Small Lifestyle Changes for Anxiety Relief

Anxiety is more prevalent than ever, with an estimated 275 million people suffering from an anxiety disorder worldwide. The body’s natural response to stress, everyone has experienced anxiety at some point in their lives. However, for some individuals, the negative symptoms and subsequent effects can be more prevalent than others and can have a significant adverse impact on their daily lives. The good news? Small day-to-changes in lifestyle can help to provide some relief.

Lifestyle Changes for Anxiety

Healthy Diet

Studies have confirmed a brain-gut connection, which explains why many people often have stomach aches when feeling nervous – so paying attention to your gut health but eating well and staying hydrated will help you in the long run. Changing your diet won’t make your anxiety disappear on its own – but focusing on good nutrition and eating balanced meals throughout the day can have a calming effect on the body. 

Ensure that your meals include a good mix of protein and complex carbohydrates, which are turned into serotonin when synthesized by the body. This chemical regulates happiness, mood, and anxiety. It is also recommended to opt for caffeine-free coffee and tea options to minimize your caffeine intake, which is known to trigger anxiety symptoms, including restlessness and a fast heart rate. To maintain healthy doses of vitamins, you can get supplements from trusted syn pharma.

Avoid alcohol 

Many will indulge in an evening drink after a stressful day to help them relax and feel calm. But while it may do so at that moment, alcohol is a depressant, and that feeling of calm will eventually fade. When it does, you may notice that several hours later, or the following day, you feel on edge, jittery, and more anxious and stressed than before. Alcohol is also known to affect your quality of sleep. 

While the initial effects of alcohol can make you feel tired, even the one glass of wine before bed can interrupt your natural sleep pattern. That’s because alcohol limits the production of the sleep hormone melatonin and forces the liver to work harder to metabolize the consumed alcohol. Consequently, you will be left feeling even more tired the next day, which can potentially aggravate your anxiety further.

Limit Screen Time

Recent studies have shown a link between social media use and increased anxiety, depression, and loneliness. Researchers discovered that participants who limited their use of social media had a decreased level of depression and anxiety, and effects were even higher in those already suffering when they joined the study. Scrolling through various social platforms such as Facebook and Instagram can lead to FOMO (fear of missing out) and comparison making, significantly affecting self-esteem.

 Limiting the number of hours you spend on these platforms can help to relieve your anxiety and strengthen your face-to-face relationships as a result. Temporarily uninstall the apps on your phone, try not to reach for your phone first thing in the morning when you wake up, and have a day off from social media once a week or month to recharge and live in the moment without any distractions. 

Exercise

When trying to tackle and alleviate anxiety symptoms, exercise is often the best place to start. While it may sound like a cliche, it is repeatedly recommended for a reason – because it works. Many studies have shown that exercise effectively elevates the mood thanks to the release of happy chemicals known as endorphins and serotonin. The increase in these neurotransmitters not only means that exercise is excellent for treating depression, but it is also a great natural tool to relieve and improve anxiety symptoms. 

Being active can also help boost energy and reduce fatigue – elevating your mood by lowering tension which can trigger an anxiety attack. You don’t have to turn into an athlete to feel the effects either. Don’t know where to start? Go for a run or gentle job around your local park or practice mindful exercise such as yoga which helps you focus and control your breathing. Consider taking 

Thirty minutes out of your schedule to make room for being active three to five times a week.

Traveling

If you have anxiety-related symptoms might keep you from traveling. Being in new and strange places, away from the safety of your home, can make you feel insecure. You may also be afraid of others witnessing your fear and nervousness. Fortunately, there are a number of steps you can take to manage your symptoms while traveling so you can enjoy your trip.However you need customizable roof rack if you plan to travel through vehicles by road trip.

Relaxation methods

Meditation has grown in popularity recently thanks to its calming effects, helping you be mindful and stay in the moment. Anxiety tends to be future-based, resulting in thoughts about what may, or may not, happen in the future. Being mindful and expressing gratitude, a fundamental principle of meditation helps keep those thoughts at bay, leaving you to focus and appreciate what you already have instead. 

Meditation also teaches how to breathe correctly via various deep breathing techniques. When put altogether, not only will these meditative effects make you feel better at the time, but they will also give you the tools to better cope with anxiety in the future, allowing you to deal with stress more productively.

Wrapping up

Anxiety can be difficult to navigate and can often leave you feeling mentally exhausted and alone. In contrast, there is no miracle cure. By implementing minor lifestyle changes into your daily routine, such as changing your diet, limiting screen-time, and practicing meditation, you can treat anxiety. You will also better manage the uncomfortable symptoms that come with it. 

Please note that while these minor lifestyle changes can help, they do not act as a replacement for seeing your local doctor, talking to a mental health professional, or taking medication.