7 Ways To Relieve Stress

below are seven wonderful ways to bring stress relief effortlessly into your life.

1) Prepare your next work day before you leave. Take a few minutes to make a to-do list, get organized and clean up before you leave. This will help you not think about work later in the evening. When you do come back to work, you'll feel like you're in control of the situation, and you can handle it.

2) Bring snacks to ease the "Comfort Food" cravings that often go hand-in-hand with increased stress levels. Try to keep three or four snacks on hand. Different items can include peanuts if you like something salty; string cheese if you have a craving for protein; a *small* amount of chocolate for the sweets cravings.

3) Frequently wash your hands. Stress suppresses the immune system, making you more susceptible to cold viruses and other germs. Frequent hand washing is your best defense against these germs and viruses.

4) Put on some music. "Heart," a British medical journal recently published a study that showed slow or meditative music is a proven stress buster.

5) Go jump in a lake! The "International Journal of Stress Management" published a recent Swedish study that found floating in water will trigger the body's relax response. 80 percent of those studied reported improvements in depression and stress from floating in water.

6) Keep your work at the office: The "Journal of Marriage and Family" published a recent study that found increased stress when cell phones and pagers at home spilled over into people's family life. If you can't turn off your cell phone or pager when the workday is over, screen calls and limit work-related cell phone calls. Checking e-mails only during work hours also brings stress relieving benefits.

7) Make like a pretzel and twist: A simple night-time spinal twist can help you get a better nights sleep by alleviating built up tension in your lower back. To do the twist;
- Sit on your bed with legs crossed.
- Place your right hand down on the bed behind you and rest your left hand on your right knee.
- Sit up straight, inhale for four to eight counts and lengthen your spine as you breathe.
- When exhaling, gently twist toward your right hand without straining your neck. - Hold in this position for four more full breaths. With each inhale, lengthen your spine. Gently deepen your twist with each exhale.
- Repeat on the opposite side.