning
• Walking or biking to class
• Reviewing for tests with a friend while walking on a treadmill at the gym
• Taking an elective gym class focused on leisure sports or exercise
• Joining an intramural sport

Exercise can help buffer against the negative effects of student stress. Starting now and keeping a regular exercise practice throughout your lifetime can help you live longer and enjoy your life more.

Take Calming Breaths

When your body is experiencing a stress response, you’re often not thinking as clearly as you could be. You are also likely not breathing properly. You might be taking short, shallow breaths. When you breathe improperly, it upsets the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your body.

Studies suggest this imbalance can contribute to various physical symptoms, including increased anxiety, fatigue, stress, emotional problems, and panic attacks.

A quick way to calm down is to practice breathing exercises . These can be done virtually anywhere to relieve stress in minutes.

Because they are fast-acting, breathing exercises are a great way to cope with moments of acute stress , such as right before an exam or presentation. But they can also help manage longer-lasting stress such as dealing with relationships, work, or financial problems.

Practice Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)

Another great stress management technique for students that can be used during tests, before bed, or at other times when stress has you physically wound up is progressive muscle relaxation ( PMR ).

This technique involves tensing and relaxing all muscles until the body is completely relaxed. With practice, you can learn to release stress from your body in seconds. This can be particularly helpful for students because it can be adapted to help relaxation efforts before sleep for a deeper sleep.

Once a person learns how to use PMR effectively, it can be a quick and handy way to induce relaxation in any stressful situation, such as bouts of momentary panic before a speech or exam, dealing with a disagreement with your roommate, or preparing to discuss a problem with your academic advisor.

Listen to Music

A convenient stress reliever that has also shown many cognitive benefits, music can help relieve stress and calm yourself down or stimulate your mind depending on what you need in the moment.

Research has found that playing upbeat music can improve processing speed and memory. Stressed students may find that listening to relaxing music can help calm the body and mind. One study found that students who listened to the sounds of relaxing music were able to recover more quickly after a stressful situation.

Students can harness the benefits of music by playing classical music while studying, playing upbeat music to "wake up" mentally, or relaxing with the help of their favorite slow melodies.

Build Your Support Network

Halfpoint Images / Getty Images

Having emotional support can help create a protective buffer against stress. Unfortunately,  interpersonal relationships can also sometimes be a source of anxiety for students. Changes in friendships, romantic breakups, and life transitions such as moving away for college can create significant upheaval and stress for students.

One way to combat feelings of loneliness and make sure that you have people to lean on in times of need is to expand your support network and nurture your relationships.

Look for opportunities to meet new people, whether it involves joining study groups or participating in other academic, social, and leisure activities.

Remember that different types of relationships offer differing types of support . Your relationships with teachers, counselors, and mentors can be a great source of information and resources that may help you academically. Relationships with friends can provide emotional and practical support.

Widening your social circle can combat student stress on various fronts and ensure you have what you need to succeed.

Eat a Healthy Diet

Niedring/Drentwett / Getty Images

You may not realize it, but your diet can either boost your brainpower or sap you of mental energy. It can also make you more reactive to the stress in your life. As a result, you might find yourself turning to high-sugar, high-fat snacks to provide a temporary sense of relief.

A healthy diet can help combat stress in several ways. Improving your diet can keep you from experiencing diet-related mood swings, light-headedness, and more.

Unfortunately, students are often prone to poor dietary habits. Feelings of stress can make it harder to stick to a consistently healthy diet, but other concerns such as finances, access to cooking facilities, and time to prepare healthy meals can make it more challenging for students.

Some tactics that can help students make healthy choices include:

• Eating regularly
• Carrying a water bottle to class
• Keeping healthy snacks such as fruits and nuts handy
• Limiting caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol intake

Find Ways to Minimize Stress

One way to improve your ability to manage student stress is to look for ways you cut stress out of your life altogether. Evaluate the things that are bringing stress or anxiety into your life. Are they necessary? Are they providing more benefits than the toll they take on your mental health? If the answer is no, sometimes the best option is just to ditch them altogether.

This might mean cutting some extracurricular activities out of your schedule. It might mean limiting your use of social media. Or it might mean learning to say no to requests for your time, energy, and resources. 

While it might be challenging at first, learning how to prioritize yourself and your mental well-being is an important step toward reducing your stress.

Try Mindfulness

When you find yourself dealing with stress—whether it's due to academics, relationships, financial pressures, or social challenges—becoming more aware of how you feel in the moment may help you respond more effectively.

