How do you destress?

Stress is good, to an extent. Having small doses of stress can help you increase your alertness, stay focused, and boost your productivity. But when there is too much stress and you don’t know how to manage it well, stress can become harmful for your mind, body, and relationships.

Chronic stress may even lead to depression, digestion problems, pain of any kind, and even heart diseases (Read more here).

I’m definitely someone who overthinks a lot and stresses out very easily. Overtime, I had to seek out mechanisms to cope with that stress. Here are 5 simple ways for you to easily destress so you can function at your best self.

1.Practice Deep Breathing

During stressful moments, one easy way you can do is simply take several deep, long breaths. Deep breathing helps neutralize our parasympathetic nervous system, which is what creates the”fight-or-flight” response in our bodies. Taking these long breaths also helps to recenter yourself to the present moment away from the nervous/ tense thoughts that were clogging your mind.

Here are some simple steps you can follow. Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose, feeling the air entering and expanding your lungs, hold for 5 seconds. Very slowly, exhale through your mouth “ahhhhhhhh“, feeling the lungs shrink as the air moves up and exits your body. Take 5 consecutive breaths each time.

2. Let It Out

In order to feel less anxious, we need to let out the stress. Letting out our thoughts, feelings, and emotions are so much more healthy instead of building them up inside. There are many ways you can do to let out your stress.

For extroverts, one way is to talk to a friend. Not in a way to complain and let out all your emotional burden on the other person. But rather, find someone who you can trust, either a friend or partner, to share your thoughts with and talk it out with him/her to reflect on how you’re feeling and what’s stressing you out.

For introverts, pen and paper are your best friends. Try writing down your thoughts and emotions and just scribble to your heart’s desire. You will feel so much more relieved after.

3. Drink Tea: Chamomile, Decaffeinated Green Tea, or Honey Infused Tea

Drinking chamomile tea not only destress and lowers your anxiety, it can also help you sleep better at night. In addition, chamomile tea can relax tense muscles, improve digestion, and reduce any irritability.

Green tea and honey infused tea also have calming effects to the mind and body. You can try decaffeinated options if the caffeine is too strong.

4. Find One Focus Hobby

Sometimes when you’re feeling stressed out, it’s good to make time to dive into a hobby and be “in the flow” of simply pure enjoyment. For me, cooking, working out, and snowboarding are three hobbies that can make me forget all my worries and just fully be in the present doing what I love. We all need to let go from time to time in order to recharge. What is your focus hobby? Make sure you schedule time for at least one hobby every day.

5. SLEEP. Seriously.

Seriously, just go to bed. After doing the steps above, such as drinking chamomile tea and deep breathing, you will be at a calmer state to fall asleep quicker. Sometimes when I feel very stressed at night, looking over my never-ending to-dos, I would just choose to go to sleep and tackle my work the next morning. And almost every time after a good night’s rest, I feel so much more energized and less anxious. In the mornings, I am also more productive and efficient at my work.

So these are the 5 methods I use to help me destress. Do you also find these methods helpful, or do you do other things to help you feel relaxed? Let me know in the comments below!

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Shirley Huang is a Certified Life Coach, Podcast Host, and online educator. She provides weekly resources to help people become leaders in their life, while loving themselves and having fun a long the way. Check out her Life Coaching Programs here.