How to Live a Stress-Free Lifestyle

Living a stressful life seems to be the new normal. Between all of the responsibilities that we have in our daily lives, combined with the current economic and political situation, it's no mystery why so many of us are stressed out.

According to official statistics, up to 55% of Americans are stressed out regularly, with studies indicating that up to 35% of people worldwide experience regular stress.

As you might know, stress is linked to a variety of mental and physical health issues, ranging from insomnia, depression, and obesity all the way to heart disease, immune system problems, and more.

Therefore, if you want to live a long and healthy life and if you want to be happy along the way, living a stress-free lifestyle is essential. Of course, this is much easier said than done, but it is possible.

Exactly how to live a stress-free lifestyle is what we are about to teach you today.

Key Takeaways

• Stress is an inherent part of daily life, something that the majority of people experience.
• There are ways to reduce stress, including self-care, exercise, nutrition, supplements, and more, all of which you’ll learn about below!

How to Change Lifestyle to Reduce Stress

What it really comes down to if you want to reduce all of the stress in your daily life is changing your overall lifestyle. 

Making one small change here and there might not be enough, but if you change various aspects of your daily routines and habits, you can reduce or even eliminate the stress in your life.

Below, we have listed a variety of ways on exactly how to do so.

Daily Physical Activity

One of the absolute best ways to help relieve stress daily is to exercise and get moving. It's a proven fact that exercise can improve your mental state. This is mainly due to the release of various neurotransmitters or brain chemicals, mainly serotonin and dopamine.

Serotonin and dopamine, both in their own ways, have the ability to make you feel rewarded, happy, euphoric, and much calmer. In essence, they are stress-relieving neurotransmitters that get released when you exercise, among other things.

On that note, exercising has also been proven to reduce stress hormones in the human body, mainly cortisol and adrenaline. 

By reducing cortisol and adrenaline, you'll feel much less on edge, alert, and stressed out. It's interesting how something as simple as lifting some weights or going on a jog can cause your brain to release chemicals that end up relieving stress, anxiety, and more.

How to Include Physical Activity in Daily Life

The issue, however, is that many of us are so busy that it's just really hard to maintain regular exercise throughout the week. Your best bet is if you can go to the gym for at least 30 minutes per day, four or five days per week. 

However, most of us just don't have time for that. 

This means that you need to be able to incorporate exercise into your daily life. Maybe you have 15 or 20 free minutes in the morning to jog on the spot or do a yoga routine, or maybe you have a half hour after dinner that you can use to go on a brisk walk.

Some people who work at a desk all day decide to install standing desks and mount miniature treadmills under their desks, effectively combining work and exercise. If that's not an option, always consider taking the stairs instead of an elevator or the escalator whenever possible.

Even if you're taking the train to work, you could do some glute contractions to exercise those buns. Whatever the case, it's always possible to work some exercise into your daily life.

Maintain a Healthy Diet

Perhaps one of the biggest factors when it comes to relieving stress and living a stress-free lifestyle is maintaining a healthy diet. It's a proven fact that diet directly affects mood and mental state.

For instance, the study above shows that a variety of nutritional deficiencies can cause symptoms related to depression, anxiety, and dementia, including bad mood, cognitive decline, fatigue, and irritability.

In other words, if you don't eat right, you'll probably start feeling tired, irritable, stressed out, and more.

Remember, in order for you to function properly and maintain hormone balances, it's essential that you eat a well-balanced diet. 

How to Diet When You Don’t Like Healthy Food

OK, so the issue with the whole diet aspect of living a stress-free lifestyle is that many of us just don't like healthy food. 

It's no secret that a pile of green beans doesn't taste nearly as good as a slice of black forest cake. That said, eating healthy is important if you expect to live a long, happy, and healthy life. So, how do you do that if you don't like healthy foods?

• The Right Mindset Matters: Sometimes, with these things, it's all about mind over matter. Although you might not particularly enjoy eating your vegetables, you need to tell yourself that you'll be able to reap many benefits from doing so. You need to look past these slightly unpleasant tastes in the present and instead focus on the benefits that you'll gain from eating healthy in the future.
• Work Healthy Foods Into Your Regular Foods: Even if you don't want to switch your diet, working healthy foods into your regular foods is possible. For instance, you can switch white flour for whole wheat flour, add some extra vegetables to the top of your pizza, or replace your beef burger with a chicken burger. Nobody's saying that you can't enjoy your favorite foods anymore, but it's the small changes that matter.
• Try New Things and Get Creative: Many of us might not like healthy foods because we simply don't know how to prepare them properly. Therefore, we recommend doing a bit of research to find some new recipes. You might find some new recipes that have you enjoying vegetables that you never even knew existed in the first place.
• Take Healthy Supplements: Although taking supplements is no substitute for a healthy diet, supplements may replace some vitamins and other nutrients that you would otherwise miss.

Reduce Screen Time and Phone Use

Yet another great way to help reduce stress and anxiety is to reduce the amount of time you spend on your phone. The simple reality is that all those smartphones would appear to be very convenient, but they also seem to cause a lot of mental health issues.

