Laughter is one of the best medicines for Sickness, depression, anxiety, relaxation, respiration and stress.   It is a great way to release tension, and to improve the outlook of your day.  Let’s face it, even after a really bad day having a good laugh can help put everything into perspective. 

But wait there’s more… The benefits of laughter actually go deeper than we realize.  There are several reactions within your body that occur when you laugh and they all directly help with Stress Relief and the release of tension.

Laughter is more than a Stress Relief Technique

Dr. Lee Burk has been researching the effects of laughter on the body.  To this moment their published research has shown that laughter lowers blood pressure, reduces stress hormones, increases muscle flexion, and boosts the immune system. Even more interesting is that Laughter creates a state opposite to stress in your body … in other words … laughter creates healthy or positive emotions and is a great method of Natural Stress Relief

Other benefits of laughter include:

·        Increased aerobic activity which gives your diaphragm a work-out and increases your body’s ability to circulate oxygen.

·        An increase in positive emotions that can assist in the fight of disease.

·        Reduction of stress hormones including epinephrine, cortisol, dopac, and growth hormone.

·        Improved and strengthened immune system.

·        Improved blood pressure.  This seems to have a more noticeable effect in women.

·        The cleansing of your lungs and respiratory system.  When you laugh you empty your lungs and breathe fresh air into your respiratory system.

Turn that Frown Upside Down

In 1931 a team of scientists discovered that it takes 50 Muscles to frown and only 13 Muscles to smile.  After reading this I came to realize 3 solid conclusions; Scientists really do have far too much time on their hands, it is far easier to be cheerful than to be grumpy and you will use less energy if you view your day from a happy perspective.

With strong focus on working, making money and taking care of your family there can be very little time left for you at the end of each day.

Let me ask …How often in your day do you stop to do something just for the fun of it? Unless you find fun in activities like; ‘changing the paper in the photocopier’ than you’re probably like most people that simply don’t take time out for fun. But fun is an important part of life. It’s an excellent stress relief technique, it helps you to relax, and it means taking time out for you. If your searching for fun you too can be like many other forward thinkers and take up a hobby.

But what makes a Hobby so appealing and why is it a great Relaxation Technique?

To answer that question I need to discuss a few different hobbies and their benefits.

—> Gardening – Gardening is a great relaxation technique for many reasons. Your under natural light, your surrounded by fresh air, you can reflect quietly while weeding, planting or maintaining your garden and at the end you’re rewarded with a beautiful result you can admire.

—> Scrap booking – Scrap booking is a great hobby that combines artistry and writing to create a unique way of recording memories to pass on. Scrap booking is also very social (classes and gatherings) which is a great way to take a break from the usual daily grind.

—> Buy an aquarium – Aquariums do require a little bit of regular attention, but it has been found scientifically that people experience stress relief when watching fish swimming in a tank. This type of hobby can also be very social.

—> Keep a Journal – Write your thoughts, reflect on your day and record life goals you would like to accomplish. It is always interesting how thoughts can change by simply recording and reflecting on them in a journal.

—> Learn a musical instrument – People that have learnt to play a musical instrument may disagree and say it’s really stressful when you first begin learning. But in reality a musical instrument is the ultimate way to express yourself artistically and is an excellent relaxation technique.

—> Collect something – Stamps, coins, rocks, collecting can be a great way of taking a break. There are many different things you can collect and many different ways you can collect them.

They key focus is for you to take a break from your usual daily routine to socialize with others, or sit quietly reflecting on your day while you’re keeping yourself occupied. In other words … Your own time.

All of the hobbies mentioned are excellent natural stress relief techniques and just a few of the many available.

There are even some forward thinking workplaces around today that encourage their employees to take up a hobby to deal with stress at work and to help their people become more focused on the job.

After a really stressful day there’s something strangely appealing to running a hot bath and soaking your troubles away.  But few people understand the true benefits on your body of this simple yet satisfying Stress Relief Technique. 

Water after all, is nature’s healer as it has positive effects on your skin and muscles. It helps to stimulate nerve reflexes and it calms your internal organs.

Combined with a stress relief CD a hot bath is the perfect Natural Stress Relief technique to release that built up tension.

But wait there’s more. A recent study from the Mayo Clinic found soaking in a hot bath provides similar benefits to exercising without all the extra strain on the heart.  Soaking in a hot bath increases your heart rate while it lowers your blood pressure. How does this work?  When you first get into a hot bath it speeds up your heart to send blood to the surface and disperse extra body heat into the air.  After a couple of minutes the warm blood causes your blood vessels to dilate, which decreases the resistance to blood flow and lowers your blood pressure.

A few other benefits of a hot bath include:

—> Overcoming Insomnia

—> It stimulates sweating and the release of toxins

—> With the addition of Epsom salts it helps arthritis and rheumatism

—> With sea salt it promotes healing and prevents infection

—> Promotes Stress Relief and Relaxation

When you’re feeling really stressed give a hot bath a go. It will release your built up tension.  While soaking you can read a book, meditate to a stress relief CD, listen to music, or simply just sit and relax.

