With working hours that get ever longer, and workloads that seemingly never let up, it’s unsurprising that so many workers are signed off for stress related illnesses. Add to this the increased focus on having to work collaboratively and as teams and you have extra hassle. In this guide we look at five top ways that you can reduce stress in your work life, and how you can avoid having to have time off.
5. Take time to indulge in silly memes or the office joke that’s doing the rounds
It’s scientifically proven that laughing is good for us; it increases endorphins and helps a person with their stress levels. By simply looking at the silly meme of the moment, or taking time to read that joke email that’s being sent around the office, you can benefit from a boost in your happiness levels.
4. Become the ‘No’ man/woman
If you find that you say yes to every single task that is asked of you (even from colleagues, who have no right to be pushing their workload onto you), then you should steel yourself, and just say no. Whilst this will be difficult the first couple of times, and you may need to find a diplomatic way of refusing to undertake someone else’s work, it’ll benefit you no end in the long run, both in terms of your workload and self esteem levels.
3. Take the breaks you’re entitled too
As a nation we’re infamous for our ‘lunch at the desk’ routine. However this means that you have no breather away from your work load, and can make you much less productive in the long run.
2. Refrain from keeping that much needed junk food to hand
Comfort eating is a notoriously common ‘solution’ to stress; whilst eating sugary snacks throughout the day provide you with temporary boosts, in the long term they sap your energy levels. In addition to this you can find that an ever expanding waist line leaves you feeling podgy and low.
If you must have that 3pm chocolate bar, why not take a 5 minute walk at lunch, that way you can benefit from much needed time away from work, as well as still indulging in your afternoon pick me up.
1. Encourage lucid dreaming
Lucid dreaming (where in effect, you are conscious during your dream process) has scientifically proven qualities in lowering stress levels. Not only does it mean that you have a deeper, more restful sleep, but you can additionally visualise how to better deal with your day. Lucid dreaming provides sub conscious answers to waking hour problems, and so you should try to encourage it through some simple techniques:
- Ask yourself throughout your waking hours ‘am I dreaming?’ this will encourage the mind to ask the same question during normal dreaming.
- Start a dream diary – This will act as a conscious sign to your brain that you’re taking your dreams seriously and need to remember them.
- Try the Stephen Laberge technique:
- Set your alarm to wake you from sleep every 4 1/2, 6, or 7 1/2 hours.
- When awakened, immediately try and recall the dream.
- When you’ve remembered all that you can, try to fall back to sleep, imagining yourself to be in the exact same place as at the end of your last dream.
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Cormac Reynolds is a lover of his work and also of the great outdoors. He enjoys sports and the great outdoors. He is also a keen traveller.
I so get this. This is particularly poignant at this time for me. The one area I am really bad at is take the breaks I need. I realize I need to work on it but for some reason I neglect that. Aw and done’ even get me stared on the junk food thing. I do eat fairly well, but sometimes I’m just plain lazy and junk food is my nemesis
Good advice for reducing stress, not only for introverts but extroverts.
The main stress we create ourselves in our minds. We need to constantly remember that the only thing that’s certain in life is uncertainty.
Creating night mare scenarios in our minds works against us. We need to instead transform the negative energy of failure to a challenge i.e. produce positive energy that enables us to succeed and not negative energy that leads to failure.