5 Key Strategies for Managing Stress

In our modern lives, stress is ever-present. Leading a balanced life is key, as it's not just about what we do, but how we approach challenges. Finding harmony in daily routines and mindfulness empowers us to navigate stress with resilience. Here are 5 key strategies for managing stress:

Exercise. Research indicates that people who engage in regular exercise tend to exhibit less stress and anxiety than those who don't (Hays 1999). It doesn't seem to matter whether the activity is aerobic or nonaerobic; what's important is doing it. Pick a variety of activities that you enjoy (or can at least tolerate), remember to warm up each time, and do them regularly (three or four times a week is best). Don't overdo it and ask your physician's advice before starting a new or strenuous fitness regimen. The benefits typically begin to develop quite quickly, often within three to four weeks.

Eat well. Eating irregular meals of greasy, unhealthy food while on the run appears to increase our vulnerability to stress. Regular, nutritionally balanced meals are a better option. These don't have to be elaborate, multicourse feasts that require hours to plan and cook. Relatively simple measures, such as choosing salads over french fries or taking the time to sit down and eat calmly, can have a big impact. Some people find that the simple sugars found in sweets cause rollercoaster changes in mood ranging from speediness to lethargy; complex carbohydrates may be a better option. Consult with your physician for guidelines on proper eating and nutrition or check the internet for a copy of your country's dietary guidelines or food guide.

Get enough sleep. Lots of people don't get enough sleep, and sleep deprivation clearly contributes to stress vulnerability. Make getting a good night's sleep a high priority in your life. Most people need between seven and nine hours of sleep each night for best performance, though there are wide individual differences. For best results, maintain a regular bedtime and rising time. Changing these times over the course of your week can easily disrupt the body's twenty-four-hour sleep/wake cycle. Ensure that your sleeping environment is conducive to sleep in terms of temperature, quiet, and darkness. If you have difficulty sleeping, consult your physician. You may also find it helpful to consult a book on sleep problems, such as The Insomnia Workbook (Sil-berman 2009).

Watch your caffeine intake. Caffeine is an addictive substance that chemically stimulates the stress response system. The primary sources of caffeine are coffee (about 200 mg per 8 oz. cup, or 90 mg per espresso shot), tea (about 70 mg per cup), caffeinated soft drinks (30-60 mg per cup), and chocolate (about 25 mg in a small bar). If anxiety, fear, and/ or anger are significant difficulties for you or if you have trouble sleeping, try moderating your caffeine intake. If you consume more than about 450 mg per day (depending on your body weight and other factors), sudden withdrawal could very well result in headaches, irritability, and difficulty concentrating. To avoid these reactions, reduce your intake gradually. Although caffeine and its effects are not themselves dangerous for most people, excessive intake can play a significant role in stress-related problems.

Lead a balanced life. Do you work sixteen hours a day? Do you try to juggle too many tasks? Do you often find yourself multitasking (talking on the phone while eating, watching television, and filling out your income tax form all at the same time)? If so, then stress management may not be the problem. Your life is the problem. You may lead a life that naturally and predictably causes you to feel chronically stressed. As a result, you'll find yourself gravitating toward passive, aggressive, and/or passive-aggressive behavior. Furthermore, you probably aren't having much fun. Although you might still learn a great deal from the skills in this workbook, you may seriously need to consider cutting back in some areas of your life. Remember, no one ever reaches the end of life and says, "I wish I'd spent more time at the office."

Adopt mindfulness practice. People are often stressed because they are constantly thinking about stressful encounters from the past or anticipating difficulties in the future. It's hard for them to remain in the present. Mindfulness practices emphasize gently bringing the mind back to the here and now and experiencing the world as directly as we can, rather than through the filter of our worry. Regular practice can also help us to recognize when we're reacting to our actual surroundings and when, instead, we're reacting to a distressing story we've made up about what's going on. Meditation and mindfulness classes are available in most communities, and you can also learn about these strategies from books, including A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook (Stahl and Goldstein 2019).

The strategies we've discussed are ways to reduce your vulnerability to stress. They can make it less likely that your stress response will be activated needlessly, and less intense when it does occur.