5 Substance Free Ways to Manage Stress & Anxiety

1. Get outside.

A pleasing environment can reduce feelings of stress, anxiety and sadness. Being outside in nature, or even just viewing images of nature, improves emotional and physical health. Nature reduces heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension and the production of stress hormones. Take your workout outside, go for a walk around your neighborhood or in the park, take a hike through the woods, or do some gardening.

Or, bring the outside inside. Even houseplants can have a significant impact on stress and anxiety.

2. Breathe and meditate.

Your breath acts as the body’s built-in calming mechanism. Whenever you start to feel overwhelming stress coming on, take a long, deep breath in through your nose and slowly exhale out through your mouth. A few long, deep breaths will slow down your heart rate and ease your body into a state of relaxation. Mediation often combines breathwork with visualizing exercises or activities that aim to increase mindfulness and alertness in the present moment.

3. Reduce caffeine consumption.

Caffeinated beverages like coffee, soda and energy drinks cause cortisol, the stress hormone, to spike, which increases the body’s physical response to stress. The breath shortens, the heart rate picks up and adrenaline kicks in. However, this can be a tough change to make considering that stress makes us more tempted to reach for that extra cup of coffee to power through the day.

4. Eat well.

You are what you eat, so whatever you’re putting into your body has a direct impact on the way your body responds to stress. Cortisol also causes people to crave foods high in fat, salt and sugar, which makes it really hard to opt for healthy fruits and vegetables instead. Potato chips, ice cream and other junk food may taste great in the moment, but they’re only exacerbating the physical effects of stress.