With April dedicated to Stress Awareness Month, it’s a gentle reminder that stress is something that we all experience in one way or another.
When faced with stress and upheaval, 62% of British adults agreed* that daily rituals are an important way to lift their mood, so we asked our favourite wellness experts to share their top stress-busting tips, with the addition of a few stress-busting buys.
Wellness buys to support a stress-busting ritual:
- To create a cloud of calm wherever you go, try: Tisserand Aromatherapy Total De–Stress MoodFix Mist – £11.00, tisserand.co.uk
- To help regulate stress and promote emotional balance, try: Zohi Calm Gummies – £16.99 or save 10% with subscription, zohi.co.uk
- To soothe sore stressed-out eyes, try: Peep Club Instant Relief Eye Spray – £15.00, peepclub.co.uk
- To tackle the impact of stress on skin, try: Stress Faace Daily Moisturiser, Faace – £34, beautybay.com
- To practice a relaxing skincare ritual, try: Faith In Nature Lavender & Geranium Hand & Body Lotion – £6.69, faithinnature.co.uk
Six stress-busting tips by the experts, see further quotes in the attached release:
- Things that make us go hummmm
“One really good way to bring us back to ourselves is by humming. Not only is the sound self-soothing, but research has also shown that humming impacts us on a physical level too.” The Sound Therapist, Farzana Ali, shares.
- Extended exhale breath.
“Often when we are stressed, we spend longer in our inhale, but we want to shift the axis of the breath back to the parasympathetic exhale. Counting can help, start with an inhale for 2, and exhale for 4. And then increase the breath length to a 3:6 or 4:8 ratio” advises breathwork facilitator, Nix Brook
- Eat yourself happy
“Maximising your happy hormone, serotonin is a wonderful thing to do for your mood and your sleep. To do so naturally, increase your intake of foods high in L-Tryptophan. This is an amino acid that is a building block of serotonin” recommends Nutritionist and founder of The Positive Method, Hannah Alderson
- Scents that make you feel good
“Scents send signals to our limbic system, which is the part of the brain that controls memory and emotion. So, if you surround yourself with a favourite scent or smell you can actually help reduce stress” shares qualified aromatherapist, Simone Stevens
- Roll out and release tension
“Over time persistent stress can cause muscular tension in the neck and shoulders which can lead to pain and often headaches. My go-to self-management tool to prescribe is massage ball release around the neck and shoulders” advises Claire Mils, physiotherapist, pilates instructor and founder of Core LDN
- Wind down before bedtime
“Regular sleeping patterns can help normalise cortisol levels which can have a significant impact on stress levels and skin. Ideally, you should try to wind down both your body and mind (much as you would warm down after an intense exercise session) a couple of hours before bed” recommends Dr Sonia Khorana, The Derm GP
