You’ve probably noticed that life is rather over-stimulating and overwhelming as of late.
Recently, my wife Kara was having a tough time and I wanted to help her with a protocol to help her take care of number one. It was great watching her implement these tools and come back to equilibrium.
Luke Cook’s 6 ways to de-stress today
Similarly, here are 6 things to try. No pressure, no judgment, if some of these aren’t doable for you, don’t worry, that’s what we’re trying to combat. Just do what you can, when you can, if you can.
Breathing to de-stress
I love the physiological sigh. Physiological sighs have been found to be one of the quickest breathing techniques to enter a state of rest and digest. Try this for 5 minutes a day (in particularly stressful periods, I do this twice a day) it can be eyes closed or open. Here’s how: take a deep inhale through your nose, then an extra inhale on top of that, also through the nose. Then slowly breathe out through pursed lips, like you’re breathing through a straw. Repeat for 5 minutes anytime throughout the day.
NSDR
Or non-sleep deep rest is a great idea for people looking to decrease stress and increase mindfulness. If you hate meditating, you may enjoy this because it’s active, and there’s no way to get it wrong! Go to YouTube and type in ‘NSDR 10 minutes’, take a lay down or a really comfy seat, and let it guide you.
Sleep
Good sleep is an obvious remedy for every part of your life, but particularly stress. Here are some things to help you sleep better. Good sleep begins in the morning. I highly recommend getting into natural light first thing for 5-10 minutes. If it’s overcast, spend 20-30 minutes outside. Do NOT look at the sun, just get outside and blink whenever you feel like it. This sets your circadian rhythm, which essentially sets your bodies clock for when to be awake and when to sleep.
Keep your living space dark. Melatonin is the sleepiness hormone, but it is suppressed by light. Try to use dim lights after dark, or even blue light blocking glasses. Also, limit screen time before bed, and turn down the brightness of your phone! A good idea is to enable night shift in your iPhone, this has your iPhone automatically turn down the blue it emits after sunset. Go to Settings> Display & Brightness>Night Shift> toggle ’Scheduled’ > Sunset to Sunrise.
Remember to keep your room cool. The body has to drop 1-2 degrees to get to sleep, so consider keeping your room as cool as you can enjoy.
Try to enjoy meals as far from bed time as possible, about 1-3 hours is ideal.
And finally, I supplement with 200mg L Theanine, magnesium, and/or a GABA supplement. All have been found helpful for restful sleep. Always remember to consult your healthcare professional here, too.
Supplements
Ashwaganda: This stuff is amazing for helping our bodies stress response. In a double blind placebo controlled study, participants who took ashwaganda root all noted significant reductions in stress.
Saffron: In another double-blind, placebo controlled study, saffron was shown to have a significant effect in treating anxiety and depression.
Move for 30 minutes
Just 30 minutes a day of any movement was recently shown to be incredibly effective to combat stress and anxiety. The study showed that only 30 minutes of movement was 1.5 times more effective than counseling or the leading medications. This massive study of over 300K people came from Dr Ben Singh of the University of South Australia. When stressed, a walk outside, or a jog, or lifting some weights or dancing may be just the thing we need to change up our physiology to help our over-whelmed heads.
Food as medicine
Cook yourself a nourishing meal. If you’re stressed, it’s nice to know you’re there for yourself. Taking time to be kind to yourself is always a beautiful thing, and cooking a nutritious soup, high in protein and fiber, is one of the most comforting things you can do for yourself. Here’s my nourishing chicken soup recipe.
Let me reiterate: Don’t beat yourself up over this list. It is not a militant list that you MUST DO! Our goal in doing these things, is to treat ourselves kindly at a time when we feel overwhelmed and stressed. So try not to treat this list as a chore, but something new to try to be a little kinder to yourself.
I hope all or any of these help you in some way. Feel free to share these with a mate!