Mindfulness involves becoming more aware of the present moment. Rather than judging, reacting, or avoiding problems, the goal is to focus on the present, become more aware of how you are feeling, observe your reactions, and accept these feelings without passing judgment on them.

Research suggests that mindfulness-based stress management practices can be a useful tool for reducing student stress. Such strategies may also help reduce feelings of anxiety and depression.

A Word From Verywell

It is important to remember that stress isn't the same for everyone. Figuring out what works for you may take some trial and error. A good start is to ensure that you are taking care of yourself physically and emotionally and to experiment with different stress relief strategies to figure out what works best to help you feel less stressed.

If stress and anxiety are causing distress or making it difficult to function in your daily life, it is important to seek help. Many schools offer resources that can help, including face-to-face and online mental health services. You might start by talking to your school counselor or student advisor about the stress you are coping with. You can also talk to a parent, another trusted adult, or your doctor.

If you or a loved one are struggling with anxiety, contact the  Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline  at 1-800-662-4357 for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.

For more mental health resources, see our  National Helpline Database .

American Psychological Association. Stress in America: Are Teens Adopting Adults' Stress Habits?

Leonard NR, Gwadz MV, Ritchie A, et al. A multi-method exploratory study of stress, coping, and substance use among high school youth in private schools . Front Psychol. 2015;6:1028. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01028

Acharya L, Jin L, Collins W. College life is stressful today - Emerging stressors and depressive symptoms in college students . J Am Coll Health . 2018;66(7):655-664. doi:10.1080/07448481.2018.1451869

Beiter R, Nash R, McCrady M, Rhoades D, Linscomb M, Clarahan M, Sammut S. The prevalence and correlates of depression, anxiety, and stress in a sample of college students . J Affect Disord . 2015;173:90-6. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2014.10.054

Hershner SD, Chervin RD. Causes and consequences of sleepiness among college students . Nat Sci Sleep . 2014;6:73-84. doi:10.2147/NSS.S62907

Gordon JS, Sbarra D, Armin J, Pace TWW, Gniady C, Barraza Y. Use of a guided imagery mobile app (See Me Serene) to reduce COVID-19-related stress: Pilot feasibility study . JMIR Form Res . 2021;5(10):e32353. doi:10.2196/32353

Cowley J, Kiely J, Collins D. Is there a link between self-perceived stress and physical activity levels in Scottish adolescents ? Int J Adolesc Med Health . 2017;31(1). doi:10.1515/ijamh-2016-0104

Paulus MP.  The breathing conundrum-interoceptive sensitivity and anxiety .  Depress Anxiety . 2013;30(4):315–320. doi:10.1002/da.22076

Toussaint L, Nguyen QA, Roettger C, Dixon K, Offenbächer M, Kohls N, Hirsch J, Sirois F. Effectiveness of progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing, and guided imagery in promoting psychological and physiological states of relaxation . Evid Based Complement Alternat Med . 2021;2021:5924040. doi:10.1155/2021/5924040.

Gold BP, Frank MJ, Bogert B, Brattico E.  Pleasurable music affects reinforcement learning according to the listener .  Front Psychol . 2013;4:541. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00541

Thoma MV, La Marca R, Brönnimann R, Finkel L, Ehlert U, Nater UM.  The effect of music on the human stress response .  PLoS ONE . 2013;8(8):e70156. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0070156

American Psychological Association. Manage stress: Strengthen your support network .

Nguyen-rodriguez ST, Unger JB, Spruijt-metz D.  Psychological determinants of emotional eating in adolescence.   Eat Disord . 2009;17(3):211-24. doi:10.1080/10640260902848543

Parsons D, Gardner P, Parry S, Smart S. Mindfulness-based approaches for managing stress, anxiety and depression for health students in tertiary education: A scoping review . Mindfulness (N Y) . 2022;13(1):1-16. doi:10.1007/s12671-021-01740-3

By Elizabeth Scott, PhD Elizabeth Scott, PhD is an author, workshop leader, educator, and award-winning blogger on stress management, positive psychology, relationships, and emotional wellbeing.

Brian Hesler, M.D.

Psychiatry & psychology, recent posts.

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5 tips to manage stress

• Balance your mental and emotional health

In today's society, stress and change often are thought of as the same thing. Stress is a physiological and psychological response to a change in a situation the body and mind find to be overwhelming.

