In the first two parts of “Stress – An Overview”, I examined the different types of stress and the impact that chronic stress can have on the body and mind. This section, the last of three in the series, looks at stress hygiene.
Stress hygiene
We clean our teeth every day, not because our teeth are diseased, but to prevent our teeth getting diseased. Clean your teeth is a simple daily practice that we have in order to maintain dental hygiene. In the same way, there are practices we can all put in place in order to maintain our mental hygiene, in particular, how stress response.
Things we can do on a regular basis to help improve. Our stress hygiene levels are:
- Sleep – getting enough good quality sleep is important for your stress levels.
- Exercise – just as exercise helps your physical body. It will also help control stress levels.
- Focus on the positive – sometimes negative things happen, and, yes, we have to think about them, but to get the balance right and spend more of your time thinking about the positive things in life than the negative.
- Positive action – do something. Do anything. Do something that is worthwhile to you and to your friends and family.
- Interacting with friends and family – positive interaction will always help your stress levels decrease.
- Me-time – Make sure that you have some me-time, that is time that you can spend relaxing.
- Focus – take up an activity that allows you to focus your brain mind and train it to remain focused. For example, mindfulness, yoga, meditation, tai chi.
References
Effects of stress on the body
https://www.healthline.com/health/stress/effects-on-body
Different types of stress.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/open-gently/201812/the-three-types-stress
Eustress
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/eustress-vs-distress
Photo by George Pagan III on Unsplash
