Natural Stress Relievers

Close your eyes, take three long breaths, and picture yourself in a relaxing scene (hiking in a forest, lying on a deserted beach, walking through town after a fresh snowfall). Focus on the details-the sights, the sounds (or lack thereof), the smells for a great natural stress reliever.

Stress Reduction Tools

Before you do or say something you´ll regret, silently count to 10. Use this time to take a few deep breaths, stretch, or recite an affirmation.

Yoga Eye Relaxation Techniques

Try this yoga eye relaxation technique: Rub your hands together vigorously until they feel warm. Then cup them over your closed eyes for five seconds while you breathe deeply.

Reducting Stress with Sex

If sex has been on the bottom of your to-do list for too long, move it to the top. Sex increases levels of endorphins, those mood-boosting chemicals in the brain, and it´s one of the best total-body relaxers around and best for natural stress relief.

Homeopathy and Stress

A study at Duke University in Durham, N.C., found homeopathy effective in quelling anxiety disorders. Look for stress formulas such as Nerve Tonic (from Hyland) or Sedalia (from Boiron) in your health food store.

Warm Milk Helps You Sleep

It´s a scientific fact that warm milk really does help you sleep which helps you relieve stress. Make sure you drink it approximately one hour before you plan to retire. Cocoa doesn´t count because chocolate is a stimulant.

Pets Relieve Stress

Researchers have found that those who owned a pet had lower blood pressure than those who didn´t because pets relieve stress. If you don´t have a pet, visit a friend´s because petting an animal for just a couple of minutes helps relieve stress.

Evaluate Your Stress

As a stress reduction tool, using a scale of one to 10 (one being equivalent to a minor hassle and 10 being a true catastrophe), assign a number to whatever is making you tense. Most problems rank pretty low and are not worth your worry.

Coffee and Stress Reduction

Too much coffee only makes stress worse, so try to cut back as much as possible. To avoid caffeine withdrawal, try adding a little decaf to your morning mug, increasing the proportion of decaf to regular over the next couple of weeks. And, watch out for caffeinated soft drinks.

Stress Relief Activities

One stress relieving activity is to tend a garden, which helps people to escape their worries. If you haven´t got a garden, try a houseplant. It works!

Alleviating Heachaches with Sleep

Sleep can often alleviate a headache, but don´t sleep in an awkward position or on your stomach because it may tighten your neck muscles and trigger a headache. Try sleeping on your back.

Stress Reduction Exercise

Heighten your awareness of the moment by focusing intently on an object. Notice a pencil´s shape, color, weight and feel. Or slowly savor a raisin or a piece of chocolate. Mindfulness leads to relaxation.

Sleep and Stress

Get the sleep you need (about eight hours is optimal for most people). But don´t sleep to escape your worries. That will only make you groggier.

Stress Reduction Tools to Use

Before you blow up at your boss, take a trot around the block to clear your head. If you haven´t got time, walk to the bathroom or water cooler. Anything counts.

Great Natural Stress Reliever

A great stress reliever is a body massage with lotion containing peppermint, spearmint or menthol. The scent as well as the massage have a relaxing effect.

Snack a Little for Natural Stress Relievers

Foods that are high in carbohydrates stimulate the release of serotonin, a feel-good brain chemical. Crackers, pretzels, or a bagel can give you a boost on stressful days.

Herbal Stress Relievers

A warm bath is relaxing, but adding some well-chosen herbs to the water could make your soak even more effective. Place dried herbs -- a single herb or a mixture of your favorites -- in a cloth or net bag, then toss the bag into the tub or hang it from the faucet as the tub fills. For a refreshing, stimulating bath, try lovage, mint, rosemary, sage, orange, pine, or thyme. To calm down at the end of a busy day, chamomile, sandalwood, lavender, marjoram, marigold, or mint are good choices for natural herbal stress relievers.

Herbal Stress Relief

Have you had a bad day? Brew a pot of chamomile tea. It´s natures tranquilizer. Drink at least 2 cups for effective herbal stress relief.

Relaxing Music Helps Natural Stress Relief

What soothes the senses also eases jangled holiday
nerves. Relax to music with a tempo just slightly slower than your heart rate. Some good classical offerings: Bach´s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, 2nd movement, and Orchestral Suite No. 2 and Ravel´s Mother Goose Suite, 1st movement.

Yet More Stress Reduction Tools to Smile About

Smiling is a two-way mechanism. We do it when we´re happy and relaxed, but doing it can also make us feel that way. So go ahead and grin. Don´t you feel better?