Techniques for stressful days

WE all have those days, when nothing seems to be going your way.

You spill coffee on your shirt, shut your finger in the door, your car decides not to start, you accidentally delete that report you’ve been working on for months and next thing you know it’s all built up to one huge wave of emotion!

Anger, sadness, frustration and anxiety all builds up at once and it can be difficult to deal with in a healthy, balanced manner.

According to various studies, in these instances there are small calming techniques that only take a minute or two but work to lower the heart rate and provide some small stress relief.

Chewing gum – A study conducted by CardiffUniversity’s Centre for Occupational and Health Psychology found evidence to suggest that chewing gum can often prevent the effect of acute stress.

Laugh – Researchers in numerous studies have found that laughter significantly reduces stress hormones in the body, so take five minutes to read or watch something funny and lift your mood.

Tea – Drink a good old fashioned British cuppa. Studies have revealed that people who drink tea have lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol in their blood. Therefore drinking tea regularly could prevent high stress levels.