In this hectic, stressful 21st century world we live in, it’s often too easy to lose sight of the big picture and – let’s be honest – we panic and lose our zen. Every day, external pressures, internal goals and an endless list of duties bombard us with stress. With the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic stressing the globe, and people social distancing/ self-isolating/ quarantining, we all need to focus even more on our mental and inner health. However, there are a few simple, easy tips that can help all of us stay calm and zen… Health Fitness Revolution‘s 10 Tips to Staying Calm and Zen:
- Breathe: Regulating your breath is paramount to reducing your anxious heart rate. By taking deep inhales and exhales, you are sending fresh oxygenated blood to your brain for clearer thoughts, while simultaneously reducing your heart rate. Remember, breathing is closely related to emotions, memories, thoughts, physical symptoms, sense of self and even personality.
- Actively Switch Up Thoughts: You’re allowed to change the channel in your brain and switch from a doomsday movie to a positive, uplifting one. If you’re particularly stressed, think back to a funny thought to help break the pattern to find your zen.
- Be Grateful: If you wake up every morning and think about all the good things in your life to be grateful for, it’s easier to stay focused on the positive and stay happy! Similarly, writing down everything good that happened during your day in a journal before you go to sleep will enable your subconscious to remember these fond memories as you drift off to sleep. We wrote an article about the health benefits of journaling here.
- Eat Nutritious Foods:Â Nutrition is the most important aspect in impacting your blood sugar, hormone balance, moods, energy, emotions, and cognitive ability – so steer clear of processed foods.
- Be Active:  This is essential in remaining relaxed, happy, and healthy. Not only does exercise regulate your body’s functions, make you stronger, and keep you happy with the release of endorphins, but it is scientifically proven to sharpen your mind and organize your thoughts – leading to less stress.
- Meditate: Meditation is simply time to yourself to quiet your mind. Research continues to show that this act promotes a healthy immune system and self-healing abilities. We recommend going somewhere quiet and closing your eyes for 5-10 minutes a day.
- Sleep: Â Studies show that missing a few hours of sleep at night raises stress hormone levels for the entire next day – get 7-8 hours of sleep a night. Read our article on Top 10 Foods to Improve Sleep.
- Take a Day Off:Â This tip might be the hardest to do but is so important in maintaining mental and emotional health. Even though you may not be ill in the traditional sense of the word, taking a mental health day to bring yourself some balance is not a bad thing.
- Distract Yourself: Do something that you love to take your mind off of whatever might be bothering you. A little bit of distance always helps put things into perspective.
- Laugh: Laughter really is the best medicine. Force yourself to laugh and soon you might actually find it funny. The more you take things with humor, the easier life will become – and that much more fun!
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