5 tips to send stress on vacation and recharge

Between family obligations and career responsibilities, stress mounts up quickly and can leave you feeling drained and unmotivated. If you’re like most people, you don’t take the time you need to distress, believing you’re too busy to worry about stress. In fact, if you make the time to follow these five tips, you’ll find that your energy levels are restored, you feel better about life in general, and you’re more productive on a daily basis. 

Taking a vacation isn’t just about doing something fun. There are very serious health-related reasons for taking one week a year to yourself. First of all, it takes you away from those daily stressors and helps you recharge your spirit. Just getting away from the everyday frustrations in your life is enough to relieve tension, but it will also help you live longer. Studies have found that people who don’t take yearly vacations have a significantly higher mortality rate at younger ages.

The best thing about meditation is that it only takes a few minutes and you can do it almost anyplace. There’s no reason you can’t meditate at least once a day. You can do it in your office, your car, a secluded area of the park, or in your own home. As long as you can arrange to be left undisturbed for five to 10 minutes, any location will suffice. In addition to eliminating stress, regular meditation improves memory and boosts cognitive functioning. If you’re unsure how to get started, you can find many tutorials online.

This may be the most important suggestion on this list. Doctors wore that failing to get a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate to high-intensity exercise daily will have negative effects on your health. Ultimately, it will decrease your lifespan. Alternatively, working physical activity into your daily routine will have the opposite effect. In addition to reducing stress, it will have positive effects on mood, concentration, heart health, digestion, and respiration. In fact, there isn’t a system in the body that isn’t helped by some exercise.

Socialization is important to emotional health, so making more time for your loved ones will help you. When you spend time with family and friends, it gives you an opportunity to vent your frustrations and share your insights about your day. This is enough to relieve stress in itself. Additionally, laughing, having fun, and simply communicating with people you like will reduce stress and strengthen your emotional health. Your loved ones will appreciate it, too. This is an opportunity to attend your child’s game, or take your spouse out for dinner.

Most of us don’t realize that the foods we eat have direct effects on how we feel. One obvious example is excessive sugar intake, which gives us a quick high that only lasts for a brief period. Conversely, whole grains and a plant-based diet provides us with energy that the body regulates over a longer period of time. The vitamins, nutrients, and proteins in healthier foods also chase away feelings of anxiety and depression, while promoting better mood balance. A plant-based diet has also been found to strengthen cognitive functioning over a longer period of time, reducing the risks of developing age-related mental illnesses.
Emotional health is as vital to your wellbeing as your physical health. It may mean making some sacrifices, but taking the time to follow these suggestions will have a positive effect on your life. You’ll feel happier, be healthier, and live a longer life.