How to Reduce Stress in Your Home and Work Environments

by: ARA
(ARA) - Though stress is a part of life, there are unique, enjoyable ways to reduce stress at home and at work. Stress occurs when the body reacts to change, triggered by events happening directly to you or around you. Although your bodily response can be a positive one -- keeping you alert -- too much stress can be harmful to your health. Most of our stress is a result of everyday responsibilities and obligations. As we go about our lives, pressures -- both physical and mental -- are constantly putting a strain on our bodies. Although this stress is not always obvious to us, the daily tension can cause minor illnesses such as insomnia, backaches, skin disorders or headaches, and can also contribute to potentially life threatening diseases like high blood pressure, heart disease and a variety of other serious illnesses. “Everybody, these days, is prone to stress -- we need to find ways to reduce stress in our daily lives,” says Luke Sutton, president of Serenity Health, a provider of high quality relaxation and stress relief products for the home and office. “There are a number of simple things that people can do to greatly reduce stress in their daily lives.” Although stress can’t always be avoided, we can certainly learn to manage it and lessen the harmful effects on our bodies. The National Mental Health Association and Serenity Health offer the following ideas for reducing stress in your life: * Regular exercise is a great way to reduce stress. Just 20 to 30 minutes of activity a day will help your body to relieve itself of pent-up stress. * Take short, periodic breaks from your day to just sit quietly and calm your mind. Even a bit of meditation or gentle focus can help to quiet your mind and calm your body. This can enormously help in relieving stress. * Create an environment at home and at work that is as stress-free as possible. For instance, have you ever noticed how calm and relaxed you feel when you are sitting in nature, next to a babbling brook, a river, or some beautiful waterfalls? Well, it is very easy to bring those natural, calming water sounds into your home or office, with a beautiful, affordable water fountain. This enables you to create a wonderful sense of calm and serenity in any living environment. Water fountains come in range of sizes and styles, some of which are small enough to fit on even a modest desk top at work. The floor-standing and wall-mounted models create a magnificent presence with their illuminated cascading waterfalls. Esthetically, they are stunning, and they create beautiful waterfall sounds that are mesmerizing and delightful. “All of these water fountains are beautiful to look at, and are very relaxing at the same time,” says Sutton. “More and more, we are finding that people are choosing these wall fountains as pieces of natural moving wall art, over more traditional art pieces such as paintings and prints.” * Eliminate stress from the moment you wake up in the morning. “Something as insignificant as your alarm clock may be contributing to your daily stress,” says Sutton. “Most people use an alarm clock with a harsh beeping sound that suddenly jars them from sleep. That shocking process can actually send stress throughout your entire body, which sets the tone of your whole day.” Instead of a traditional alarm clock, there are a variety of very effective natural awakening alarm clocks that wake you up you in a gradual, stress-free way every morning. There are sunrise alarm clocks that awaken you with a simulated glowing sunrise. This is particularly effective for people who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), but thousands of people who do not suffer from SAD also use this type of clock and love it. There are also clocks that awaken you with a choice of several different nature sounds (such as ocean surf, forest rainfall, birds etc.) or your relaxing musical choice from any CD. Such clocks are also excellent for lulling you to sleep at night. And then, there are clocks that awaken you with a beautiful zen-like chime cycle that increases over a 15 minute period. Also, many of these natural awakening alarm clocks include a built-in radio, if you wish to awaken to any radio station. * Share your feelings. Whether you have had a bad day at the office or a sick child to take care of, talking with a friend can help you remember you aren’t alone. Don’t forget to stay in touch with friends and family: they can provide valuable support and guidance. So, remember to treat yourself to much needed moments of peace and relaxation every day, for your health and well-being. You deserve it, don’t you?