how to reduce stress Archives

June 6, 2023 By Sunita Arora 3 Comments

Deep Breathing Techniques to Help You Beat Stress

Picture this: You’re sitting at your desk, tackling mountains of paperwork and crunching numbers on Excel like a keyboard wizard. Just when you thought you had it all under control, bam! You’re summoned to a meeting and bombarded with even more projects. Your desk is now drowning in a sea of paperwork, and you find yourself juggling tasks like a stressed-out circus performer. Deadlines loom ominously, and stress levels skyrocket. It’s like being trapped in a never-ending desk nightmare. Yikes! But fear not, for there is a simple solution to vanquish stress in this chaotic scenario: Deep Breathing!

Deep breathing is the secret weapon you’ve been searching for, and it doesn’t require any fancy equipment or a specific time and place. It’s a stress-busting technique that works wonders! When you take a moment to breathe deeply, your brain sends signals to your body, coaxing it to relax. By incorporating deep breathing into your routine, you can reap all the incredible benefits it has to offer.

What Are These Magical Benefits?

Zen-like Calm: Deep breathing has the power to soothe your mind and nervous system. You can literally feel the stress melt away!
Oxygen Boost: Ah, sweet oxygen! Deep breathing helps you take in more of this life-giving gas, nourishing your body and brain.
Heart Party: Your heart deserves some love, and deep breathing delivers. It lowers your heart rate, respiratory rates, and blood pressure, giving your ticker a much-needed break.
Sleepy Time: Need to catch some Z’s? Deep breathing is your go-to sandman. It helps you drift off to dreamland, soothes your muscles, and even speeds up your meditation mojo.
Stress Ninja: When tension strikes during exams, interviews, or dreaded deadlines, deep breathing comes to the rescue. Consider it your trusty stress-busting sidekick.
Energy Flow: Deep breathing helps clean and rejuvenate your body’s energy channels, like a refreshing spa day for your inner chi. It keeps your heating and cooling cycles in check, so you can stay balanced and invigorated.
Breath of Fresh Air: Say goodbye to shortness of breath! Deep breathing prevents pesky air from getting trapped in your lungs, making you feel refreshed, centered, and ready to take on the world.

Now that you’re armed with this knowledge, let’s dive into two simple yet effective deep breathing exercises.

1. Simple Abdominal Breathing Exercise

Feeling anxious? No problem! Try this relaxation technique that you can perform anywhere, anytime – standing, sitting, or lying down.

To practice this technique, you need to:

Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose. Keep your shoulders relaxed. Your abdomen should expand and your chest should rise slightly.
Exhale slowly through your mouth. As you blow the air out, purse your lips slightly, but keep your jaw relaxed. You may hear a soft “whooshing” sound as you exhale.
Repeat this breathing exercise for several minutes.

Begin with just 5 minutes. If you feel 5 minutes are too long, you can start with just 2 minutes. Increase the time when you begin finding it easier and comfortable. You can practice this multiple times a day.

2. Equal Breathing

Now, let’s take deep breathing to the next level with some equal breathing magic. This technique focuses on inhales and exhales of the same duration, usually between 3 and 5 counts. Once you’ve mastered it, you can do it during yoga, or even while conquering your daily activities.

To practice this technique:

Take a comfortable seated position and breathe in and out through your nose only.
Count during each inhale and exhale to make sure they are even in duration. Alternatively, choose a word or short phrase to repeat during each inhale and exhale.
You can take a slight pause after each inhale and exhale if you feel comfortable (normal breathing involves a natural pause).
Continue practicing this breathing technique for at least 5 minutes and you can increase the duration up to 10-15 minutes.

So there you have it! Deep breathing is your ticket to a calmer, more relaxed you. Remember, stress may try to trap you at your desk, but with these breathing exercises in your arsenal, you’ll be the master of stress, deadlines, and paperwork mayhem. Take a deep breath and let the relaxation flow through your veins like a cool breeze on a sunny day. You’ve got this!

