This content originally appeared on Telerik Blogs and was authored by Suzanne Scacca
Only 34% of people working today feel as though they’re thriving, which may correlate to the high levels of stress people experience on a regular basis. Learn five science-backed strategies to help reduce stress and bring more calm and enjoyment to your life and work.
According to a Talkspace business article, stress can have a huge impact on your work. For example, here are some of the common side effects:
- Burnout
- Demotivation
- Lack of job satisfaction
- Physical health issues
- Mental health problems
- Lowered productivity
- Increased absenteeism
- Greater interpersonal conflicts
Whether that stress comes from the job itself, your workplace, personal life or the general state of the world, it’s going to have far-reaching effects on your life and work. That’s especially so the longer it goes on for.
In this post, we’ll examine the toll that long-term stress takes on our bodies and minds as well as five science-backed, stress-busting techniques you can try.
Is Stress Affecting Your Work?
A Gallup poll done in 2023 found that only 34% of workers felt as though they were thriving in their lives.
High levels of stress could be to blame. According to the American Institute of Stress:
“Prolonged stress poses risks for various mental health challenges, heightens sensitivity to daily stressors, affects overall life outlook and goals and impacts the body’s physiological stress response, with significant implications for physical health.”
(Emphasis added by me.)
Gallup also found that about half (49%) of the people they surveyed said they frequently experience stress.
Sustained stress does terrible things to the body. For example, it keeps the body on high alert, which in turn increases inflammation and decreases the immune system’s ability to fight. Over time, people can develop a number of ailments from being in this ever-stressed state, like weight gain, digestive issues, heart problems and more.
It can also impact how you feel in the short term. A ValuePenguin survey found that people most commonly reported these symptoms in response to elevated stress levels:
- Sleep difficulties (54%)
- Physical issues and pain (38%)
- Mental health problems (36%)
- Overeating or undereating (27%)
- Emotional dysregulation (27%)
- Not enjoying hobbies (25%)
- Strained personal relationships (22%)
- Decreased job performance (12%)
Stress and anxiety and depression seem to go hand-in-hand as well. The UK Mental Health Foundation reported that 51% of people experiencing stress were also depressed while 61% felt anxious.
Feeling unwell in any aspect of your life is likely to lead to issues in other areas. So, whether you’re bringing that stress from your job into your personal life or vice versa, it’s likely going to cause a host of problems.
Next, we’ll look at strategies to help you minimize the toll that stress takes on your body, mind, relationships and work.
Techniques That Can Help Lower Stress
To start, I want to say that I’m not a medical professional nor do I make any guarantee that these techniques will work for you. What you’ll find below, however, are strategies that have been studied by scientists and have been shown to improve stress-related symptoms for some people.
The ValuePenguin study mentioned above found that 92% of the people who practice stress management strategies find them helpful. So, if you’re struggling, it’s worth testing them out to see if they can give you some relief during your workday and as you go about your life.
1. Sound Therapy
Sound therapy is the usage of sounds, vibrations or music to promote relaxation.
Dr. Olivia Hsu Friedman says this about sound therapy:
“When human beings hear external vibration, entrainment occurs, or the synchronization of that person’s biology with the vibration. This creates a stable frequency, meaning it helps you downshift from normal beta state (normal waking consciousness) to alpha (relaxed consciousness), and even theta (meditative state) and delta (sleep, when internal healing occurs).”
Specifically, Dr. Friedman says that sound therapy can help with:
- Stress reduction
- Reduced muscle tension
- Improved sleep
- Increased confidence
- Greater energy
It can also repair the negative effects of some health conditions.
There are all kinds of sounds you can use for stress-reducing and therapeutic purposes. It all depends on what specific sounds put you at ease and what types of environments you’re most comfortable in.
For example, at home you could play a white noise machine, put on a Spotify music channel you love or listen to a playlist of your favorite soothing sounds. Another option is to listen to ambient sounds, from home or out in nature. These might include the sound of rainfall, ocean waves, birds chirping, a fire crackling or something else entirely.
Sound baths are another form of sound therapy. During these sessions, the practitioner usually plays instruments like a gong or chimes and will do some chanting.
