Ironically, holidays can be a time of great stress. You would think the idea of holidays would be to relax, take time away from work  a time to kick back, and a time to just enjoy, but for many, holidays are very stressful. Being with family, hosting friends, travel, spending money, etc., can be stressful. Here are some stress-reducing techniques we at Tannenbaum Chiropractic in Ann Arbor, suggest to our patients.

1. Listen to your favorite music. It has been shown that music can have a calming effect. More specifically, listening to music relaxes blood vessels and increases blood flow, which has a calming effect and contributes to making a healthy heart.

2. Laugh more. Laughing can reduce the release of stress hormones. Try a funny movie or playing with a pet.

3. Find time to exercise. Exercise is a known stress reducer.

4. Reduce consumption of alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine.

5. Get a healthful amount of sleep.

6. If you can't change a stressor, try to alter, adapt, avoid, or accept it.

7. Breathe deeply. Taking a deep breath has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety by reducing cortisol levels. Try taking ten deep, slow breaths in succession.

You could simply tell yourself not to stress over things, or if you are stressed, “just stop stressing” and hope that will reduce your stress level, but the reality is it's not that simple. To reduce stress, you need a technique or method. So, you might want to try some of the stress-reducing techniques, listed above, that we suggest at our Ann Arbor chiropractic office.

Questions about this blog post, chiropractic, back pain, neck pain, or headaches can be addressed to me at my Ann Arbor chiropractic office at [email protected].