This Simple Tactic Can Help Reduce Stress in Seconds

As much as we may try, stress is sometimes unavoidable.

Stress not only impacts our minds but also our health. Studies show that stress plays an enormous factor in health issues and disease. Over 80% of doctor visits are stress-related, yet stress management is rarely offered as a solution, on average only 3% of the time.

The Different Types of Stress

Eustress

What’s not often discussed is that some stress is actually beneficial. There’s even a word for it: eustress. Eustress, defined as good stress, refers to feeling challenged without being overwhelmed. We need this feeling to grow personally and professionally – life would be pretty boring without it!

Chronic Stress

For the most part, what’s discussed and experienced more is chronic stress. One of the main things happening in our bodies during this state is an increase in the release of the hormones cortisol and adrenaline. When we perceive something as a threat, our Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) is automatically turned on, sending us into what’s commonly referred to as fight or flight mode.

Imagine you’re being chased by a lion. All of your body’s energy and resources will be spent on preparing you for battle or escape, leaving minimal energy for other bodily functions (like digesting food, coming up with creative ideas, or concentrating on anything else). Your body decides that surviving and moving past the threat is a bigger priority than everything else.

This process for managing real life-threatening situations is critical. The problem is that all too often, we are perceiving everyday events in this same way. We’re responding with alarm to everything from busy inboxes to project deadlines, and as a result, our bodies are chronically in this “emergency” state.

This state inhibits proper digestion and nutrient absorption, clouds thinking, causes anxiety, can bring upon a feeling of being “tired but wired,” increases sugar cravings, contributes to weight gain, high blood pressure, and more. Whew!

Now that you know more about what’s happening physiologically, it’s easy to understand how much stress can interfere with our ability to perform normal tasks and feel like our best selves.

How To Bring Your Body Out of Distress

Just like the SNS is turned “on” we can turn it “off” by activating the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS), which is nicknamed the “rest and digest” system – for good reason. There are countless ways to do this, and many are free and fast, making them easy to integrate into our busy lives!

The easiest way?

Deep breathing.

While it may sound too good to be true, this simple tactic is one of the most effective ways to bring your body out of distress and into a more calm and steady state.

When you inhale deeply enough that your belly expands, you stimulate your vagus nerve. This nerve activates your PNS, signaling to your body that it can get out of fight or flight mode.

Taking quick, shallow breaths is the norm for many people… so much so that many have trouble breathing deeply enough to get their diaphragms involved upon first try. Once you get the hang of it, it’s easy to incorporate this effective strategy anywhere and any time, and one of the best parts is that no one even has to know you’re doing it.

If you’re ready to try it out, simply spend 60 seconds taking deep, slow breaths until you actually feel your body begin to relax. If you want to add this into your routine more proactively, breathing this way first thing in the morning and right before bed can be a wonderful, grounding way to bookend your day. In either setting, check in with how you feel before and then again after, noticing any difference in your mood and energy.