According to yoga therapist Christina Resasco:
“Sound therapy is deeply rooted in science and based on the principles of quantum physics and sacred geometry. There are hundreds of clinical trials and peer-reviewed white paper studies on the healing properties of sound. In fact, Western medicine uses sound waves on a daily basis in the form of ultrasound technology, which can be used to break up kidney stones among other things.”
Although sound baths might not be as convenient as in-home sound therapy methods, it seems to be a highly effective way to beat stress.
2. Laugh
According to psychiatry professor Dr. William Fry, laughter offers a great physical workout:
“We have a lot of evidence that shows mirth and laughter affect most of the major physical systems of the body. You can get a really good workout from it. The muscle activity involved is the same as is involved in exercising. It’s not as vigorous as calisthenics or training in terms of intensity, but you can laugh a lot more times a day than you can do push-ups.”
Laughter apparently has lots of healing properties. According to a summary from the Mayo Clinic, these are some of the positive effects of a good laughing session:
- Increased endorphins
- Improved respiration
- Stimulation of the heart, lungs and muscles
- Stress relief
- Easing of tension
Injecting lots of laughter in your life can also improve your health long-term. It can boost your immune system response, provide pain relief, enhance your mood and increase your satisfaction with life overall.
There are numerous studies that have examined the direct correlation between laughing and stress.
For instance, this paper examined eight relevant studies. It reported that laughter was associated with a 31.9% decrease in cortisol levels.
Cortisol is the hormone that our bodies release to help regulate stress. So, according to these studies, we’re able to actively lower it (and our stress response) through laughter.
3. Grounding
Grounding is the act of standing on or touching the earth. According to WebMD, grounding has the ability to heal and rejuvenate:
“Grounding, also known as earthing, is when you stand on the earth or have contact with a product that’s grounded into the earth. This connects your body to the natural electric charge of the earth, transferring electrons into your body. Some research shows that soaking up electrons can lower inflammation, ease stress and improve sleep, to name a few.”
Grounding might not always be feasible to practice depending on where you live or what time of year it is. However, there are plenty of grounding products like mats, bed sheets and even socks you can use as a substitute.
Now, while the WebMD description above is the most common form of grounding that people think of, there are other ways to ground yourself when you’re experiencing stress. The goal is to connect your body with nature and/or disconnect your mind from what’s happening externally and to turn it inward.
Here are some other grounding activities that might work for you:
- Hold an object in your hands and focus on the sensation.
- Breathe in a healing scent, like flowers or essential oils.
- Sit outside and listen to the ambient sounds around you.
- Go for a walk and focus on the rhythm of your steps.
- Practice the 5-4-3-2-1 method and reconnect with your senses.
Using your breath to regain control of your physical and mental state is another form of grounding that’s easy to practice. There are various methods you can try. For instance:
Deep breathing is a good one to start with. When practicing this method, take a deep breath in for four seconds. Hold it for another four seconds. Then slowly exhale for six seconds.
According to Freeman Valentine:
“Deep and slow breathing activates the vagus nerves and leads to a reduction in anxiety and stress responses.”
Being more mindful of how long you’re breathing for and taking a few moments to pause also helps you recenter yourself.
Box breathing is another effective technique. In this one, your breath remains consistent throughout. So, you’ll breathe in for four seconds, hold for four seconds, exhale for four seconds and hold once more for four seconds.
It should only take a few rounds of completing this “box” to start feeling more calm.
Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is a good one to try out if you don’t feel engaged enough when just sitting and breathing.
In PMR, you lie down and tense different parts of your body, starting from your toes and working your way up to your head (or vice versa). As you hold the tension in your body, you breathe in. Then you release the tension and your breath at the same time.
Progressive muscle relaxation has been shown to relax both our physiological and psychological states.
4. Exercise
Moving your body can help your mind relax and destress. According to this Exercising to Relax post from Harvard Health:
“The mental benefits of aerobic exercise have a neurochemical basis. Exercise reduces levels of the body’s stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. It also stimulates the production of endorphins, chemicals in the brain that are the body’s natural painkillers and mood elevators. Endorphins are responsible for the ‘runner’s high’ and for the feelings of relaxation and optimism that accompany many hard workouts—or, at least, the hot shower after your exercise is over.”
