by Kaitlyn S.
National Stress Awareness Day is the first Wednesday of November.
November comes with colder weather, exams for students, and the start of the holiday season. As a recently graduated university student and someone who’s worked in retail for many years, I know how stressful this month can be. National Stress Awareness Day comes as a reminder to all of us to put our mental health first.
What is stress?
Stress is our body’s automated response to pressure. When you are stressed, your body releases hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol, which triggers the “fight—or–flight response”. Fight-or-flight is our body’s built-in response to a physical or psychological threat that prepares us to perform under pressure. It represents the choices that our ancestors had when faced with danger – imagine coming face-to-face with a saber-toothed tiger, you could either stay and fight or run away as fast as possible.
Stress, in small amounts, can motivate you to perform better and encourage growth. Stress overload happens when we don’t have the resources to meet the demands of our lives (not enough time, out of energy, don’t have the skills). Differentiating between good and bad stress is crucial to living a balanced, healthy life.
There are several everyday tasks you can do to try to lower your stress levels. Here are seven ideas to try this month:
- Get organized and reassess your workload
Complete easier-to-achieve tasks first and invest some time writing down your demands and resources. See what demands you might be able to give up (even for a limited time) and what resources you might draw on to make it more possible to meet the demands. On busy days I try to complete as many small tasks as possible, such as walking my dog, completing a short quiz for school, replying to work emails, and doing the dishes. Once those are out of the way, my demands are lessened and I can give more resources to tasks that are harder or take more energy.
- Quality sleep
Quality sleep decreases your cortisol levels and restores balance to your body’s systems. The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Adults recommends that adults 18 to 64 get between seven to nine hours of sleep a night.1 Creating a nighttime routine helps me get to sleep. I put aside my phone, put on a sleep music playlist, journal out any thoughts from the day, drink a cup of tea, and read a book for 10 minutes.
- Make time for exercise
Physical activity stimulates your body to release hormones to help relieve stress and improve sleep quality. My go-to physical activity is dancing – you don’t have to have any rhythm, just turn on some music and take a few minutes to bust a move!
- Limit stressful thinking patterns
Being aware of your thinking pattern, breathing, heart rate, and other signs of tension help you recognize stress when it begins and can help you prevent it from becoming worse. Sometimes I start to spiral, if it’s a situational response, I remove myself from it by going for a walk or moving on to a different task. Or you can try journaling out the thoughts or meditating to clear your mind. I’m not an expert at meditation, I can only sit still for about a minute, but even that short of time can limit my spiral. Try a guided meditation on an app like Headspace or find a comfy spot, set a timer, and try it on your own (start with 30 seconds, if that’s easy try again for longer!).
- Try deep breathing
Stop and take a couple deep breaths to help relieve some immediate stress. Controlled breathing helps stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system (“rest and digest” response), which helps lower cortisol hormone levels. Breathe in for five seconds and out for 10, repeat three times – I can feel my stress lessening already!
- Make time for hobbies you enjoy
Set aside some time to engage in activities that you enjoy. Participating in fun activities can promote feelings of well-being. I love to bake to relieve stress; it leaves me feeling less stressed, my house smelling amazing, and with something delicious to eat!
- Spend time with people or pets
Connecting with other people and animals can help you relax and de-stress. Go for a walk (if it’s not too cold, or bundle up!) or watch a funny show (Ted Lasso anyone?). Laughing can promote the release of endorphins and suppresses stress hormones.
If your stress overload is prolonged and gets hard to deal with by yourself, seek help from family, friends, a support group, online resources, or a healthcare professional. Please see some resources below.
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. (n.d.). Stress. https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-illness-and-addiction-index/stress
1 Wang, C., Colley, R. C., Roberts, K. C., Chaput, J. P., & Thompson, W. (2022, March 16). Sleep behaviours among Canadian adults: Findings from the 2020 Canadian Community Health Survey healthy living rapid response module. https://www.doi.org/10.25318/82-003-x202200300001-eng
Mindful. How to Meditate. https://www.mindful.org/how-to-meditate/
