Stress seems to play an increasing role in society. Not surprising, in a society where you always have to be online. However, stress is actually a natural reaction and stress does not necessarily have to be bad. Still, it is important that your body is properly recovered after a stress response. Fortunately, there are various exercises that you can do to tackle stress and calm down. So if you are looking for tips and tricks for dealing with stress, keep on reading!

What is a stressful experience?

Stressful experiences can arise in all kinds of situations, for example at work if you have to give an important presentation, but also at home. What a stressful experience is, is different for everyone. The intensity of your stress response is, of course, also different per situation and per person. One person may find it very stressful to make an important phone call, while the other person is less troubled by this. If you want to read more about how stress works exactly, read more about it in this blog post.

What to do during a stressful experience?

Yet a typical stress response mostly expresses itself in the same way: you start breathing faster and shallower, your muscles tighten, your body is getting ready to take action. These are also three things that you can work on by means of (short) exercises. The first thing you can do to calm down is a breathing exercise. If you are in a stressful situation, you probably do not feel like it at all. Yet it is good to become aware of your breathing for a few seconds, and to consciously breathe in slower and deeper. Do this for example while you count to 10 in your mind. You can also do an exercise to relax your muscles. This can also be done very easily by tightening your muscles and then releasing them. For example, squeeze your hands together very hard to fists and then release them. You will notice that a lot of muscle tension is already flowing away! Finally, it can also help to start dealing with the stressful situation you are in. Many people tend to avoid a stressful situation, but your body is getting ready to deal with the situation. Make use of this! If your stress response is not too heavy, you can often concentrate even better than usual because of the adrenaline that is released. So do not postpone making your presentation, but start practicing it!

What to do before a stressful experience?

If you know that a stressful situation is coming up, you can prepare yourself for this in advance. This can be done in various ways. First you can start a few days in advance by doing a daily breathing exercise. This will teach you to keep your breathing under control during a stressful situation. Relaxation exercises can also be done for a number of days. The advantage of doing exercises for a few days in advance is that you can really take the time to completely relax. This will also help you to relax better if you suffer from acute stress. By learning to relax in advance, you will learn how to deal with stress better before the event takes place.

What to do after a stressful experience?

After a stressful experience, it is important that you give your body the time to recover. If you have had a bad experience, it might be nice to talk to someone about it. In this way you can deal with it more easily and let it go. After, you can do something you like to relax psychically and physically. For example, take a walk in nature, or enjoy your favorite series. Also you can do a breathing exercise or a relaxation exercise. Or combine these two elements in a yoga session! Are you working and do you want to calm down quickly? Take a moment for yourself, take a short walk or listen to some music. The most important thing is that you relax!

NiceDay app

It may very well be that you often suffer from stressful experiences and that you want to learn how to deal with this. In this case, you could try a course to help you deal with your stress. For example, download the NiceDay app and start working with a coach to tackle stress!

Stress is a form of tension in the body that occurs in possible threatening situations. You can feel this tension in your head, mind and body. Your heart can pound, you get a dry throat, a rushed feeling or butterflies in your stomach. This tension is understandable: your body prepares itself for a reaction. If you would like to learn more about this, you can take a look at this article. Understanding and accepting the bodily sensations is a good first step towards reducing tension. But there is one tool that you can easily use to reduce tension: your breathing!

Breathing

Your breathing adapts itself to how you feel during the day. In a stressful situation, you breathe faster and more shallow. In a relaxed situation, your body has a more natural deeper and relaxed breath. This also works the other way around: by training your breathing, you can train how you feel. When you consciously breathe more calm and deep, you will notice that your body reacts on this by relaxing.

Short exercises

There are lots of exercises available that focus on your breathing and relaxation. Below you find a selection of three exercises. Just try which one works best for you and use this when you experience tension of stress during the day.

1. Using a deep abdominal breathing, try to breath synchronised with the rhythm in this video.
2. The Mindfulness app of VGZ contains various short and long breathing exercises. Try which one works for you.
3. Do you have some more time? Try the progressive relaxation exercise of Jacobson, where you tense and relax all your muscle groups one by one. As one of the results, your breathing also relaxes. You can find the exercise here.

Breathing in relaxation, breathing out tension.

NiceDay actions

Try planning a breathing exercise in NiceDay and register what this exercise did to your thoughts, feelings and stress level.

