5 Ways to Reduce Anxiety
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Anxiety is an intense, persistent feeling of fear or nervousness about daily interactions and situations. Symptoms can look like restlessness, sense of panic, increased heart rate and breathing, sweating, trouble focusing, etc. But try not to worry too much, aside from seeking professional guidance and support, there are a few things you can do on your own to try to help reduce symptoms of anxiety.
Exercise
This is something you are either excited to hear, or not so excited about as exercise tends to be something people either love or dread. However you may feel, you should know that there is scientific evidence the exercise can help to reduce symptoms of anxiety! You might be wondering: how? Well, numerous studies have been conducted that break down the reasons as to why exercise helps so much. One such study randomly placed anxious adults into two separate groups. Group one was the exercise group and the second was the non-exercise group. They found that exercise may be a relatively helpful treatment for those who are anxious. That still doesn’t full answer how, does it? Scientists have concluded that when you exercise, endorphins (the feel-good chemicals) are released in your brain. This release causes you to feel slightly happier and a bit more at ease, but not only that, exercising can help to take your mind off the things that are bothering you and provides a focus point for your thoughts. But don’t you worry! You don’t have to go through a rigorous, hour long, full body, weightlifting or cardio session. Studies show that a simple 10-minute walk can help to relieve the built up tension and stress from your body. The experts at the Anxiety & Depression Association of America say that in some cases, exercise can be just as effective as medication at reducing symptoms of anxiety. Although, consult with a trusted doctor or physician as it may not work for all, but can definitely be an additional tool to help.
Meditation
A second technique to help reduce symptoms of anxiety is by learning the art of meditation. Meditation practices date all the way back to 1500 BCE, and the fact that it is still practiced today, must be a testament for the positive effects it can have. Research shows time and time again that when taught and implemented correctly, mindfulness meditation is effective at lowering symptoms of anxiety. So how does meditation actually lower anxiety levels? When practicing meditation, you can learn to calm your mind to help reduce the clutter of thoughts trampling your consciousness. When you’re anxious, you may feel an inability to sort through emotions when in a potentially threatening situation. Meditation allows a person to learn how to have greater cognitive control to be able to regulate brain activity better. If you want to get even more specific, mindful meditation activates areas of the brain that help on the executive level, which means the process that allow people to focus or sort through situations thoroughly. A study found that meditation significantly reduced anxiety during a meditation session as compared to levels reported before the session.
Deep Breathing
Another way to reduce symptoms of anxiety is through deep breathing. Deep breathing, also known as belly breathing or diaphragmatic breathing, is when you learn to utilize the enter diaphragm in a proper way when taking in breaths. It is a state of conscious breathing. When people are anxious, they tend to take short or shallow breaths. The shallower the breath, the less oxygen is able to flow through your lungs, making it feel like you aren’t getting enough air in. This can create more anxiety by worrying about breathing. When utilizing deep breathing, you can help the air pour into the deeper sections of the lungs, slowing and calming the heart rate. One study assessed students who felt anxious before taking a test. Those who utilized deep breathing techniques had a reduced anxious state, allowing them to perform better on the test. The idea behind deep breathing is that it is a conscious movement, therefore dialing your attention onto the task at hand: breathing in deeply and fully. This allows for a greater ability to control the racing thoughts that anxiety tends to produce. There are a few different ways to practice deep breathing. Below is a video demonstrating two common, yet effective, techniques.
Spending Time Outside
Oh, the great outdoors! Known for their vast landscapes and insane adventures, but one thing is often glossed over when it should be screamed from the mountaintops. Spending time in nature helps to reduce symptoms of anxiety! Remember when this list started off by informing you that exercise helps reduce anxiety? If two plus two equals four, then exercise plus nature equals all the feel-good feelings! Research has shown that when studying those who exercise indoors versus outdoors, those who exercised outside reported lower levels of tension and anxiety, as well as they enjoyed exercising more. But back to time spent outside itself. When participants with anxiety were randomly sorted into nature based and non-nature based groups to reduce their self-reported anxiety levels, the study found that those who had been a part of the nature-based session had more effectively treated their anxiety symptoms than those in the non-nature group. Nature is relatively easily accessible and should be utilized to ground and refocus!
Getting Enough Sleep
You know that common phrase, “You can sleep when you’re dead?” Yeah, so after a bit of research, anxious people might have just been saying that to make a struggle seem less like a weight on their shoulders and here’s what I mean by that. Sleep helps to heal the brain, which in turn helps to heal emotional and mental states. With too little sleep, your brain becomes depleted of necessary resources and can’t function properly. When you don’t get enough sleep, you fall into what is known as sleep deprivation. Even just acute sleep deprivation has been shown to drastically increase anxiety and distress. Depending on your age, adults should be getting 7-9 hours of sleep per night. Studies have shown that those who get consistent, deep sleep are more likely to be less anxious than those who don’t get consistent, deep sleep. If you want to do your brain a favor, try to get good sleep on a regular basis.