If this article helped you, let us know your thoughts in the comments below. You can find more articles and techniques to beat stress here. You can also reach out to a GOQii Coach for expert guidance by subscribing to Personalised Health Coaching here.

#BeTheForce

June 2, 2022 By GOQii 6 Comments

How You Can Manage Stress With Nutrition!

Stress and nutrition have always been linked – it’s a fact that has been in existence for years. It’s no rocket science to realize that someone with a healthy and balanced diet is likely to be far less stressed than someone with a poor diet.

Stress has become a common factor in one’s life. Various factors such as pressures from home or work, some unforeseen circumstances or situations completely beyond our control that lead to stress. What’s even more common is that while stressed, people tend to eat. This involves a lot of comfort food like macaroni and cheese, pizza, and ice cream.

All these high-fat foods are usually the worst possible choices because they can make us feel lethargic and unable to deal with stress. To add to this, stress can drive up our blood pressure and raise serum cholesterol levels, wreaking havoc on our arteries and increasing risk of heart attacks.

Best solution? Low-fat, high-fiber, carbohydrate-rich meals with plenty of fruits and vegetables. They soothe us without sapping our energy and give us the nutrients we need to boost our immune system.

Which Foods Help You Manage Stress?

Water: It hydrates a person, makes one more energetic and less stressed!
Asparagus: I know, these slender stalks are known to make your urine smell funny, but they are high in folate, which is essential for keeping your cool
Avocados: These creamy fruits stress proof your body. Rich in glutathione, a substance that specifically blocks intestinal absorption of certain fats that cause oxidative damage, avocados also contain lutein, beta-carotene, Vitamin E and more folate than any other fruit.
Berries: Blueberries have some of the highest levels of antioxidants known as anthocyanin and they have been linked to all kinds of positive health outcomes, including sharper cognition. But, all berries, including strawberries, raspberries and blackberries are rich in vitamin C which has been shown to be helpful in combating stress.
Chocolate: besides the healthy antioxidants in this treat which push chocolate to the top of most heart-healthy food lists, Chocolate also has an undeniable link to mood but, moderation is key to it.
Green tea: has an amino acid called theanine. This slimming food is a brain booster as well as enhances mental performance.
Oatmeal: a complex carbohydrate, Oatmeal causes your brain to produce serotonin, a feel-good chemical.
Fresh fruits and vegetables: Vegetables have high fiber content, which is helpful in treating constipation -another long term effect of stress. Fresh fruits and vegetables provide an array of vitamins and minerals that are great for reducing stress.
Fish: such as Mackerel contain Omega fatty acids, which are extremely good for the heart and can protect you from heart diseases. Fish also contains choline – a great memory booster.
Yoghurts: provide minerals including calcium, essential to maintain well functioning nerve impulses.
Herbal Products: Herbal items such as Dandelion, Chamomile, and Passion flower to name a few, relax both the body and mind.

Having said the above, there are certain foods and drinks that can aggravate stress. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you should avoid some of them completely but, it is advised that you consume them in moderation.

Foods That May Trigger Stress

Tea, coffee, cocoa, energy drinks: These drinks contain neuro-stimulators like caffeine and theobromine, which are proven to heighten stress.
Fast foods and takeaways: contain high levels of protein, fats and carbohydrates that don’t contain vital minerals and vitamins, which in turn induce stress.
Sugar: Stress causes an increase in blood glucose levels, which can in turn lead to a higher risk of developing diabetes.
Soda, Alcohol, soft drinks and chocolate drinks: The high level of carbon dioxide and sugars in beverages can aggravate stress. Soft drinks need to be considered as an unnecessary addition to your diet.

So before you go in to grab that cold aerated beverage or have a cheesy burger to relieve your stress, think twice and instead go for the healthier food options suggested above!

We hope this article helps you manage stress with nutrition! For more tips to help you manage stress better, check out Healthy Reads or ask an expert by subscribing for GOQii’s personalized health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce