79 Instant Stress-Busters (page 3 of 4)

Give Compliments and More Tips

45. Repeat three times: “I’m doing the best I can,” and accept that you can’t control the current situation.

46. When the phone rings, wait to answer until the third or fourth ring. Breathe deeply a few times and tell yourself to relax.

47. Rub warm sesame oil (found in health food stores, not the cooking aisle) on your forehead. Sesame, a calming salve, is the only oil that penetrates all seven layers of the skin.

48. Write down every possible solution to the problem you are facing. Then let it go. Then write down everything you are thankful for.

49. Keep a running list of compliments and kudos on your computer or in your journal. Read the list when you’re frazzled and down.

50. Quickie yoga: Standing up straight, put the ball of one foot on top of the other. As you breathe in, bring arms up over your head and touch palm to palm. Bring hands down on the exhale and repeat on the other side.

51. Do a free relaxation exercise at stressremedy.com.

52. Pat a kitten.

53. Say a prayer.

54. DIY reflexology: Tug your earlobe with your thumb and forefinger. Gently pull and let your fingers slide off the ear.

55. Plug in a jasmine-scented air freshener (such as Glade Plug-In). Research subjects who slept in a jasmine-scented room snoozed better and were more alert the next day than those who didn’t.

56. Take a walk and think about five things you are thankful for. Research shows it’s physiologically impossible to be stressed and thankful at the same time.

57. Visit topfive.com for a funny top five list every day.

58. Think of someone you love and read your favorite romantic poem aloud.

59. When you encounter a discourteous driver, try to shift focus to all the good drivers around you. Just five minutes of positive focus raises immune system function for six hours, while focusing on those you resent has the opposite effect.

60. Spray peppermint Motor Mist Spritz in your car. Peppermint, studies show, decreases anxiety and fatigue while driving, easing frustration behind the wheel.

61. Quickie yoga in the car: Before you start the ignition, lay arms palms up in your lap, take a deep breath through your nose. As you exhale, stick your tongue out and try to touch the tip of your chin. Then, your eyes looking up between your brows, bring your hands up as if you were going to pounce and roar as loudly as you can.

62. Remember being soothed to sleep by a bedtime story? Pop in an audiobook narrated by Barbara Caruso, one of AudioFile magazine’s Golden Voices. Her newest: The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery.

63. Chew cinnamon gum, which gave study subjects more energy and alertness, cutting down on stress.

64. Go to Lime.com. Enter the “room” of your choice—winter room, floral room, forest room, water room or Zen room—launch it and watch a calming nature image slowly appear on your screen, mesmerizing you as it disintegrates and reforms into a new scene every 10 seconds.

65. Melaniegriffith.com’s meditation room lets you pick a mantra for one of six different topics, including health, relationships and spirituality, which you repeat while watching a video of nature close-ups.

66. Gracecathedral.org has an online “finger” version of the Labyrinth, an ancient maze on which you can walk as you reflect and meditate.

67. Onegoddessway.com gives you a choice of several soothing nature scenes with audio, including a tranquil waterfall and fire in a hearth.

68. Drink a glass of milk. It contains tryptophane, which as it is metabolized is converted to mood-boosting serotonin. Plus, its calcium, magnesium and potassium content may help keep blood pressure down.

69. Eat broccoli and low-fat ranch dip. Broccoli has folic acid, which aids stress reduction.

70. Enjoy sorbet with a vanilla sugar wafer. Sugary foods decrease levels of anxiety-producing hormones, specifically through the production of glucocorticoid, a stress hormone linked to storing more fat in the belly. Just a little sugar on the tongue is enough to produce a feel-good effect, so don’t overdo it!

71. Have a whole grain English muffin with jam or honey. Complex carbohydrate-rich foods raise serotonin levels, boosting your mood and helping you relax.

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