With the fast pace of work and home, being constantly inundated with technology and still wanting to have time to connect with those around you, life can feel overwhelming and stressful at times. You may often ask yourself how you should manage stress.

Try these five tips to manage stress and reduce the overall stress of day-to-day activities:

1. use guided meditation..

Guided meditation is a great way to distract yourself from the stress of day-to-day life. There are many guided meditations available online that can help you find five minutes of centered relaxation.

2. Practice deep breathing.

Deep breathing is a great way to reduce the activation of your sympathetic nervous system, which controls the body's response of fight or flight to a perceived threat. Deep breaths taken in for a count of five seconds, held for two seconds and released for a count of five seconds, can help activate your parasympathetic nervous system to rest and digest, which helps reduce the overall stress and anxiety you may be experiencing.

3. Maintain physical exercise and good nutrition.

Physical exercise and nutrition are two important components in how you respond to stress. When your body is healthy, your mind can be healthy and vice versa. Physical exercise is proven to be a great stress reliever and also helps to improve your overall quality of life. Nutrition is important because stress can deplete certain vitamins, such as A, B complex, C and E. Maintaining proper nutrition not only helps your body feel better, but your mind as well, which allows you to better combat stress.

4. Manage social media time.

Spending time on social media sites can become stressful, not only by what you might see on them, but also because the time might best be spent enjoying visiting with friends, being outside enjoying the weather or reading a great book. In addition, many people use social media at night, which may worsen sleep due to increased stress at the exact time people are trying to wind down for the evening, resulting in fewer overall hours of quality sleep.

5. Connect with others.

Humans are social beings. You need to have connections with people to feel supported. Finding a sense of community, whether at work, with a religious organization or through shared activities, such as organized sports, is important to your well-being. Enjoying a shared activity allows you to find support and foster relationships that can be supportive in difficult times.

Brian Hesler, M.D. , is a psychiatrist in Psychiatry & Psychology in Albert Lea , Minnesota.

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• Stress Essay

IELTS Stress Essay

This is a model IELTS stress essay. It is about stress in modern society and how to prevent it.

It is a causes and solutions type essay. In other words, you have to identify what causes stressand then suggest solutions.

Stress is now a major problem in many countries around the world.

What are some of the factors in modern society that cause this stress and how can we reduce it?

This type of essay lends itself to two body paragraphs - one explaining the causes and the next discussing some possible solutions.

As is important with any IELTS essay, you must always read the question carefully.

The topic is often narrowed down to a particular group of people or topic.

Narrowing Down the Topic

The key here is that ' modern society ' is mentioned.

If you just talk about stress in general but don't connect it to modern society you may be in danger of not fully answering the question .

You need to brainstorm some issues specific to the world we live in today that may result in stress.

What things effect us today that did not (or not too such an extent) 10, 20, 30 years ago?

Using Personal Pronouns

Also, you may notice that ' we ' is used a lot in the stress essay.

Remember an IELTS essay is not quite the same as an academic essay you will normally write. It is can be more personal as you only have your own experience to support your answer with.

You should avoid too many personal pronouns if possible such as ' I ' throughout the essay but you may wish to use this to give your opinion or examples from your own experience at times. This is ok, but don't overdo it.

This question specifically says how can ' we ' reduce it. So it is already making it personal. So it is ok to write about what all of us, or ' we ', can do.

Model Stress Essay

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

What are some of the factors in modern society that cause this stress, and how can we reduce it?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience or knowledge.

Write at least 250 words.

Stress Essay Model Answer

Stress is a problem that can have detrimental effects on many people’s lives, and there are various factors in modern society responsible for this. However, there are ways to limit the potential impacts.

The modern world we live in today presents us with many issues that we did not have to cope with in the past. Firstly, there are issues of terrorism that we are constantly confronted with in the media. Whether these are real or not, we are led to believe our lives are in constant danger, be it flying on a plane or travelling on public transport. Climate change is another worry that everyone has to face. The results of a significant rise in temperatures could radically affect our ways of life, and our children’s too. There are also more health issues to be concerned about than in the past, with rises in alzheimer’s, diabetes, and stroke to name but a few. All of these concerns can result in stress.

Tackling such problems will not be easy, but there are measures that can be taken. Governments and the media could play their part by ensuring that instead of persistently bombarding us with such negative images and information about the world in which we live, we are given more positive stories too. However, given this is unlikely to happen, we need to develop our own strategies to distract us from these influences. Of course exercising regularly is one thing we should do as this has been shown to increase endorphin levels and lead to feelings of happiness. Sleeping enough helps us to recuperate and restore our body. Finally, eating properly can improve our health and result in less worry about potential diseases.

