20 Techniques & Natural Ways to Reduce Stress

Stress can be triggered by way too many things to list. It can come from anything and everything in your daily life, whether it’s a serious work project or how long you sleep. 

When your body starts to stress, each person translates that stress into one of four different ways:

• Physical stress

• Emotional stress

• Mental stress

• Behavioral stress

No matter how your stress manifests, you don’t have to live with it. Learn how to reduce anxiety and stress naturally with these 20 techniques to reduce stress.

Signs of Physical Stress

If stressors manifest as physical stress, your body starts to pay the price. Some common symptoms of physical stress include:

• Irregular bowel movements

• Sweaty palms and face

• Irregular menstruation cycles

• Chest pain

• Increased blood pressure and heart rate

• Frequent or persistent headaches

• Nausea

• Muscle aches

• Trouble sleeping

• Heartburn or indigestion

• Fatigue

• Flushed skin

• Clenched teeth

• Frequent infections or illness

• Skin irritation

How to Reduce Physical Stress

If you’re struggling with physical stress, here are a few natural ways to relieve it.

1. Reduce your caffeine intake. Caffeine is a stimulant and can cause stress in your body. By limiting your caffeine intake or cutting it out altogether, you can help your body relax. 

2. Take a nap. A midday nap can help elevate your mood and reduce stress. Taking a nap doesn’t just help reduce the stress you’re feeling, but it can also strengthen your body and help you perform better. 

3. Practice progressive muscle relaxation. This practice can help you fight against tight muscles and makes it easier to relax when you’re trying to fall asleep.

4. Eat healthier foods. The food you eat is your fuel for the day. If you fuel up with junk food and empty calories, you may add unwanted amounts of stress to your body. By taking the time to eat healthy, you’re better prepared to manage any stress that comes your way. 

5. Exercise. Simple, consistent, and frequent exercise can drastically affect your stress levels. In some cases, exercise can be just as effective as an anti-depressant and is all-natural. When you work out, your body releases chemicals called endorphins that help you feel good, like a ‘runner’s high’, and can fight against your stress.

6. Stop drinking alcohol and using tobacco products. While it might feel like a bit of alcohol or tobacco helps to take the edge off your day, consistent use can actually change the way your body perceives and responds to stress. 

Signs of Emotional Stress

Stress can affect more than just your body. Your emotions are also affected by the amount of stress you’re experiencing. Some emotional stress responses include: 

• Less patience 

• Quick to anger/feel frustrated

• Sadness and/or depression

• Feelings of being overwhelmed

• Restlessness

• Irritability

• Feelings of isolation

• Low self-esteem

• Loss of confidence

• Anxiety

• Apathy

Ways to Reduce Emotional Stress

If you’re noticing some symptoms of emotional stress, here are a few techniques that can help you manage and reduce your stress levels. 

7. Write in a journal. Taking a few minutes to write down your feelings and thoughts about the day is a great way to identify and manage your emotions. Writing helps to slow down your thoughts, which gives you more time to process and manage your stress. 

8. Laugh. Laughter helps stimulate your heart, lungs, and muscles. It increases the endorphins in your brain and actively cools down your stress response. A good laugh leaves you with a calming, relaxed feeling. In the long run, laughing more can improve your mood, relieve pain, and improve your immune system.

9. Ground yourself in the here and now. Whenever you are feeling the effects of stress, take a few minutes to look around you. Find four things you can see, four things you can hear, four things you can feel, four things you can smell, and four things you can taste. You might think you’re a great multi-tasker, but your brain can only focus on one thing at a time. If you’re focused on the here and now, you can’t focus on the stress and anxiety you’re feeling, which gives it time to lessen or release. 

10. Breathe. This is more than just taking a few deep breaths and calling it a day. It’s taking the time to actively reduce stress and calm your emotions by controlling and focusing on your breath. Whether you call it box, square, or 4x4 breathing, this simple technique helps reduce stress, ease anxiety, and fight depression. 

Signs of Mental Stress

Your mental health includes how well you are able to process and understand your life. Stress can affect your mental health and can have symptoms that include: 

• Loss of focus

• Nightmares

• Negativity

• Trouble remembering things

• Chronic worrying

• Reduced or impaired judgment

• Impaired speech (mumbling or stuttering)

• Repetitive or unwanted thoughts

Ways to Reduce Mental Stress

Here are some natural techniques to reduce stress if you’re experiencing mental stress. 

11. Listen to music. Listening to slower tempo music can relax your mind and help you release some of your stress. The goal is to find music around 60 beats per minute. The good news is that you don’t have to stick to classical music to get this result. Everything from Celine Dion’s “All By Myself” to The Police’s “Invisible Sun” sits at the magic number of 60 bpm. Find music that works for you and helps you relax for the best results. 

12. Meditate. You don’t have to sit cross-legged on a yoga mat in the middle of an open field to meditate. You can meditate anywhere as long as it is comfortable and provides you with a place where you can focus on your thoughts and feelings. Meditation can help reduce stress and gives you the power to better control your thoughts. 

13. Practice yoga. Yoga takes a bunch of our natural stress-fighting solutions and blends them perfectly together. It can become a mix between movement, exercise, meditation, and breathing and can reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and lower your heart rate. 

14. Play with your pet. Your pet is more than just a furry member of your family. Your pet can help reduce the stress-related hormone cortisol, lower blood pressure, reduce loneliness, and boost your mood. 

15. Disconnect from your devices. Silence your phone, walk away from your PC, and turn off your screens. You can add stress to your life by continually having to keep part of your mind turned on and worried about texts, direct messages, emails, and a constant flow of updates and notifications. De Stress from your electronics by turning them off, putting them away, and setting boundaries about how much they can affect your life. 

Signs of Behavioral Stress

Behavioral stress is how stress can appear in your behaviors and actions. This can include: 

• Change in sleeping habits/insomnia

• Change in eating habits

• New or increased use of drugs, tobacco, alcohol, or other addictive activities

• Low libido

• Nail-biting

• Pacing

• A significant change in school/work performance

• Social isolation

• Trouble getting along with family, classmates, workmates, or a boss 

Ways to Reduce Behavioral Stress

Here are some natural ways to reduce and fight against behavioral stress:

16. Connect with others. Isolation is painful and can lead to stress and addiction. The solution for things like addiction isn’t sobriety—it’s connection. Connecting with other people builds a network of support, which can help to alleviate and battle stress.
17. Try guided imagery. Guided imagery might remind you of daydreaming, but it’s like taking a vacation in your mind. Imagining yourself in a happy, comfortable, or relaxing place helps reduce anxiety and stress. 

18. Share a meal with friends or family. Having a meal with others gives you the chance to take a step back from your stress. It can help you relax by creating connections with others while also releasing natural stress-fighting hormones like dopamine. 

19. Get or give a hug. Physical touch is powerful when it comes to stress relief. It doesn’t matter if you’re giving or receiving a hug; physical touch releases serotonin, which helps improve your happiness and lowers levels of stress. 

20. Reschedule your life. You’re putting yourself under unnecessary amounts of stress when you overschedule yourself. When you decide against overbooking your schedule, you’re setting yourself up for success. Instead of focusing on an overwhelming quantity of activities, you’re giving yourself a better quality of life, which will help you to reduce and manage your stress. 

Try Them All

Each of these techniques can help mitigate and manage more than just one form of stress. Even if you are feeling physical stress, it can be helpful to try solutions for mental or emotional stress because it can still help reduce your overall levels of stress.