Workplace Stress - Getting a Low-Stress Life

In today’s world, employees can’t work in isolation anymore; everyone is working on everyone else’s errands. In such a connected and hectic world, it is impossible to get rid of all stress factors as some come with the occupation, and some are intentionally sought out by people as motivation to complete their work.

Before we start by briefing all the three approaches, we will have a quick look at the basics of a low-stress lifestyle. There are three building blocks which makes low-stress lifestyle possible, which are

• Diet,
• Sleep, and
• Exercise.

There are a lot of stress-reduction programs, but no program could give you a complete lowstress lifestyle if these three basic building blocks are missing in your life.

Eating Properly

Nowadays, people are so busy in their hectic schedules that they completely neglect their health. There is a major health implication between eating whatever you get and eating what is actually healthy. Today people are more concerned about eating something which is readily available and is tasty too.

We tend to rely more on fast-food and online-delivery foods rather than a home cooked meal. Frankly speaking, we might feel we don't have the time or patience to cook after returning from a tiring day at office. Fresh fruits and juices have been replaced by packaged flavored juices, meals have been replaced by ready-toserve items and what not.

But what we never think is how drastically these junk foods are affecting our health. In the age of multi-tasking and finishing things on or before deadline, we forget our first priority is to take care of our own body and health, so that we can focus more on our work.

Exercising Regularly

People tend to work for long hours sitting in front of their computer screen, which eventually affects their spinal cord and induces weight-related issues. After sometime, they suffer from diseases like obesity, cholesterol, problems in spinal cord, etc. So one should always find some time to stay fit. Exercise plays an important role in reducing stress by relaxing our body. Some other benefits of regular exercise are −

• It makes you physically strong and active, so you are more resilient to stress.

• It helps you to think clearly which limits the harmful effects of stress.

• It helps you with emotions; you can control your anger and frustration better.

• It can also give you your “me time”, where you can think of a situation clearly and come up with different ways to overcome it.

One can start exercising by any one of the two ways: the first is thirty minutes per day workout, or three to five one‐hour sessions per week. If you don't have enough time to exercise, then try to indulge yourself in some activities which you actually enjoy and which will give you some alone time. You can try some of the following ways −

• Take a walk during breaks.
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Walk or bike to or from office, if possible.
• Instead of sitting, start walking while talking on the phone.
• When watching television, use commercial breaks to do quick exercises.

It is worthwhile remembering that your lifestyle changes when you change your diet, sleep, and exercise. Do not change everything all of a sudden as it may be difficult to adapt to it, but start it slowly and steadily. Always stay focused and see things in a positive way. A positive view solves half of the problems one has.

Sleeping Well

According to the 2010 survey conducted by the National Sleep Foundation in the US, 28% of adults stated that sleepiness interfered with their daily activities every few days of a month. Around 5% of them reported that sleepiness affects their productivity in some way or the other almost every day. About a quarter of adults admitted to have driven home while they were feeling drowsy.

Of the 43% of adults who stated that they had a good night’s sleep ALMOST every night; 25% of them, on further questioning, accepted that they meant they got a good night’s sleep a few nights a week. The average person needs at least seven hours of sleep daily, but manages to sleep only for six hours. One hour might not sound like a big difference, but over the course of the year that’s about 230 hours of sleep – the same as not sleeping for almost 10 days a year!

It is very important to have a good night’s sleep. Sleep helps your body and mind to relax. Sometimes you need to stop thinking everything and just shut your brain from every single thought that comes to your mind, relax your brain and sleep.

Try the following tips to help you get a good night’s sleep:

• The bed is for relaxing and sleeping, so don’t use it for any other purpose like reading, watching TV, working, etc. It adds to the stress in muscles which prevent sleep. For the same reasons, use only your bed to sleep and not the couch or the armchair.

• Your bedroom should be a comfortable place to sleep. Use curtains to keep the light out, dim the lights while sleeping, wear a blanket and don’t allow noise or distractions.

• Try to set an appropriate and regular bed time; always go to bed at the same time which gives a routine to your biological clock.

• A cup of warm milk, a few stretches, a few moments of meditation, a warm bath and quiet music are all great ways to relax, which will help you get a good night's sleep.