9 Most Effective Home Remedies For Stress Relief Revealed

In our modern life, stress is no stranger to each of us. Every day, we have to face the worries and pressures from the continuous busy pace of life. Stress is not always a bad status that will harm our health. However, suffering from it for a long period will ruin your health by causing serious mental and physical disorders. Prolonged stress is not an illness and often ignored; however, it can gradually ruin your health without awareness. In this article, you will know 9 simple but effective home remedies for stress relief. Keep reading to know more!

• Most effective home remedies for anxiety relief
• Quick natural home remedies for depression
• How to deal with panic attacks & anxiety at school & at work
• Home remedies for sleep disorders in adults

9 Most Effective Home Remedies For Stress Relief Revealed

I. What Is Stress?

Stress happens when your body naturally responds to any pressure or a factor. The brain reacts as it is in danger; releasing a chemical and hormone substances to activate your physical condition. This reaction leads to various symptoms such as changing blood circulation or cutting down body activities. Blood only runs to necessary organs and muscles, leading to the vast decrease in brain function and disable rational thinking.

II. Causes Of Stress

There are countless reasons why stress has the opportunity to appear in modern life. However, there have four main causes of stress, including physical factors, self-pressure and worries, uncomfortable surroundings, and overloaded work. The prolonged stressful condition can lead to serious illness, especially psychological problems such as depression and mental disorders. In the next part, you will be introduced some home remedies for stress relief and how to apply them effectively.

III. Natural Home Remedies For Stress Relief

1. Breath Exercise

Using the breath exercise will help you to elevate your mood, relax your muscles, and reduce stress. Deeply breathing can help you refresh your mind by stimulating the nervous system. By inhaling deeply and slowly, you take in more oxygen to merge in blood flow. Your brain will calm down and re-connect with the body. Shallow breathing is one of the reasons that make you feel less concentrating and nervous.

How to do:

• Sit with a straight back, or lie down in a comfortable position.
• Take a deep breath through the nose and then hold the breath for about 5 seconds.
• If you take 5 seconds to inhale, it takes 8 seconds to breathe out.
• Repeat the process until you feel better than before.

Note: Remember to breathe from the abdomen instead of the chest. Make sure your stomach grows as you inhaling. When doing this exercise, just focus on your breath and forget about everything else.

2. Epsom Salt

Epsom salt will help relieve stress, improve sleep quality, and relax your tensed muscle. As you may know, stress results in the lack of magnesium that increases the level of adrenaline and causes muscle tenderness. When dissolved in warm water, Epsom salts will be absorbed through the skin and supply the needed magnesium to the body. Therefore, bathing with Epson salt will reduce muscles soreness and tenderness and help them to re-function properly.

How to do:

• Add 1 cups of Epsom salt in the bathtub.
• Soak the body for about 20 minutes, 2 – 3 times a week.
• Optional: Aroma is also a helpful supporter of your relaxing process.  You can add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to maximize the result.

3. Chamomile Tea

At times, the pressure and uneasiness from stress may cause sleep deprivation. Chamomile tea can decrease tiredness and nervousness, and treat sleep disorders, because it can ease tensed muscles and relieve fractiousness. It also has the calming effect, and elevates your mood in instances of apprehension or uneasiness ^[1]. Patients with sleep disorders will fall asleep faster if drinking a cup of chamomile tea daily. You also take a cup of chamomile tea around the bedtime for a good sleep or relaxation.

How to do

• Drink about 4 cups per day for best result. To brew the tea, add two teaspoons of dried chamomile to the boiling water. Leave it for 10 minutes. If desired, add some honey to enhance the taste.
• Both chamomile flowers and its extracted oil have the calming effect. Therefore, you can add fresh chamomile flower or chamomile essential oil to your bath as Epsom salt remedy.

4. Massage Therapy

Suffering from stress for a long time can detrimentally affect our overall health. Massage therapy will encourage your blood circulation, and relax your muscle, therefore, reducing your stress condition. The massaging therapy can elevate your mood, which is suffering from pressure. It can additionally make you feel that you are actively controlling your wellness and assuming a dynamic part in overseeing ceaseless diseases. Along with that, the advantage of the massage therapy is to reduce the muscular tension. The massage therapy includes techniques such as rubbing, stroking, stretching or applying weight to muscles, and massaging muscles. Some massage therapies are performed in a quiet and faintly lit room while the others have delicate music background and candles or incense; therefore, you should consider before applying any massage therapy. Below is a simple yet effective method.

How to do:

• Prepare your favorite oil and slightly warm it.
• The position of the massage process starts from your forehead to the neck, down to shoulders, your back, and finally, the bottom of your feet.
• After that, you should take a bath. Do you remember the bath therapies we have shared above?
• Please apply the massage therapy daily for the best result.

