One of the key tenants of health promotion is to practice good selfcare, especially as it relates to stress reduction. Looking for some great stress lowering selfcare tips? Check out this practical guide for the top 5 stress reduction selfcare tips for busy people plus 10 plant-based selfcare recipes.
You go to your annual doctor’s checkup faithfully. You love to read health articles on news sites. You try to be conscious about the foods you choose in the supermarket. And you do your best to fit physical activity into your daily lifestyle. Fabulous! You are making amazing strides towards living your best, healthiest life. But there’s more you can do to feel better and stronger: practice selfcare and stress reduction, which are also essential strategies for optimal health. Sure, we all need a certain amount of stress in our lives to move forward and meet our obligations as successful citizens of the world. However, debilitating levels of stress—dealing with difficult professional challenges, personal trauma or loss, health woes, financial worries, and time crunches—can take stress levels to harmful territory. A growing body of research demonstrates the damage stress can do to our bodies. Stress can increase levels of stress hormones, blood pressure, and inflammation, which can help lead to chronic diseases, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancers. In addition to stress, you can strive in new ways to home in on your own health needs like nobody else can. After all, nobody knows you like you. That’s why caring deeply for your own well-being is paramount to a long, healthy life.
So, what can you do to tackle stress and prioritize selfcare in your daily life? Check out these great selfcare tips to add to your practice.
Top 5 Stress Reduction Selfcare Tips
1. Listen to Your Body
You know your body better than anyone else! You know how it feels when things are going smoothly, and when they’re not. When you’re about to catch a cold, your digestion seems off, or stress is getting the better of you, because you recognize those signs. This is essential, not only for preventing or managing a condition, but for early detection of health concerns. So, stay true to yourself, because you are the master of your own body. Don’t be afraid to speak up, ask for what you need, and persevere until you get your questions answered for any health issues. That doesn’t mean you have to get panicky with every little ache and pain, but it does mean that if your body is stressed, exhausted, and painful, acknowledge that and care for your body. Give yourself permission to let your body rest and heal.
2. Recognize the Impact of Stress
When you are going through extreme stress or trauma, your body typically goes into a flight-or-fight syndrome, which is an acute stress response. This is a physiological response in your body when you are facing a terrifying event, both mental or physical. A flood of hormones prepares your body to either stay and deal with the threat, or run away from it. It is part of our human evolution, as it helped us run away from predators and gave us the strength to fight them off. Naturally, when you are facing severe situations, that same age-old response can occur. You may have a racing heart rate, trouble breathing, or even a panic attack. By being fully aware of the stress, and acknowledging that it is real—not trying to bury it or pretend it’s not there—you can start finding ways to manage it. Meditation, yoga, walking, gardening, music, and reading can be soothing activities to reduce this reaction. Create more time for self-care in your day, whether it’s running a bath, laying down for a cat nap, or taking the dog for a walk. Be kind to yourself.
3. Get Out in Nature
One peaceful way to relieve stress is to find some bit of nature to immerse yourself in. It could be a walking path lined with trees in your community, local nature trail, beach or lake front stretch, or a local mountain hike. It can also be working with your hands in the soil in the garden. Research has documented the soothing benefits of being in nature—it can reduce anger, fear, and stress and increase feelings of happiness. Plan ways in which you can include a piece of nature in your life every day, if possible.
4. Eat Well
Eating a wholesome, disease-protective, organic (if your budget allows) diet rich in whole plant foods can help nourish your mind, body, and soul. These foods can provide nutrients that help heal the cells, tissues, and organs. They can boost immune response and reduce inflammation in the body. A healthy diet can even make you feel happier, according to research. And a healthy, plant-based diet doesn’t have to be boring and a sacrifice—it can be a delicious, flavorful, satisfying way to live and eat! Just check out my plant-based recipes here to see for yourself! If you’re thinking of trying a plant-based diet, check out my Go Vegan challenge to get started—or eat a more plant-based diet with tips in my book The Plant-Powered Diet.
5. Don’t Go Overboard
Sure, a healthful lifestyle—eating a plant-based diet, fitting in exercise, not smoking, avoiding excessive alcohol—is essential for fighting disease and longevity. However, it’s easy to go crazy with your goals, especially if you’re being proactive about your health. In my career as a dietitian, I have seen many people turn to fad diets and unproven supplements to gain supposed health benefits. While healthy diet patterns, particular foods and some supplements might have documented, clinical benefits, others do not. In addition, by making your healthy lifestyle so rigid and “pure”, you can be piling on even more stress. Sure, I highly recommend significantly trimming sugar and highly refined foods from your disease-fighting regimen, but fitting in a small sweet treat or a glass of wine (if it’s part of your lifestyle) is going to be fine. And you don’t have to line yourself up with so many self-care activities that you are exhausted and overscheduled at the end of the day. While yoga, meditation classes, and support groups are documented to provide benefits in disease treatment, go easy on your scheduling.
Learn more about health-protective lifestyles here:
Top 10 Plant-Based Selfcare Recipes
Check out my favorite selfcare recipes here: