Five instant stress reducers

Stress is an everyday part of life that we unfortunately have to deal with. Though, just because we’re forced to face stress head-on doesn’t mean that we have to allow it to affect us. In fact, there are several ways you can instantly reduce your stress.

1. Meditate. Meditation is an easy, low-tech, yet beneficial way of calming your nerves, improving focus, and ultimately reducing stress.

2. Exercise. Physiologically-speaking, exercise mimics a stress response. However, unlike our typical day-to-day stress, exercise results in your brain releasing endorphins—ultimately improving your mood.

3. Turn off your phone. The more things demanding our attention, typically the higher our stress levels. So, temporarily shut off your phone and shut down Outlook when you feel yourself getting stressed.

4. Laugh. Research shows that those who are able to laugh the most heartily shows the greatest decreases in stress.

Lifehacker described a fifth tip, Fix your posture, because:

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Using more powerful body language can make you more confident, but psychologist Amy Cuddy found that it can also reduce stress—even if you’re faking it a little bit. People who adopt more open, confident, powerful poses found their stress levels reduced, even if just for a few minutes. So, striking those poses in the mirror before your big meeting may not be as silly as they feel.

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For more information on stress reduction tips, please see the original article on Lifehacker.