07 Aug 10 scientifically proven ways to beat stress
Stress is constant, and ubiquitous.
Which is OK. Until it isn’t.
That is, mild to moderate levels of stress are OK but when it becomes overwhelming, that can obviously be problematic.
How so?
Well, high levels of stress can undermine happiness and other positive emotions, it saps wellbeing and impacts performance.
All of which means, if you want to enjoy more happiness and success in life then finding ways to beat stress is crucial …
via Science Focus by Simon Crompton
Heart racing? Dreading the 9-5? If this feels familiar, then it’s time to take back control. Let’s find out how to beat stress before you burn out.
1
Take control
“Perceiving that we have control over what might happen is a very important way for us to be able to deal with demanding situations,” says Prof Marc Jones, a stress and emotions expert. “People often go into job interviews thinking they don’t know what they’re going to be asked, they don’t know what they’re going to say.
Instead, think: what can I control here? Focus on very simple things you can control like how you walk into the room, how confident you appear. It’s about building up our own resources to deal with stress differently.”
Research shows that this mental ‘reframing’ can genuinely help people’s performance under stress. Jones’s team at Staffordshire University found that the way a climbing task was verbally described to participants significantly changed how they approached the challenge: they did much better if it was made explicit that they had control of the situation.
2
Calculate the odds
There are other techniques we can use to help improve our mindset when we get stressed. For example, Frank Ghinassi, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, recommends everyday tips such as calculating probabilities of things actually going wrong instead of ‘catastrophising’.
If a worst-case scenario has a 1 in 10 chance of happening, then how much of your attention does it deserve?
3
Snack on fruit and nuts
Snacking on some fruit and nuts on stressy days may reduce stress and its damaging effects on the body. Recent tests have indicated that blueberries help counter the effects of PTSD in animals. And walnuts seem to prepare the body for stress, according to American researchers.
They found that adding walnuts or walnut oil to people’s diets reduced blood pressure responses to stress in the laboratory…
… keep reading the full & original article HERE