5 Stress Relief Techniques To Implement Today

When you feel anxious the majority of the time, it is important to find ways to relieve your stress. The feelings from stress can become overwhelming, leading to additional health problems such as high blood pressure or insomnia. When you don’t try to relieve your stress in the earliest stages, you risk having serious complications such as a stroke or heart attack. There are new medical studies that reveal that constant stress can damage your brain’s synapses, leading to Alzheimer’s disease. Fortunately, you can begin using these five stress relief tips today to reduce your anxious feelings. 

Stress Relieving Tip 1: Get Enough Sleep

If you aren’t getting enough sleep on a nightly basis, then it can lead to more stress. While you are sleeping, your body releases hormones that heal your body and soothe your brain. When you aren’t sleeping because you feel too anxious at night, then you can visit a physician to learn if there are medications that you can use for a few weeks to help you sleep better. After you develop a normal sleeping pattern, your brain can cope better with stressful events. 

Stress Relieving Tip 2: Engage In Physical Activity 

By exercising as much as possible, you can reduce your stress levels. Experts recommend exercising three times a week for at least 30 minutes, but if you can exercise more than that, then you will feel better. When you engage in physical activity, it increases the blood flow throughout your body and brain. With additional blood circulation, your entire body is getting more oxygen that will help to lift your mood while eliminating stressful thoughts. 

Stress Relieving Tip 3: Learn How To Meditate

It is important to learn how to meditate because this practice will help to reduce your stress. By meditating for only a few minutes each day, you can clear the troubling thoughts from your mind. While you are meditating, your breathing also becomes more relaxed, helping to eliminate your anxious thoughts. If you don’t understand how to meditate, then look for a training CD or book on the subject at your local library. 

Stress Relieving Tip 4: Find a Support Team

In addition to asking for occasional help from relatives, create a support team of friends who you can turn to during a time of crisis. For many individuals without nearby extended family, joining a religious institution is an important way to have a support team. By having a support team, you can call to ask for help when an emergency occurs, or you can talk to a friend each week to overcome your anxious thoughts. 

Stress Relieving Tip 5: Take a Break 

If you are working all of the time, then it can lead to stress. To protect your mental well-being, you should take frequent breaks to enjoy activities such as watching sports or participating in hobbies. For additional stress relief, you should also socialize occasionally by going to a movie with a friend or attending a dance. Schedule a fun activity several times a week to relieve your stress. 

5 Strangest Effective Workouts in 2017

 

Jazzercise became a household name in the 1970s and 1980s, which practically heralded in the exercise era based out of your living room. As time wore on, gyms and fitness gurus have come and gone. There's always a fitness trend to follow or evaluate. In fact, scientists have gotten into the act in order to find the best exercises for your fitness level. Currently, there are dozens of different workouts that can possibly make a difference in your life. Consider the strangest and most effective workouts for 2017. You might be surprised by several of these choices.

Underwater Spinning

Spin classes have been around for many years. They consist of stationary bikes packed into a small room where a fitness trainer guides your journey. The workout that's defining 2017 is underwater spinning. Picture a standard spin class, but add the bikes to the pool. Adding the water component essentially increases the resistance against your legs as you pedal. Your head remains above water as the rest of your body pushes against the pool's dense volume. Your resulting physique is toned with many calories being burned at one time.

Sand Balancing

You don't have to be near a beach to participate in the newest craze. Sand balancing involves a plank, such as a surfboard, perched atop a mound of sand. It can be located in a sandbox for all intents and purposes because it's the unsteady surface that you're looking for during this exercise. Stand on top of the board placed on the sand, and perform squats or other bodyweight movements. Your muscles compensate for the unsteady surface, which makes the exercise an efficient one for calorie burning.

Yoga Boxing

Picture yourself in a yoga pose with your lower body. Add in a few punches with the upper body, and you have yoga boxing. This workout encourages strength and balance at the same time. Raise your heart rate to an optimal level without creating impacts with your lower body. This particular exercise is addicting once you try it out.

Virtual Workouts

It seems like everyone has a device in their hands during a daily outing. The virtual world is big business, and it can be used to improve your health with online workouts. Log into these workouts, hop onto your exercise machine at home and you're instantly transported to a group-exercise program. You receive all of the benefits associated with a group exercise, but without the commute time to a gym. Remain with the same group or graduate to a different one when you feel ready. Flexibility is part of the virtual world.

Wellness Retreats

A strange and effective workout is one that's based on a vacation getaway. In the past, most people pictured vacations as periods where you do as little as possible. During 2017, many people want to change their lives on vacation. They might take a wellness retreat where they experience different exercise programs and meal choices. Several studies show the benefit of changing habits while in a new location because the mind accepts it better than if you were at home. Expose yourself to any workouts, and you might keep up with the exercise habit when you return home.

Today's trends also include personal observation. It's critical to pay attention to your body, such as noticing soreness and other workout repercussions. Take time out of your schedule to relax if you're experiencing too much stiffness and uncomfortable sensations. Working out should leave you with a positive rush and not a painful souvenir.

5 Healthy Uses for Natural Sweeteners

Body of Text: 
Natural sweeteners are defined as a number of plant or animal-derived items that provide sweetness in an unprocessed form. They are a great way to get all of the flavor of sugar or corn syrup without the level of processing that both of these items require. There are a number of different sweeteners to try. Here are five popular sweeteners and a healthy use for each one. 

Dates
This fruit that comes from the palm tree is a sweetener that has popularity dating back before Ancient Egypt. Dates are an excellent sweetening choice for baked goods. Dates can be separated from the pit and blended into a sweet paste. They can be mashed and added to cinnamon or granola bars to provide a sweet, decadent treat. 

Honey
One of the best-known natural sweeteners, honey has a number of great uses. It can be used to sweeten drinks and salad dressings. Raw, unpasteurized honey also serves as an antimicrobial in food preservation and wound care. Eating local, raw honey every day has also been shown to help to reduce the severity of seasonal allergies.

Agave
The syrup in the agave plant is the precursor to quality tequila when fermented and an excellent honey or maple syrup substitute when used in its raw form. Agave comes in both light and dark formulations and can be used like white and brown sugar or dark and light molasses. It offers a mild taste and is a great choice for marinades, as it can help flavors to stick to the meat without causing a lot of charring and burning over a grill. 

Stevia
This sweetener is the lowest-calorie of all of the known natural sweeteners and is often used as a sugar substitute for those who want to purge sugar from their diet. It is most commonly eaten as a powder, like sugar, but it is very light and more similar to powdered sugar. It can be used in drinks and baking, but be aware that it is actually much more sweet than sugar, so you need much less of it in your coffee or tea. If you are doing a cleanse that includes lemon water, a pinch of this can help to make it taste more like lemonade. 

Maple Syrup
Another of the best-known natural sweeteners, maple syrup is a staple on breakfast tables worldwide. It is important to note that natural maple syrup is not the same as artificial brands, which consist of maple-flavored corn syrup. Maple is an excellent sweetener substitute in pies, a good glaze base for meats, and a good addition to salad dressing. 

Making the Switch
If you are unsure which kind of sweetener is best for you, it's a good idea to experiment. For some, you may find that you can easily make the switch with some things but other foods are not as good with a sugar substitute. Other people may be trying to remove most of the sweet things from their lives, and this is a way to wean off of the addictive nature of sugar a little bit more easily. 

Remember that not all sweeteners taste quite the same. If you don't like the flavor of one, keep trying others until you find a taste that you enjoy. Even as you experiment, in increase in your energy levels and a reduction in your waistline may help to tip the scales in favor of your new sweetening regime.