”Have a notebook next to your bed, if you wake up at night with a mind full of thoughts, you can write it down immediately! Within no time you will be sleeping again.� I got this advice a while ago. And as a true thinker, this is exactly what I needed. We all have a lot to do: at work but also at home. Writing things down, in the broadest sense, helps tremendously. Thoughts, feelings, events but also �just� tasks! Here are some benefits of a to-do list:

1. Peace of mind

   Making a list of what you have to do helps you to make peace in your mind. Because once you put it on paper, it is ‘out’ of your mind. This automatically means more rest and being able to focus on the task at hand. You will worry less about everything that still needs to be done, because you have the list as a �second� brain.

2. Work more efficiently

   Besides that you will have more rest, it also ensures that you work more efficiently. You can go directly to task 2 when you are done with task 1. And if you get distracted in the meantime, because you received an email to which you had to respond immediately, you can go back to your list to see what you were doing!

3. Cross that task!

   You might recognize it; crossing a task feels good. It gives satisfaction. You can see how much you get done in a day! Tasks, big or small, fun or less fun, you do it all. You get insight into what you have already done, and that gives a boost to your confidence level!

4. More time and energy

   Rest, the boost of crossing tasks but also working more efficiently ensures that you have extra time and energy! You can use this for example to get ahead at work or to do nice things with your friends, family or maybe something for yourself. Because who works hard, should get rewarded, right?

NiceDay app

At the end of the day, write in your NiceDay-diary what you got done and how you feel about it. Also write some to do’s in your Daily Planner!

I don�t feel happy sitting in front of the computer all day. In fact, it makes me feel tired, lazy and drowsy. After such a day you can sweep me up! Fortunately my work is very flexible which makes it possible to work from home. On those kind of �days I will go out for a run midday, or if that doesn�t work, I try to walk for half an hour. Exercise during your workday is important.

Here�s why!

1. Movement promotes creativity and enhances brain activity
   Are you scrolling through your social media apps, checking the news or answering your private mail �during the lunch break? Your brain is still processing information from your work, it�s much better to clear your mind. After a run you will feel better, think clearer, get creative and be productive.

2. Running and moving fights stress
   1 in 7 people suffer from burnout complaints. Shocking! By reducing stress you will prevent the chances of a burn-out. When you go for a run during your workday (cycling, playing football, walking, etc. is also efficient) you will use your body instead of your brains. Your body will produce hormones and substances such as endorphins and BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor), which will lower your stress level. In addition, you will wake up your body which gives you energy to work for the rest of the day.

3. Fresh air, the sun, vitamin D!
   This is especially helpful for people who don�t get out a lot, because they are in an office all day. Not getting outside can cause a vitamin D deficiency, since your body receives this vitamin via sunlight. Possible consequences of a deficiency are: feeling lethargic, low energy levels and even anxiety attacks. During the night the sun has already set, so it�s important to go for a run during the day.

4. Not to mention: your body
   Exercise promotes mental health, but obviously it�s also good for your body. You can lose weight, improve your fitness levels and / or get stronger. That�s why it�s advised to exercise 150 minutes moderately intensive (walking, running, cycling) each day.

5. Finally: it saves time
   When you work out during the day you will have time to do other things in the evening!

Are you active during the workday? Discuss this with your colleagues or employer.�Look what you can do to create a healthier and fitter workplace.

Deadlines make us happy! In many magazines, web blogs or advisory sites about working well, I read that deadlines are an effective and efficient way to be productive. They would encourage us and give us energy.

But the thing I see is that we are making ourselves crazy all the time – and that we are �fooled – with the idea that ‘getting the most out of life’ is good for you. When we meet, we always say: “Hi, how are you? Yes good, well, busy. Oh that�s good; yes, I am also busy. ” Having your calendar well-organized and in check, your time efficiently managed, means you have a good life. It is a perfectly heard ideal. Yet, that we want to get the most out of our lives is particularly good for employers. That is not ridiculous, because they benefit from effective and efficient employees. But whether it is good for us remains a forgotten question.

In the media they always sell it so nicely:

The big advantage of working with deadlines is that you stay in your momentum, because you constantly work towards the next point and you are under pressure, you can not afford to let your head hang and pace down; perform and pushing through is becoming a necessity instead of a need. (Winst.nl)

Who would not want to stay in his momentum and look forward to the next point on your To-Do list? Letting your head hang down? No, we want to push through because we want to show how motivated we are, to ourselves and to those who are important to us. Preferably under pressure. Yes, yes, who doesn�t want that?