All in all, although there are many factors around us today which lead to stress, we can take steps to reduce it. Given that the strains we face in modern society will likely get worse, ignoring it is not an option for many people.

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A trick to reduce stress? Spend 20 seconds a day doing this easy practice

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Eli Susman was a fairly experienced meditator when he attended a month-long retreat at Plum Village, a Buddhist monastery in Southern France in 2017.

The UC Berkeley PhD candidate in clinical science had been on other retreats where participants spent most of their time meditating. So he was surprised when he saw that the daily Plum Village retreat schedule included only 30 minutes of formal seated meditation a day.

Midway through the retreat he decided to extend one of his sessions, sitting beneath a tree for three hours. Later, he ran into a monk named Brother Treasure and told him about his practice. The monk’s response was not what he expected.

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“Three hours?” Susman remembers Brother Treasure telling him with a smile. “How about three breaths? That’s all it takes to step into the present moment.”

The words stuck with Susman. It led him to wonder whether an abbreviated practice that takes no more than a few breaths can make a difference in someone’s life.

Seven years later, he and his colleagues at Berkeley’s Golden Bear Sleep and Mood Research Clinic have evidence that it might. Earlier this year they published a paper online in the journal Behaviour Research and Therapy that describes how a simple 20-second self-compassion “micropractice” lowered stress levels and improved the mental health of undergraduate volunteers who did it every day for a month.

“Two of the biggest barriers people have for developing a meditation habit is having the time to do it and developing the habit of doing it regularly,” Susman said. “Micropactices are like tiny training sessions that are based on the most potent parts of therapeutic practices.”

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Below, Susman describes the practice he developed for the study and explains how anyone can use it to try to feel better in less than one minute a day.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.

How do you describe the 20-second self-compassion micropractice that you studied?

The instructions we gave were to close your eyes and call to mind something about yourself that has been bothering you and making you feel unworthy, unloved or not enough and notice what arises in the body.

Then we asked people to send kindness and warmth to themselves by placing one hand over the heart and another over the belly with the energy of giving themselves a hug and notice what arises in the body now.

Next, we invited them to ask themselves, “How can I be a friend to myself in this moment?”

Finally we told them to open their eyes when they were ready.

And doing this for 20 seconds a day really made a difference in the lives of study participants?

Yes, but it only worked for people who practiced it regularly. In our study we looked at the subset of people who practiced daily and at the whole sample of people who were given the instruction.

More frequent practice was associated with greater increase in self-compassion and a greater reduction in stress and mental health problems like symptoms of depression or anxiety compared to a control group.

What are some ways that people can send kindness and warmth to themselves?

The key phrase we used in the study was “How can I be a friend to myself in this moment?” What we meant by that is imagine you were seeing a friend or your younger self in a similar situation and you were being really caring to that friend. What would you tell them to do? How would you ask them to be?

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You can also imagine yourself receiving unconditional love from someone like a mentor, a parent or a close friend. How would they relate to you in this moment of suffering? Is there a way you can give that same compassion to yourself?

Does it matter where people do this practice?

We didn’t look at that, but that’s a great question.

Why is it helpful for people to touch their stomach and chest while doing the exercise?

There has been so much work on touch and how beneficial it can be for people to receive touch, but it had not been looked at as a standalone intervention for emotional well-being in terms of people offering self-compassionate touch to themselves. I was interested in the synergy between thinking self-compassionate thoughts and doing this embodied form of self-compassionate touch. It offers two potential ways of regulating yourself.

I should also say that we told participants they could choose other forms of touch like stroking yourself on the cheeks or giving yourself a hug. What’s most important is that the method of touch supports you in feeling compassionately toward yourself.

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I was surprised that the majority of students who participated in the study said they were too busy to do this 20-second practice everyday. What’s that about?

I was just joking with a friend about this, and she said that when people are stressed they can get wrapped up in feeling like they can’t take 20 seconds to pause. It might be more a mind-set than a reality, but there is more work to be done on how to help people feel like those 20 seconds are going to make a difference in their lives. We wash our hands for 20 seconds. We brush our teeth for two minutes. Why not take 20 seconds to do this?

Do you have any advice on how people can make this practice a habit?

