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Here are five powerful habits for a stress-free week. We’re breaking down the secrets to living a stress-free life & ways to manage stress during the week for a happier you.
#1 Prioritize Sleep
The first of many habits for a stress-free week is to prioritize sleep. Sleep is an essential component of good health. Sleep is one of the most powerful ways to boost health, improve immune function, and even increase your life span.
Discovering ways to sleep more deeply and improve the quality of your sleep can drastically improve how you feel and may even help you live longer. When it comes to stress, getting between 7-10 hours of sleep is essential to reducing anxiety and managing stress throughout your week.
According to an article published by Sleep Medicine Reviews, evidence suggests that a lack of sleep impacts our body’s ability to manage stress, decreases cognitive performance, and increases emotionality.
If you want to live stress-free, you need to improve your sleep habits and remain disciplined when it comes to sleep hygiene.
This means going to bed at the same time, waking up at the same time, reducing screen time before bed, and sticking to a relatively similar bedtime routine each night.
You can read more about how to achieve a better night’s sleep here.
Use these links to explore five quality products that could improve your sleep quality…
- Cushion Lab Deep Sleep Pillow, Patented Ergonomic Contour Design for Side & Back Sleepers
- VERCART Bed Wedge Pillow Adjustable
- SNOOZ Smart White Noise Machine
- DROWSY Silk Sleep Mask: Face-Hugging, Padded Silk Cocoon for Luxury Sleep
- CYMBIOTIKA Sleep Supplement, Melatonin 1mg with L-Theanine 200mg
#2 Write Down Your Schedule and Goals for the Week
One of the easiest, yet most overlooked habits for a stress-free week is writing down your schedule and goals. When you write down your schedule, you will boost your productivity, remain more disciplined, and reduce procrastination.
You should use a time-blocking journal or scheduling agenda to write down things you need to do each week. Make sure to prioritize these chores or appointments at the beginning of the week when you have the most energy and motivation to accomplish them.
Next, you’ll want to block out time for activities you want to do. These can be fun hobbies or relaxing self-care activities to help you reset and calm your mind and body. You can also put in time for friends and family.
After you do this, write down your goals for the week. This will help you reach your goals faster, accomplish any top priorities, and keep you accountable. When you have a tangible schedule to reference, it’ll help you remain organized, stay on task, and keep you motivated, which will reduce stress throughout your week.
Three simple and easy planners to purchase to schedule your week include…
- 52-Weeks Undated, Time Blocking Planner, Increase Productivity and Improve Time Management
- POPRUN 2024 Daily Planner
- Blue Sky Day Designer 2024 Daily and Monthly Planner
#3 Make Time for Yourself
This may be one of the most important habits for a stress-free week, yet one of the most overlooked. You need to start making time for yourself if you want to reduce stress in your life.
This time could be for exploring new hobbies to do at home, trying relaxing self-care activities, going on a solo-date, or trying different nervous system regulation techniques.
When you fill your week with work, friends, family, and various other commitments, but never make time for yourself, it can quickly become exhausting. You need time to reset and attend to your needs.
Making time for yourself can help you become more present with yourself, your thoughts, and your emotions, which is key to managing stress and living a stress-free life.
#4 Prioritize Work-Life Balance
The next way to have a less stressful week is to prioritize work-life balance. This goes along with making time for yourself.
When you’re constantly running around and putting all your energy into work, you don’t give yourself time to relax. This can quickly raise your stress levels and make it difficult to manage stress and anxiety throughout the week.
To reduce stress and boost your mood, you need to prioritize work-life balance. That means setting firm boundaries with work. When the day is done and you’re spending time with family, friends, or yourself, put down the phone and put work away.
When you don’t set boundaries around work, you can’t ever fully enjoy your time with loved ones or fully relax and decompress from your day.
Put your phone aside, shut off your computer, and trust that you can finish any extra work tomorrow. You need to create balance in your life if you want to live more stress-free.
#5 Eat Mindfully
Last on the list of habits for a stress-free week is to eat more mindfully. Our food and dietary choices have an incredible impact on our overall well-being and health.
According to an article published in Nutrients journal, diet likely impacts mood and the body’s inflammatory response, also known as stress.
In addition, food provides us with energy. When you’re constantly feeding yourself simple processed sugars and are on a blood sugar roller coaster all day, your energy will go through extreme peaks and dips. This can make you feel pretty crummy, less energized, and more fatigued.
When you’re tired, it can make it more difficult to control your emotions and manage stressors. If you want to feel your best and improve your energy throughout the week, improve your nutritional choices.
This doesn’t mean you have to go on a diet to start eating healthier. Simply focus on fueling your body with more unprocessed, plant-based foods, and eating a balance of healthy fats, cleanly sourced protein, and complex carbohydrates.
References
Bremner J.D., Gillespie C.F., Lima B.B., Moazzami K., Nye J.A., Pearce B.D., Rapaport M.H., Shah A.J., Vaccarino V., & Wittbrodt M.T. (2020). Diet, stress and mental health. Nutrients. 12(8):2428. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12082428
Meerlo P., Sgoifo A., & Suchecki D. (2008). Restricted and disrupted sleep: effects on autonomic function, neuroendocrine stress systems and stress responsivity. Sleep Medicine Reveiws. 12(3), 197-210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2007.07.007
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