According to Healthline, many types of workouts can help reduce stress and induce a sense of calm. For instance:
- Brisk walking
- Swimming
- Dancing
- Jogging
- Rowing
- Weightlifting
There are also non-exercise activities you can do at a moderate pace that can result in a similar effect, like gardening and walking up and down stairs.
The trick to using exercise to reduce stress is to find an activity or workout you enjoy. That way, you can practice it long-term without having to battle burnout, boredom or stagnation.
While Healthline recommends many moderate-paced exercises for stress reduction, mind-body movements can be just as potent.
For example, the health benefits of yoga have long been studied. According to Stanford Lifestyle Medicine:
“[T]here is evidence of changes in both brain structure and function related to the practice of yoga. These include changes in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), amygdala, hippocampus and default mode network (DMN). The PFC manages our highest-order cognitive abilities, such as decision-making and goal-setting. Stress and other strong emotions can negatively impact the abilities of the PFC.
Research shows that regular yoga practice leads to increased activation of the PFC and thus may counteract deleterious effects of stress on the brain. Further, yoga impacts the activity of the amygdala, which is involved in processing emotions.”
Qigong and Tai Chi are other mind-body practices that can help battle stress and a host of other physical and emotional ailments.
Through a combination of targeted stretching, meditative movements and breathing, these more gentler and mindful types of exercises can help bring on a greater sense of calm.
5. Connection
In Gallup’s 2023 State of the Global Workplace report, they asked respondents about loneliness. Specifically, they wanted to know what percentage of people felt lonely a lot during the previous day.
On average, 20% of people responded feeling that way. However, there was a significant difference in who reported feeling significant loneliness based on work environments:
- 25% of fully remote workers
- 21% of hybrid workers
- 16% of fully on-site workers
It’s no surprise that workers isolated from others experience greater levels of loneliness.
But why are we looking at loneliness when what we’re talking about is stress? Well, stress and loneliness appear to have a close relationship with one another.
According to the UK Mental Health Foundation, 37% of people who experienced stress also said they felt lonely as a direct result of that stress.
It works the other way around, too. People are better able to navigate stressful circumstances in their lives when they feel supported and connected to others. This 2022 study shows how having social support can make one more resilient to the effects of stress.
Whether you work from home or in an office, you may be dealing with that one-two punch of stress and loneliness. Even if you don’t have a strong social network to tap into, there are plenty of ways to reap the stress-busting benefits of connection. For example:
- Spend time with family
- Go out to eat with friends
- Get to know your neighbors
- Join social groups on Meetup and other apps
- Attend classes at the gym
- Take classes or courses at your local community college
- Do volunteer work in your community
- Become a mentor or tutor for students in your area
- Join local professional organizations
In Erin L. George’s post on Socialization And Altruistic Acts As Stress Relief, she recommends:
“It’s also important to establish boundaries within your personal relationships to keep them healthy. The ability to say ‘no’ to social interactions you aren’t comfortable with and balancing social obligations with independent self-care is imperative for socialization to serve as a stress relief. Like anything, too much of a good thing can also become a stressor.”
So, similar to finding a workout or activity that brings you joy, do the same with developing outlets for connection. Quantity does not trump quality in this matter, so try out maybe one or two of these methods and find something that resonates with you.
Wrapping Up
Stress affects us all, and in many different ways. Just because it seems to be a nearly universal problem these days doesn’t mean you should accept it as a normal part of life.
Stress can have a devastating impact on your health and wellbeing, both in your personal life as well as your productive professional one as well. And even if it seems like a minor nuisance right now, long-term stress has a tendency to boil over and lead to problems with sleep, pain, brain fog, emotional dysregulation, strained relationships and more.
The good news is that there are well-known and science-backed techniques you can use to reduce your stress levels. While not all of them will work for you, it’s worth giving the recommendations above a try to see which ones do. Then, set aside some time every week or so to practice them in addition to breaking them out when you’re feeling overwhelmed.
This content originally appeared on Telerik Blogs and was authored by Suzanne Scacca
Suzanne Scacca | Sciencx (2025-01-30T15:10:54+00:00) 5 Stress-Busting Techniques for 2025. Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2025/01/30/5-stress-busting-techniques-for-2025/
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