The power of a deadline and the adrenaline rush that goes with it is motivation for them. By setting a deadline yourself, you can get the most out of yourself in a short time. (Intermediair)

A deadline, so we are told, creates momentum, energy and motivation. It is a good carrot-and-stick, or is it just a stick to hit us? Did we trade the whip for a nicer sounding idea? No, no, a deadline just encourages you to make a tight schedule, say the work gurus. That makes your boss� (sorry: your!) life a lot more pleasant. And so we eagerly take over new ten commandments, in the form of 5 tips, 7 tricks, or 10 do’s & don’ts.

Obligation is called willingness
Let’s try to be honest: a deadline is simply an obligation. An obligation imposed on us by someone else with power. Let�s not make it more beautiful than it is. But of course these days we do not want to experience it like that. Life, and therefore also working, must be fun. We prefer to create an ‘optimistic’ language; instead of the oppressive ‘obligating’ we like to say and hear: ‘motivating yourself’. After all, we see ourselves as autonomous individuals with our own free will. As people who do & don�t because we ourselves wish it so. That works better than realizing that someone else imposes it on us, obligates us. This is how willingness is replaced by obligation, while it goes on under its old name.

And is it really that effective? As long as we continue to believe that we want it ourselves, and as long as we accept it as a matter of fact, we like to put our best foot forward. Driven we show how effective and efficient we are. After all, we are proud to work as if we are the CEO of our own lives. The fact that we at the end of the day drop worn-out on the couch, drinking a wine before bed, eventually getting a burn-out or falling into a depression, is a private problem. And, well, after a weekend of meditation, yoga or happiness festival � payed for by the boss – we can start afresh again. Do not let your head hang down. Stay in your momentum and meet your deadlines energetically!

Values Compass
That we have to do (sorry: want!) every possible thing, follows from the enormous high expectations we have of life. Especially the new generation is maddened by the infinite possibilities that life has to offer, by the idea that you can become anything you want to be, that the chances are up for grabs if you plan your activities well. Why do we want all that?

Because we all need recognition and appreciation. Recognition for our exceptional commitment and performance. The kind of beauty we have made and the special person we are. Nobody wants to be a mediocre cog in an unseen way, in an organization that only pursues its own interests. Personal values, goals and meaning form the compass with which we determine our actions and set our standards.

Values are much more important than the so called motivating carrot-and-stick. Instead of accepting new ten commandments, I prefer to ask myself the most important questions first. Questions like: Why do I really want this? What is really important now? Why do I actually have to meet that deadline? Who really expects what of me? What fair values lei behind it? Are these my values or those of the other? What are the consequences if I do it and what if I do not? And what do I think of that?

In the end it’s more about why we do something and less about what we do; because we have to do it anyway.

Mostly people suffering from a burn-out or workstress have difficulty saying no. They are perfectionistic and want to be a good colleague. But how do you change this mentality? And why is it so important? We will tell you.

Lifestyle
You do not only get satisfaction by finishing your workday, you also need to feel well. Instead of focussing on the problem (being tired, too much stress, too much work, disruption of a colleague) you should focus on the thing that you DO want.

For example: people who are tired do not necessarily benefit from extra hours of sleep. Sometimes they miss a challenge in their work or a long walk during the lunchbreak will help already. People who experience a lot of workstress, do not benefit from having �less work�. Less work grounds less of a challenge and therefore less need for cooperation and creative thinking and not per se less stress. So what is needed to reduce workstress and prevent a burn-out? �A different task package? Developing new capacities? A different format of workplaces? Mostly you only know when you try it out � and if does not help, you try something new.

Build it up
Start easy and build it up slowly: choose one goal you want to work on today. Even if you think you do not have enough time or space. The alternative (doing nothing, go on like you would normally do) is not an option, because you will not feel better and your stress will not reduce. And if you burn out, you also can not be there for you colleagues anymore.

For example: to give yourself more space for relaxation and prevent a burn-out, you can start the day with working for two hours on projects. Accept that you need to take the rest from the day �off� to work on your mail and with your colleagues. Do not check your mail in the first two hours, so that you get the important things done. �This gives you rest and makes it possible to relax during your workday.