It can be helpful to choose a cue. You can practice after morning coffee in the living room or whenever you’re feeling stressed if you can get yourself to do it then. The more specific you are in describing your cue and developing your plan the more likely you are to develop the practice into a habit.

Does this research suggest there is no reason to do a longer practice?

Most of the participants in our study were novice meditators or people who had never meditated before, so we don’t know how this would look with people who have a really dedicated meditation practice or are very experienced with meditation. Rigorous research is needed for whether shorter practices have advantages over longer practices, and for whom those advantages may be most pronounced.

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Also, just like brushing teeth is not a replacement for going to the dentist, this micropractice should not be a replacement for therapy or more intensive mental health care.

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5 Simple Daily Resets To Reduce Stress and Burnout, According to a Doctor

They’re easy to integrate in your daily life, and you’ll be glad you did.

There’s a good chance you’ve experienced extreme stress and serious burnout recently. With all of life's constant demands, it's hard not to feel exhausted. But what if there were some easy tools to help make your life a little less stressful?

Harvard physician Dr. Aditi Nerurka may have some answers. She has been studying stress and burnout after suffering from her own experience and not getting the medical attention she needed. Instead, she had to learn new ways to cope on her own stress, which she offers to the rest of us in her new book The 5 Resets . The book discusses a simple regimen to help reduce stress and burnout for a happier, healthier, and more fulfilled life.

In her book, Dr. Nerurka says stress isn’t necessarily the enemy, and when you have a healthy amount, it can allow you to propel forward and adapt to whatever life brings. The trick is finding that sweet spot where your stress doesn't overwhelm you. In The 5 Resets , she provides helpful tools and techniques that can help reset your stress so you can feel better all around.

Related: How to Be Happy: 15 Extremely Practical Tips for More Happiness in Your Life

Get Clear on What Matters Most

This reset is all about determining what matters most to you and getting in the right mindset to receive it. In the book, Dr. Nerurka discusses three techniques to help target your goals without causing a lot of added stress in the process.

• MOST Goal: To help narrow down your goals, Dr. Nerurka suggests using a technique that involves writing down a list of goals and choosing the one that motivates you the most (and that is also easily attainable), so you can make simple changes to reach it. She says it’s essential to keep your goal small so nothing can stand in your way and ensure that it is one you can achieve sooner rather than later.
• Backwards Plan: Get a visual representation of your journey by writing it down to see how you’re doing. Here, you’ll start with your end goal and work backward, jotting down each step you take to get there in reverse order.
• Find Buried Treasure: Go back in your mind to determine what has brought you joy in your life, then add that to your daily routine for roughly 10-20 minutes.

Find Quiet in a Noisy World

By "noisy", Dr. Nerurka is referring to the countless digital distractions on our phones, which could be contributing to a lot of our everyday stress. No surprise there. However, she says you don’t have to even be on the phone to experience worsening stress-related conditions and poor concentration. As Dr. Nerurka puts it in the book, just the presence of your phone can distract you and decrease your brainpower.

She says this is the reset that lets you reflect on the relationship you have with your phone and take back the control it has over you. Start with simple steps like limiting your screen time, creating a physical boundary from your phone, and unsubscribing to automated news alerts and push notifications.

Sync Your Brain and Your Body

“Your brain and your body are in constant communication and inextricably linked,” Dr. Nerurka explains in the book. During this reset, you'll get a better understanding of that connection, while uncovering ways to sync the two to help manage your stress . One of the methods she discusses in the book is Stop-Breathe-Be, where you physically stop where you are, take a deep inhale and exhale, and then ground yourself in the present.

Dr. Nerurka also iterates the importance of exercise when you’re stressed, but it doesn't have to be a whole hour-long sweaty workout. Simply walking and remembering to take breaks throughout the day can make a positive impact on your stress levels.

Come Up for Air

Speaking of breaks, your brain really needs a breather, especially when life gets busy. Breaks may even help you be more productive, Dr. Nerurka says, by creating “healthy boundaries to maintain your energy and focus and feel more in control as you juggle your many roles.”

To do this, Dr. Nerurka's book explains three methods:

• The Goldilocks Principle: Find your healthy stress level to feel motivated, but not overwhelmed.
• The Magic of Monotasking: Create time blocks to work on one task and one task only.
• The Fake Commute: Take time in the morning to gradually transition from home mode to work mode by going for a walk or grabbing a coffee outside of the home.

