For most of us, stress is a constant. But every break you give
yourself helps, says Alice Domar, PhD, a pioneer in mind-body medicine.
“Even just a minute of rest will calm your autonomic nervous system,
giving you time to recover,” she says. “If you can squeeze in 20
cumulative minutes a day for a few weeks, you can reset your whole
system, making your body less sensitive to stress hormones.” Here, a few
quick suggestions.
1 minute: Breathe out
“When we get stressed, we tend to breathe very shallowly or hold our
breath,” says Domar. “Deep, diaphragmatic breaths increase your oxygen
intake and create a sense of calm.” To make sure you’re breathing from
your diaphragm (not your chest), place one hand about an inch above your
belly button; as you inhale for a count of four, your belly should
expand by about an inch.
2 minutes: Eat (a little) chocolate
A study published in the
Journal of Proteome Research found
that eating an average-size bar of dark chocolate (1.4 ounces) a day for
two weeks helped reduce peoples’ stress hormones. But in order to skip
the blood sugar crash, Domar recommends having just one square: “Focus
on enjoying it mindfully, without doing anything else at the same time.”
3 minutes: Stare at a picture of a snowflake
Or a nautilus shell, fern branch or lightning strike. They all
exhibit fractal patterns, which can help your mind unwind, per a
University of Oregon study. When people took a break from a taxing task
by gazing at fractal images, their stress response was 44 percent lower
than when they looked at a control image.
10 minutes: Get crafty
A study in the
Journal of Nursing Scholarship found that
arts and crafts helped relax people who were caring for cancer-stricken
relatives. If you don’t know your knit from your purl, try one of the
new coloring books for grown-ups, like the Posh Adult Coloring Book:
Soothing Designs for Fun & Relaxation ($13;
amazon.com).
15 minutes: Brew some tea
“Green tea contains an amino acid derivative, theanine, that has been
shown to impact alpha brain waves and promote a sense of relaxation,”
says Wendy Bazilian, RD, author of
The SuperFoodsRx Diet.
Chamomile has also been found to ease symptoms of anxiety. Even
compounds in black tea may impact neurotransmitters in the brain: People
who drank four cups a day for six weeks had lower levels of cortisol
after a stressful event than a control group did, according to a study
in
Psychopharmacology.
20 minutes: Step outside
Taking a walk can increase your levels of norepinephrine, a chemical
that helps the brain deal with stress, and doing light activity outdoors
has been shown to greatly boost a person’s mood and energy, according
to researchers at the University of Essex in England. If you can’t stop
ruminating, consider listening to a podcast while you’re out for a
stroll. (One of our favorites: NPR’s
Invisibilia, which features short, engrossing tales about the forces that control human behavior.)
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