When it comes to stress, I believe Holly Golightly (of Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's) said it best with her description of the mean reds.
“You know those days when you get the mean reds?" "Same as the blues?" "No," she said slowly. "No, the blues are because you’re getting fat or maybe it’s been raining too long. You’re sad that’s all. The mean reds are horrible. You’re afraid, and you sweat like hell, but you don’t know what you’re afraid of. Except something bad is going to happen, only you don’t know what it is. You’ve had that feeling?"
I've been feeling various levels of the mean reds all week. I need to move the last of my furniture out of my old place, and moving always stresses me out. Online advertising demand has dropped, which isn't so much a problem here -- it's a baby blog with a baby audience -- but definitely teases consequences for the future where I work.
Anyway, for those days or weeks in life when you can't seem to shake those red-tinted glasses, below are seven scientifically proven ways to feel better.
Seven (Scientifically Proven) Ways To Deal With Stress:
Ladies should grab a cup of coffee -- this study showed that a cup of joe increased both women's performance and their confidence. It had the opposite effect for men, who should reach for the liquor cabinet instead.
Listen to classical music. It's not only been shown to be the most relaxing of all musical genres, but certain pieces can even "cure" epilepsy, as was previously mentioned in this previous post.
Take a 20-30 minute walk outside. According to this research paper, "just a twenty-minute nature experience was enough to significantly reduce cortisol levels." It didn't matter the time of day or the place -- as long as the walkers felt like they "interacted with nature."
Watch cute animal videos. Apparently watching just 59 seconds (less than a minute!) is enough to reduce heart rate and blood pressure. So watch this.
Lean back instead of forward when using a computer. According to Harvard Business Review, the brain believes that a task seen a greater distance is easier than closer ones. The ideal distance is 38.8 inches.
Take fish oil supplements. It not only helps with anxiety, but even is being looked at as a potential treatment to help manage the mood swings of bipolar patients.
Take low doses of lithium supplements. Though lithium has the reputation of being a scary drug, several studies have shown that places where the metal is naturally present in water sources exhibit significantly reduced crime rates. One Texas town had a suicide rate that was 40 percent lower than the national average.
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