Simple stress management tips

Feel calm, collected and in control with practical stress management techniques and self-care strategies from Stress: The Psychology of Managing Pressure.

We’ve rounded up simple, proven remedies to common stressors below, so you can start 2018 with your best, least-stressed foot forward.
 

Tackling technostress | How to digitally declutter

Whether you’re a technophobe, or always connected, technology remains a major feature of modern life and can create its own stresses!

Experts offer these tips on how to remove needlessly stressful digital clutter:

• Make your computer desktop simple and easy on the eye – avoid too many icons.

• Unsubscribe from unwanted mailing lists and blogs.

• Delete accounts you rarely use.

• Set up a logical filing system for your documents, and delete files you don’t need.

• Pick a search engine as the homepage for your browser, so you’re not bombarded by news or celebrity gossip.
 

Combatting stress with shut-eye | How to get a good night’s sleep

The benefits of quality sleep are wide-ranging and well-documented. Restful sleep lowers anxiety and improves cognitive functions.


If you’re struggling to get a good night’s sleep, and are feeling stressed as a result, try these sleep hygiene tips:

• Don’t use your bed for daytime activities such as reading or watching TV; that way, your body will know it’s a place for sleep.

• Avoid alcohol, caffeine, chocolate and nicotine after noon and spicy meals in the evening.

• Set up a peaceful bedtime routine: for instance, switch off electronic devices, and read or listen to calming music instead.
 

Professional pressure | How to avoid burnout on the job

It’s not unusual to feel tired at the end of a working day, but at a certain point work strain passes the point of ordinary stress and becomes outright toxic.
 

If you feel at risk of job burnout, consider these self-care tips:

• Keep your body moving – don’t sit for more than an hour at a time.

• Look for positive moments in your day – even something small, like chatting with your colleagues.

• Have a time each day when you unplug from contact via your electronic devices.

• Make time outside work for family and friends.
 

For more stress management tips, techniques and strategies, including self-care methods and how to manage stress in the workplace, in relationships and more, pick up Stress: The Psychology of Managing Pressure.