Everybody is stressed sometimes, but what if you have no clue how to handle it when it gets overwhelming? Here are nine simple tips to relieve your stress and get calm:
1. Take a nap
Taking naps gives your body a nice break from work, it gives your brain the chance to process daily information, and maybe you also dream to escape reality for a bit. To fully enjoy your nap, take your favorite blanket, your softest pillow, spray your bed with relaxing-spray and be sure to not wear any tight clothing when you're napping during the day. Also, try to manage enough sleep at night. This might seem impossible during exam season, but in that case, try to schedule your study-times so that you get at least 6 hours of sleep at night.
2. Meditation
To give your mind a good rest, meditation helps. If you have never meditated, it's best to start with guided five-minutes-meditations. These videos are great for focusing on your breath for a while.
If you don't want to watch videos to meditate, you can also use an app. A not that well-known but recommendable app is Oak. You can get it here. Oak has a variety of meditation courses you can take, and they are great for beginners.
If you meditate, it's best to do it in the evening or right after getting up.
3. Get in contact with water
What you can do:
1) Take a shower, and if possible use lukewarm water which is the most refreshing. If you've got tension in your muscles, try warm water. It'll help relieve that tension. In the summer, cold water helps you cool down and relax.
2) Take a warm, cozy bath. It'll help you calm down and have a peaceful moment. When you take a bath, put on some music, read a book, light up scented candles, use essential oils, or let a bath bomb bubble up in the water, which will make the experience way more fun.
3) Give your feet a cold bath: That will wake you up and if you have a headache, it will help to get rid of that. This is a method also used to relieve pain and tension.
4. Respect your feelings
Talk to a loved one about your stress or write your feelings down. You could also draw to express how you feel if you're more comfortable with that. By sharing their feelings, most people feel better. Most people make a list of their negative feelings but there are other ways to write down emotions:
• Journal daily: Write down your feelings every day and tell your journal what disturbs you. Maybe doodle something with your writings as bringing color into one's life induces happiness.
• Create a mood-tracker: Mood trackers are helpful if you don't have much time to write. You color a pixel every day and different colors stand for different emotions.
• Be grateful: Write down what good things happened today. This hypes you up a little.
• Scream: This might sound silly, but when everything gets overwhelming, wait until you're alone at home, and just stand up and scream for once. This helps to relieve all those bottled-up emotions. You can also avoid crying by screaming.
5. To avoid stress, make plans
Get yourself a little notebook where you can organize your day, week, or month. You don't even have to get a bullet journal as some people do, because it takes time to create layouts. Just write down a to-do list and you're good. Also, try to organize your day in a schedule, so that you're done with all your to-dos in the evening.
6. Painting & drawing
When you're studying in times of stress, take longer breaks in between. In those breaks, it's nice to draw or paint something. There are so many anti-stress coloring books that you can color in your free time.
That coloring book doesn't have to be expensive or thick but simply enjoyable for you to color in. Not too detailed coloring-books are okay too, so if you prefer those over detailed ones, don't be shy to take them.
Another helpful thing is drawing lines, circles, and other easy shapes. Don't be too much of a perfectionistic with your little doodles. It's just a non-stressful, fun little activity to do in-between your studies or your work.
7. Get fresh air
If you have studied or worked inside all day, it is important to go outside for at least half an hour. Grab your skateboard, your roller skates, your bike, your scooter, or just go for a walk around the block. If you live near the woods, try to go there for a peaceful walk. Taking in the smell of fir trees and fresh grass will liven up your day.
8. Before you work
Getting up earlier gives you more time to prepare for a long day filled with studying or working. Studies show that getting up two hours earlier is good to avoid stress. I like to get up at around 6 a.m. so I can avoid the bustle of my family when I eat breakfast, wash, get ready, clean my room, and plan my day.
But you don't have to get two extra hours in the morning. Twenty minutes may be enough if you need a bit of time to shower or stretch after waking up. Another thing to do before you start working or studying is to solve a crossword, a riddle or a Sudoku puzzle. This will wake up your mind and get you ready to take on more serious tasks.
9. Organizing your space
Another thing that helps me with working is having a clean, organized desk and room. Here are some tips to stay organized:
1) Put everything you need for your work in one place. This will save you from needing to search for all of your supplies.
2) Mark your cables. If your cables are marked with a sticky note that tells you the device it is used for, you won't ever have to test all your cables before you can find the right one.
3) Old shoe boxes. If your desk doesn't have any storage space, use old shoe boxes to store your supplies. They're easy to stack up and store under your desk which saves space.
