{"id":13026,"date":"2014-11-05T04:00:02","date_gmt":"2014-11-05T12:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145696.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=13026"},"modified":"2014-11-05T09:13:50","modified_gmt":"2014-11-05T17:13:50","slug":"5-natural-stress-busters-just-time-holidays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/articles\/5-natural-stress-busters-just-time-holidays\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Natural Stress-Busters, Just in Time for the Holidays"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Natural<\/a><\/p>\n

The next time you feel the slow creep of stress, take a deep breath and follow one of our natural stress-busters for healthy stress relief. Use these natural stress-busters to relieve everyday anxiety and help you cope with holiday stress.<\/p>\n

I don’t know about you, but I do my best stressing right before the holidays. \u00a0I start thinking about family, travel, gifts, and how to get that pie crust just right, lest the world explode in response to my\u00a0pastry\u00a0failure. \u00a0See what I mean? \u00a0It starts to snowball a little toward the end there. \u00a0But, in an effort to get a good handle on that stress before\u00a0<\/em>it becomes a problem\u00a0and to give it the old heave-ho so I can really enjoy my time with family and friends, I try to utilize some natural stress-busters.<\/p>\n

Truly, the\u00a0first step in combating stress is to recognize it. \u00a0Stress is easiest to bust at its origin-point, so keep an eye out, try to identify those moments, and use these\u00a0natural stress-busters to take care of yourself and live to get it another day.<\/p>\n

5 Best Natural Stress-Busters<\/h2>\n

1) Exercise:\u00a0<\/strong>Endorphins, baby! \u00a0Get your blood pumping and your body will take care of you by releasing some feel-good hormones. \u00a0Work out any way you like. \u00a0Go for a run if it suits you, or discover the natural stress-busting benefits of yoga<\/a>. \u00a0I find that if I start my day with a workout, I’m more tolerant and calm, not to mention focused, during my early-morning meetings. \u00a0If I end it with a workout, I’m less consumed by the stress of getting a healthy dinner<\/a> on the table in a timely fashion. \u00a0Either way, it’s a win, so throw your tennis shoes on and take care of it.<\/p>\n

2) Massage:\u00a0<\/strong>Include\u00a0some aromatherapy for a double-dose of natural stress-busting\u00a0(vanilla, lavender, and sandalwood are great choices). \u00a0For me, massage doubles as rest- and meditation-time. \u00a0It’s all about me, and concentrating on\u00a0ourselves\u00a0is one of the greatest natural stress-busters.<\/p>\n

3) Eat:\u00a0<\/strong>Keep your folic acid and complex carbohydrates up and your caffeine and alcohol-consumption down. \u00a0Folic acid supports serotonin production and complex carbs\u00a0produce serotonin. \u00a0Serotonin is a\u00a0chemical created by our bodies which acts as a mood-balancing neurotransmitter. \u00a0You gotta have it. \u00a0Eat lots of asparagus, citrus, avocados, and lentils for your folic acid and plenty of whole grains and starchy vegetables like winter squash and sweet potatoes for your complex carbs. \u00a0It also helps to get plenty of vitamin C (eat those berries!) and zinc (cashews, my friend).<\/p>\n

Try this cashew\u00a0lentil dal<\/a> for a combination of natural stress-busters.<\/p>\n

Caffeine and alcohol are, like most things, fine in moderation, but, in excess, both can affect mood and quality sleep negatively.<\/p>\n

Read on for examples of more food-based natural stress-busters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

4) Drink:\u00a0<\/strong>Get that chamomile tea! \u00a0It’s soothing, delicious, and, most importantly, calming. \u00a0Warm up with a cup and a good book at the end of a long day.<\/p>\n

5) Be Merry:\u00a0<\/strong>Laugh! \u00a0Nothing helps you de-stress like a good belly-laugh. \u00a0Turn on your favorite sitcom, watch a stand-up routine, or get out\u00a0a favorite comedy movie to help you wind down after a rough day. \u00a0Laughter truly is the best medicine.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Image credit:\u00a0<\/em>Woman doing yoga<\/a>, stressed woman<\/a>, and laughing woman<\/a> images via Shutterstock.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The next time you feel the slow creep of stress, take a deep breath and follow one of our natural stress-busters for healthy stress relief. Use these natural stress-busters to relieve everyday anxiety and help you cope with holiday stress. More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":111,"featured_media":13030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[15],"tags":[722,8496,8494,8493,2110,8497,163,165,8492,1868,8495,8491],"apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/FGS_NaturalStressBusters.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13026"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/111"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}