No one’s immune to the effects of stress. Dramatically improve your health by learning how to handle stress and stressful situations.
There are endless ways to manage and reduce stress – try different activities until you find what works for you! We talked with Cyranoans to hear a few of their favorite ways to deal with stress.
1 – Do a Quick Exercise
“After a long day, there’s nothing quite like lacing up my running shoes and heading out for a nice, long run. It’s the perfect opportunity for me to clear my head, listen to my songs or podcasts, and really center myself!”
Greg Rossino
Exercise activates the body’s production of mood-boosting neurotransmitters that improve your mood, self confidence, sleep and cardiovascular health, as well as your digestive and immune system. Even going for a short walk can make a difference in your mental health.
2 – Create Vent Art
“Strumming my guitar and singing like no one’s listening. The sound isn’t what matters, it’s the emotional release.”
Emily Wendorf
Take your mind off of stressful triggers by losing yourself in art. Consider taking a minute to draw something silly in the margin of your notes, or sing along with your favorite songs. Be sure not to focus on the quality of what you’re doing – your focus should be getting out of your head, not creating a masterpiece.
3 – Relax Your Muscles
“Lighting candles, taking a bath, yoga, going to bed early. Using a stress ball or fidget spinner-type device. Some of the clicky cubes are helpful for me.”
Bryan Harden
Stress-induced tension can lead to muscle pain and migraines. Squeezing a stress ball isn’t as effective as a full-body stretch or a nice soak in the tub, but keeping one nearby can remind you throughout the day to pause and relax a little bit.
4 – Focus on the Little Things
“Facetime-ing my best friend’s baby is always a good one. Also yoga, reading, or sticking my feet in a creek.”
Jess Landes
Choosing what you focus on is a form of meditation. Instead of thinking about problems, take a few minutes each day to focus on something that brings you joy. Combining this focus with physical meditation is a great way to check in with your body and address any spots of prolonged tension.
5 – Breathe
Practicing slow breathing has been shown to have benefits for the central nervous system and improve the body’s production of the stress hormone, cortisol. That’s why we’ve created our Box-Breathing Exercise short.
This video is available to all our customers and can be fully customized with their branding – but we also wanted to make this important exercise available to anyone else who might need it. While the video plays, let your mind clear as you focus on matching your breathing to the pace of the box.
Cyrano takes the stress out of video creation. Want to learn about all the videos you can make with Cyrano? (hint: the list is endless)
