Good Health Habits Everyone Can Follow for Better Stress Management

You will always encounter an anxiety-inducing scenario throughout your life. Whether it’s getting stuck in an EDSA traffic jam or feeling burned out, challenges come as naturally as rain in August. You just have to learn how to roll with the punches. You can’t avoid stress, but you can prepare for it. Adopting good health habits can help you cope with tension and worries.

The dimensions of health do not function independently from each other. For example, stress and depression, signs of poor emotional health, can manifest physically with weight loss, sleeplessness, and decreased appetite. On the other hand, active social life can help you cope with mental concerns. Whatever good health habits you adopt – whether you cut back on sugar or begin a journal – will affect the synergy of all these aspects of health.

A study published in the Open Journal of Medical Psychology shows that poor self-care habits cause stress among college students in an American university. A separate experiment, published in 2018 in the BMC Journal, also validates how lifestyle choices can affect anxiety levels. Stress prevention doesn’t have to be a grand event. Rather, it can be a series of small but concerted efforts in your daily grind.

From your diet to how you process information, here are some lifestyle tweaks and tips on how to prevent stress.

The fact that there’s a term called “stress eating” already shows food’s effect on soothing anxiety. However, it shouldn’t be freely interpreted. According to findings published in the August 2015 edition of the journal Stress, your nutrition intake can influence the body’s neural functions in charge of emotions, motivations, and mood. Certain nutrients, such as Vitamin C and B, selenium, and magnesium can help calm you down. A 2017 study in Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Behavioral Medicine also correlates gut health to feelings.

Junk food can make you feel good, but the effect is usually temporary and can lead you to a downward spiral of dependency. Instead, indulge in the comfort of antioxidant-rich dark chocolate, hearty salmon, and probiotic-rich yogurt. If you tend to channel your nerves by eating or chewing, snack on nuts instead.

When you understand that you can neither control nor hold on to everything, you’ll feel much lighter. Go through life doing your best, but understand that not everything is about you, there are some things you cannot plan, and not everything has to be taken seriously. Lighten up, loosen up! In the immortal words of Taylor Swift, shake it off.

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According to research from the University of St. Augustine, laughing relaxes the muscles, coaxes the release of happy chemicals endorphins, decreases the levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and improves cardiovascular health. Laughter is truly the best medicine.

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You may not realize it, but painting and coloring can be good health habits. You don’t even have to be the next Van Gogh to reap the therapeutic effects of creative pursuits. Based on the BMC study, even visiting museums or attending concerts can lower the risk of mental health problems and boost positive mental health.

You can manage stress passively, too. For example, line up scented candles in your workstation to help you manage office pressure. Paint your room green or blue, which, according to a 2015 article in PLOS One, are colors associated with tranquility and peace. This seemingly simple fashion choice may even improve your sleep.

Another suggestion is to turn your bathroom into your private sanctuary. Bathing is one of the most common ways to relieve stress. Add crystals around your tub to promote positive energy. Fill your shelf with chamomile or lavender-scented products, such as Dove Relaxing Lavender Body Wash. The floral-smelling lather can soothe your senses and pacify your mood.

Let’s be honest: if you’re loathe to exercise, working out may be the most difficult to turn into good health habits. However, it can be the most rewarding. The well-rounded health benefits of exercise are well-known. Not only does it take care of your physical well-being, but it also has an impact on your emotional, mental, and even social health (find a gym buddy to keep you accountable).

According to Harvard Health, on average, adults must perform at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of rigorous exercise a week to be healthy. You can alternate your days between light exertions like walking or more demanding efforts like boxing. Fitness apps are also a terrific way to figure out the best exercise for you.

You don't need to go through hurdles to integrate good health habits into your lifestyle. Once you get past the initial adjustment, they’ll make your life much easier.