Bring Your Best Self Forward

We all have an inner critic, which doesn’t help with stress. Dr. Nerurka says to ditch the stubborn critic, it’s important to catalog your gratitude by writing down what you’re grateful for no matter how small. She also suggests expressing yourself through writing to release any emotions or tensions that may be weighing you down that day.

Related: Journaling Is Scientifically Linked to Happiness—Here Are 5 Easy Tips to Start Writing More

The Bottom Line

Dr. Nerurka says you can start by just making two changes in your daily life at first so you don’t get too overwhelmed. If you do start feeling frustrated by the process with one day being more productive than another, that’s OK. What you’re feeling is normal, and it’s important to stay consistent. As Dr. Nerurka puts it, “No matter your trajectory or speed, trust that you’re making progress on your stress journey, because you are."

For more Real Simple news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

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Spring serves as an annual cue to clean out and reset, so this is the perfect time to dust the cobwebs off of your wellness routine, too. Plus, April is National Stress Awareness Month — so what better time to commit to our mental health by moving in ways that feel good and can help release tension?

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• Arts & Humanities

10 Popular Ways to Reduce Stress

13 Jul 2022

• Arts & Humanities

Format: APA

Academic level: College

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• Stress Essays

Stress can be defined as the human reaction to adversities such as extremely demanding situations, grief, or danger. In modern times, stress factors have increased ranging from family problems, financial issues, work problems, to grief. The existence of a stress factor is only one part of the development of stress, with the second being how an individual will react to a specific stress factor ( Bamuhair et al., 2015 ) . When there is a valid stress factor and an adverse reaction to it, then an individual can be said to be stressed. Different people adopt different ways of reducing stress with the popular ways being classified into effective and non-effective, formal and informal, and legal and illegal ways. 

The first category of popular ways to reduce stress can be defined as effective and non-effective, with effective ways being those that are known to work while non-effective ones are those that either does not work or end up making the situation worse. When it comes to stress, the subject is so wide and complex that many people try different things to solve it. Effective ways of handling stress are those that either eliminate the stress factor or assist the individual to handle the stress (Miedziun & Czabała, 2015). For example, an effective way to deal with marital stress is to openly talk about the problem, including therapy. Among the most ineffective approach commonly used is the silence treatment where couples refuse to talk to one another, hence only making a bad situation worse. 

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Formal ways of reducing stress are those used either in a professional setting or under professional superintendence while informal popular ways will include the day to day approaches to stress reduction that is not based on any psychological phenomena. The formal ways are prescribed by professionals, either directly through visiting a psychologist or indirectly through following a published approach to stress management ( Bamuhair et al., 2015 ) . Formal approaches are only used when stress becomes an active and potentially debilitating problem. A psychologist, for instance, can advise a stressed person to run fingers on their lips to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system in order to calm the body and the mind. Informal ways are not based on any sound science but may or may not be effective. Good examples of informal approaches are going for a run, taking a walk, dancing, singing or participating in some sporting activity. 

Most of the popular ways to reduce stress may be legal, but there are also illegal popular ways such as resulting in the use of narcotics. With stress being such as a common issue in modern society, not all popular ways to solve it fall within the law (Miedziun & Czabała, 2015). Illegal popular ways of solving stress can be defined as all the ways where a known law is broken. However, many illegal approaches to stress reduction have become popular over time. For example, many people believe that a physical confrontation with a person who is acting as a stress factor is a sound stress mitigation measure, yet fighting is illegal unless done as a regulated sporting activity. Other people will also recourse to excess consumption of alcohol or the use of narcotics all of which are illegal. A legal way of reducing stress may include meditating or yoga 

The three sets of classifications above represent popular ways in which people extenuate stress in different settings. Extenuating stress in this context refers to the common ways, approached, and strategies that people use to either avoid stress when there is a stress factor or reduce stress and its vagaries. Most popular ways to reduce stress can be generally said to be effective since even a placebo effect is an actual effect when it comes to stress. The second and third classifications of formal and informal on the one hand, and legal or illegal are thus, more definitive than the effective and ineffective classification. 

References 

Bamuhair, S. S., Al Farhan, A. I., Althubaiti, A., Agha, S., & Ibrahim, N. O. (2015). Sources of stress and coping strategies among undergraduate medical students enrolled in a problem-based learning curriculum.  Journal of Biomedical Education ,  2015. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/575139 

Miedziun, P., & Czabała, J. C. (2015). Stress management techniques.  Archives of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy ,  4 , 23-30 

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