5. Ashwagandha

Ashwagandha, otherwise called Withania somnifera or Indian ginseng, is a gainful herb in treating stress. It likewise increases body’s endurance and digestion without any side effect. Ashwagandha root is found being powerful in lessening pressure and nervousness in adults by cutting down the level of cortisol, a hormone released by body’s reaction to stress ^[2]. Moreover, it protects your health by enhancing the stress resistance level. Additionally, it fortifies the nervous system and gives you the essential energy to battle against exhaustion and sleep deprivation. This herb is easily accessible in the market with various forms such as fresh or dried root, powder, and capsules.

One of the most convenient usages is to add 1 to 2 grams of Ashwagandha to a cup of boiling water or milk. Use it three times a day, and you will alleviate your fatigue. However, if you want to take Ashwagandha in capsule form, you should consult your doctor for an appropriate dose.

Note: Children, pregnant women, or people with diabetes and hypertension should not apply this remedy.

6. Holy Basil

Holy Basil is a familiar Ayurvedic herb that has been famous for treating stress. The fundamental phytochemicals shown in Tulsi are acids and organic substances such as oleanolic acid, rosmarinic acid, ursolic acid, eugenol, linalool, carvacrol, germacrene, and elemene. These substances exhibit antibacterial, antioxidant, and antiviral actions, which are powerful in dealing with stress. This herb also contains adaptogen – the key factor in treating stress-related diseases ^[3]. Adaptogenic herbs, such as basil, can improve the body's common reaction to stress, both physical and emotional one. You can directly chew 10 to 12 leaves twice a day, or make a cup of Basil tea as below:

• Add some basil to a boiling water pot and leave it for around 5 minutes.
• Filter it and add some honey (optional). Enjoy your tea!

IV. Diet Advice For Stress Management

Following a healthy diet is another way to manage your stress and avoid its reoccurring. Let’s find out whether you’re eating an anti-stress diet or not!

1. Break Your Meal In Small Part Throughout The Day

Receiving nutrients for the whole day will minimize the change in the level of your energy. Therefore, keep your body in a stable statement. Moreover, do not forget to eat your breakfast even though you are not hungry. Having breakfast is a way to start your digesting system for a day and to supply the essential energy for the whole morning. For stress sufferers, eating breakfast will help balance the sugar level in blood, which will ease tiredness and stress. Standard breakfast for managing stress will contain fruits or products from fruits such as juice or jam; whole-grain cereal is another good choice, too.

2. Pay Attention To Your Dishes

You should consider adding vitamins B, vitamin C, and magnesium to your diet.

• Vitamins B can give you a sense of energetic statement, which can lift your mood during a long stressful day. Vitamins B are mostly present in bananas, avocados, seeds, nuts, leafy green vegetables, fish, meat, and dairy products.
• Vitamin C is the common supply for those who are in the recovery process. It also plays an important part in your adrenal glands and relates to stress hormone production. Look for citrus fruits, leafy green vegetables, and broccoli for rich vitamin C supplement.
• Magnesium helps to relax the muscle and reduce nervousness. Look for nuts, such as Brazil nuts, peanuts, or hazelnuts; whole grains, such as oats, beans, brown rice; and leafy green vegetables for rich magnesium sources. Epsom salt is also a rich magnesium supplement because your skin can absorb the magnesium contained in Epsom salt through bathing ^[4].

3. Avoid Negative Substance

Caffeine, alcohol, salt, sugar, and nicotine are substances that should be cut down in your daily intakes for stress management.

Caffeine, although believed to keep your brain awake and active, also brings to stress and tiredness, which is harmful to your body by high intake qualities. Therefore, try avoiding caffeine foods such as coffee, soft drinks, tea, chocolate and replacing them with water, juice, or these herbal teas mentioned above. If you are suffering from sleep deprivation, you should also keep away from caffeine after lunchtime because caffeine can stay for more than 6 hours before getting out of your body.

Beverage, sugar, salt, and nicotine consumption go against our healthy diet because it will impede your body from absorbing nutrients.

Here are 9 best natural home remedies for stress relief and diet advice you should pay attention during and after the period of treatment. Change some bad habits or follow some of the tips we have recommended. They will help you avoid serious dangers resulted from prolonged stress. Thank you for reading and remember to follow the page Home Remedies frequently to learn more other amazing remedies. If you have any question or comment, please let us know in the comment box below.

Sources:

• An alternative treatment for anxiety: a systematic review of human trial results reported for the Ayurvedic herb ashwagandha (Withania somnifera). [URL link]
• The effects of aromatherapy in relieving symptoms related to job stress among nurses. [URL link]
• An exploratory study of salivary cortisol changes during chamomile extract therapy of moderate to severe generalized anxiety disorder [URL link]
• Epsom salt as a home remedy by Erin Carter, Michigan State University Extension [URL link]
• The effect of massage therapy on occupational stress of Intensive Care Unit nurses [URL link]