Smartphone and technology addictions are very real things, with many people being so addicted to their phones that they can't put them down even for just a few minutes.

If you're constantly worrying about your next Facebook notification and your next email, you can't possibly relax. 

Try to put down your phone as much as possible, and set some boundaries. For instance, don't answer your phone after a certain point during the day. Increased smartphone use is directly linked to increased instances of mental health issues.

Self-Care Practices

Perhaps one of the best ways to relieve some of the stress in your life is to take care of yourself. Sometimes, you just need to block out the outside world and everyone around you and focus on yourself.

What are Some Ways to Practice Self-Care?

So, what are some of the best ways to exercise self-care?

• Exercise: We already mentioned this above, but exercise is one of the best forms of self-care out there. Exercise has you focusing on yourself, setting goals, and exercising for both a healthier physical and mental state.
• Meditate: Another great way to self-care is to start meditating. You could just meditate or meditate as a part of a larger yoga routine. However, whatever the case may be, meditation is proven to help relieve stress. This is a scientific fact. There are also many different types of meditation you can do. On that note, meditation often involves guided breathing. Guided breathing is something that helps you focus inwards, block out the outside world, and help calm you down.
• Cook Something Nice: For many of us, it's the small things in life that bring joy, and food is one of them. First and foremost, cooking is scientifically proven to help reduce stress. Furthermore, as mentioned above, eating the right foods will also help reduce stress and anxiety levels.
• Take a Break: Sometimes, all people need to reduce stress and take care of themselves is to take a break. If possible, call into work sick. Tell your friends that you don't want to go out tonight. Whatever the case may be, sometimes you just have to say no to the outside world and focus on yourself.
• Have Someone Watch the Kids: Related to the above point, having kids can be extremely stressful, and sometimes, it is really helpful if you have someone else watch them.
• Do Something You Like: Self-care is about focusing on yourself and doing things you like. Whether it's taking a bath, reading a book, or going on a walk, just do something that you like. As long as you enjoy it, it doesn't matter what it is.

Deep Breathing Exercises

Yet another great way to reduce stress and to live a stress-free lifestyle is to engage in deep breathing exercises. Deep breathing exercises involve inhaling very deeply, holding your breath, and then exhaling slowly.

Deep breathing exercises are often included as parts of yoga and meditation routines. Deep breathing forces you to focus on yourself and your inner functions rather than the stress of outside life. 

Deep breathing is scientifically proven to help reduce stress. Here's a great video tutorial of breathing exercises for beginners.

How Often Should You Do Deep Breathing Exercises?

According to the scientific study we cited above, those who reported reduced stress levels, thanks to deep breathing exercises, performed them for ten minutes twice daily.

Setting Personal and Work Boundaries

If you want to live a stress-free lifestyle, you must set personal and work boundaries. You have to set time aside for yourself.

How to Set Boundaries

Setting those boundaries is easier said than done. Here are some tips to help you do exactly that.

• Don’t Let Employers Overwork You: Never let your employers overwork you. Unless you are contractually obligated to do so, don't let employers force you to work more than you are obligated to. You need to let employers know that you are not to be taken advantage of.
• Worked Time is Paid Time: Another boundary that many employers cross is having employees work during off time, whether on break or on weekends. The bottom line is that if you are at work, then you need to be getting paid. There's nothing more stressful than working for free.
• Time Off Means No Disruptions: When you have time off, you need to let your bosses know that this means it's your time off. Don't let your bosses push you around and constantly harass you on weekends and on your off days.
• Don’t Answer Your Phone on Days Off: If you have a boss or friends who insist on bothering you when you tell them you're busy or have a day off, just don't answer the phone.
• Don’t Be Afraid to Say No: It comes down to the fact that most of us are afraid to say no. We're afraid to lose our jobs, we're afraid to disappoint people, and we're afraid to lose friends. However, if you constantly live your life in fear of losing something, then you won't be able to enjoy the small things along the way.

Consider a Daily Supplement Routine

The other method to help relieve stress in your daily life is to start a daily supplement routine. The fact of the matter is that there are dozens of supplements out there that can, in their own ways, benefit both your mental and physical health.

One of the supplements that we always recommend is called TUNE IN. This is a very special supplement made with various beneficial ingredients, including, but not limited to, cordyceps, Rhodiola rosea, ashwagandha extract, lion’s mane, alpha GPC, B vitamins, and much more.

Final Thoughts

The bottom line is that living a stress-free lifestyle is much easier said than done. However, if you follow all of the different tips and pieces of advice that we've provided above, it should be more than possible to at least reduce the amount of stress in your daily life.

We aren't saying that you'll be able to eliminate all of the stress in your life because, let's face it, that's impossible. However, using a variety of means, as discussed above, you can certainly make your life more enjoyable.

How to Live a Stress-Free Lifestyle: FAQs

Is it Possible to Live a Stress-Free Life?

It is possible to reduce stress levels drastically, although whether or not it is possible to live a 100% stress-free life is questionable.

How Can I Reduce Stress in My Life?

To reduce stress in your life, take care of yourself, exercise, eat right, and take proper supplements.