A Journal (or Stress Diary) is a great Stress Relaxation Technique that many people had amazing success with.  It is a set method to record the thoughts and situations that stress you and is a way of putting your stress into perspective. 

It is used to identify, record and resolve any parts of your life that you feel stress. 

More about that in a moment.

Here are a few reasons a journal is a great Relaxation Technique:

—> It helps you to put your thoughts into perspective

—> You may see the things that were worrying you aren’t as big as what you thought

—> It can be used in the future for you to look back on

—> It transfers the stress from your mind to another place for you to reflect on

—> You can use it as a way to identify solutions to your problems

—> It is major step to stop your stress controlling you.

As a big fan of Natural Stress Relief keeping a journal is designed for you to record the areas of your life that stress you and to establish a plan going forward. 

A few of the points you should record in your journal include: 

—> A list of situations where you feel stress in your life (eg. Moving home, person you work with, driving home in the afternoon, high demand in one area of your life, etc.).  Be as specific as possible.

—> List how you handle the stressful situation/s

—> Evaluate whether these responses are healthy, unhealthy, appropriate or inappropriate.

—> List plan of resolution.  You would normally find this by exploring different Stress Management Techniques or Relaxation Techniques.

Used in combination with a Stress Relief CD and other Stress Relief Techniques  can give great results.  For instance after you listen to the Stress Relief CD or learn a new Stress Relief Technique you can record your thoughts in your journal.  Remember, it’s your own personal space so keep it in a safe place.  Finally, be honest with yourself and it can become useful to overcoming the different areas of your life you experience stress.

There are many wives tails and few of them generally show a grain of truth.  So, is the wives tail true about an apple a day, and can an apple a day reduce stress? 

Well, an apple a day is an indirect stress relief technique.  A fresh apple actually contains phenolic phytochemicals which reduced the affects of stress in the body.  But realistically you need to do more than just eat an apple a day to experience true relaxation. A really good stress management technique is in your daily eating habits.  You see, when it comes to a healthy, happy stress free body, 5 serves of fruit or veg everyday is a right up there with exercise.

But what are the benefits?  When it comes to controlling your stress relief it’s important to have as many factors on your side as possible.  After all if you don’t feed your body the right way it can’t perform to its best.  Athletes are aware of this, and this is why diet plays such a big part in relaxation techniques for athletes.

If you are stressed and you’re thinking of the best relaxation techniques, maybe the first step should be to look at you’re eating.  Are you making it easy for your body to relax?  One of the greatest stress management skills I learned was to feed the right stuff into my body from the very beginning.  Feed yourself the right stuff, combined with effective stress management activities and will permanently eliminate your Stress Monster.

There are so many benefits to using Stress Relaxation Techniques as a part of your daily lifestyle.  A Recent study released by Georgetown University found that repeated long term stress can play a factor in body size.  What that means is unless you find some sort of effective Stress Relief Technique it will be harder to maintain a healthy body size, even if you exercise and eat the right foods.

Here’s how it works – Repeated stress triggers the release of a hormone called neuropeptide, which is a hormones that promotes the growth of abdominal fat, or in simpler terms; it make your waistline get bigger.

So how do you counteract the stress and feel thinner happier and healthier at the same time.  Well the most obvious answer is to relax, and look for a effective method of Natural Stress Relief.  A lot of Stress Relief Techniques available are exactly the same method as used by people that look for relaxation techniques for anxiety.  Whatever method you decide to use, remember to maintain a healthy weight then it is important to use a good relaxation technique combined with exercise, and a healthy eating plan to gain the maximum benefits.

There are tons of different Relaxation Techniques to help overcome Stress. Many techniques involve popping a pill or taking an injection. But I am a huge fan of the natural/organic way of treating stress. After all … you never know the long term side effects when you go down the path of drugs.

A Recent Study by a professor at CCNY told his psych class about bananas. He said the expression "going bananas" is from the effects of bananas on the brain. Here’s the low down on Bananas - Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.

But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses, conditions and overcome Stress Relief, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Here’s how one of the simplest Stress Relief Techniques can give you Stress Relief - Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

When you consider the number of Stress Relief Techniques out there isn’t it cool to think there’s a tasty fruit that will help with Stress Relief? I’m not saying if you’re stressed you should just pop a banana in your mouth and all will be ok. This should still be used in combination with well a well planned Stress Relief Exercise.

Every different type of Stress Relief Technique is really important to have a happy, healthy body. I’ve always found a good Stress Relief Cd has a massive impact on my mind space. One of the main reasons I like Stress Relief Cds is that fact that they are a type of Natural Stress Relief. I’ve never really been a big one for taking drugs to give me any type of relief. I look at drugs like the final line of defence after every other option is exhausted.

I’ve also found a really good Stress Relief Exercise is to stretch your body. When you do this you increase the flow of blood through your body, and it’s not too strenuous to make you loose your breath. This is one of the reasons Yoga and Stress Relief have been so closely linked together, as yoga is a very slow and focus and at the same time is excellent for your flexibility. Understand, with any series of deep breathing exercises stress relief is almost a given. With so many different techniques out there always focus on the goal, which is of course, Stress Relief.