Feeling stressed-out doesn’t just affect your mood. It also has a negative impact on your immune system too. This can make it harder for your body to fend off illness. However, the website Rodale Wellness has some ideas that you can use to stay healthy and reduce stress.

One idea is to lower the level of sound in your home. Having a quiet space can allow you to feel more relaxed and calm. Granted, in our busy lives with work and children, this may not always be possible. Rodale Wellness suggests that if you can reduce noise in your home twice a week or more that it can have a positive effect.

Another idea to reduce stress in your life is laughter. Seriously! When we laugh our brains release those feel-good chemicals that keep us in a positive mood. Laughter also allows our bodies to relax, which causes dilation of our blood vessels. Laughter also lowers the pulse and blood pressure levels too. Interestingly, adults only laugh seven times daily, while a child laughs 300 times! Make it a goal to laugh five minutes each day.

Besides volume and laughter, you can also create new rituals for your day. This doesn’t mean having a big ceremony. Instead, focus on the little things you do that might contribute to stress, and adjust them accordingly. For instance:

Making different decisions on where to eat and what you consume.
Create boundaries with email/texts so that you are not checking it constantly.
Taking a few minutes for yourself alone outdoors.

These ideas don’t take much effort, but they go a long way towards managing stress in
your life. Want to learn more about how you can manage stress?

Read the full article here:  3 Simple Strategies for Keeping Stress in Check.