So give yourself more time and space! It will give you time and rest back in return.

Everybody is different. What is relaxing for one person, might cause stress for someone else. Look for a way to relaxe that works for you. You have no idea yet? That is OK, you will eventually, by trying different things! Get inspired by today�s article, where we tell you what we do to prevent and reduce stress.

Babette:
Sharing your worries, mindfulness and taking care of myself, for example by cooking, sleeping, gardening, sports, walking, having sex or going into the sun and nature. Both to reduce and to prevent stress. To prevent stress, I also prepare �To-Do�s lists� to get a good overview and I make sure I have nice things to look forward to. I make sure there is a healthy balance between effort and relaxation. �

Tim (Coach):
When I feel stressed, I make time for relaxation. Exercising, meeting friends, an evening on the couch. Everything to shut down the stressful thoughts!

Selin (Coach):
Listening and playing (piano) music helps me to calm down. Also talking about the stress with my parents and friends helps me, to share my �worries� so that I know that I am not alone. And I like to see my friends and and do fun stuff, every cloud has a silver lining! �

Sanne (Coach):
I make lists of things I have to do. This gives me a clear overview and satisfies me when I finish a task. When I sum everything up on paper, it is mostly not as bad as it seemed before. If I still feel stressed, I take a break and do something else. Another assignment, a drink, talk or walk or run for awhile.

Paul (Coach):
When I suffer from work-related stress, I like to do my work as good as possible, so I will get rid of the stress. To accomplish this I put on some music that energises me, I take something to drink and I make sure I stop working when I am starting to feel hungry.

Leonid (Web Developer):
When it comes to stress, I believe that it’s better to be prepared for it in advance than trying to cope with it right on the spot when it breaks out. After all, stress is nothing else but my reaction to things that happen to me, so being emotionally stable means being more stress-resistant.

I find creative activities such as making music and drawing to be very helpful. Each time I finish a drawing or a musical piece I feel like I achieved something. That feeling stays with me for a couple of days and it makes work-related problems feel less dreadful.

Another tool under my belt is physical activity. I discovered that an evening walk of 40-60 minutes makes me feel much more in control over my life the next day, and so there is less room left for the workplace stress to crawl into.

Alexander (Marketing):
Stress is mostly the result of a heavy workload. If I am starting to feel pressured, I like to take a step back. Literally, mostly. A little walk, a trip to the supermarket, an extra fitness training. That gives my mind some space, so I can sort things out again.

What also helps me is to shut the world out for awhile: put on my headphones and block a part off my day to finish some tasks. Eating something every three hours helps me to stabilize my energylevel and gives me a moment to relax.

Lisa (final editor):
When life gets too much, I plan a date with my friends to get some stuff �off my chest. It feels as a relieve to share your worries. Next to that, I always try to focus on my mental well-being: not only when I experience stress. Sports, dancing, yoga, but also drawing and painting contribute to my resistance against stress. Me time is a must to recharge!

What do you do to relax?

How many plants do you have in your environment, at home, at school, at work? If you have some close by, for example at your desk or in a corner of the room, you might have noticed how nice it is to have a plant nearby. Unfortunately, there are many places, such as offices, schools and shops, that are lacking plants, and that’s a shame!

Benefits

Several studies have been conducted regarding the usefulness of plants in the environment, especially in offices. Extensive research has been made on which plants contribute to improved air quality (NASA, 1989). Plants and microorganisms in the potting soil can, among other things, clean the air, provide oxygen, and extract various toxins from the air. In addition, the appearance of plants can contribute to a better environment to live and work in, and a more relaxed mood.

Oxygen

Through light and photosynthesis, the plant converts CO2 (carbon dioxide) and H2O (water) into sugars, which the plant uses as nutrition at night when there�s no sunlight. The waste left in this process from the water molecule is our precious oxygen! At night, these plants repel CO2 to a limited extent. There are also plants that conduct this process reversed, such as the sansevieria. That’s why it�s a good idea to place it in your bedroom, because at night it will provide you with fresh oxygen.

Toxins

Unfortunately, there are toxins in a lot of products around us, for example in furniture, carpeting, paint and printers. The 3 most known toxins are formaldehyde, trichlorethylene and benzene. These substances may irritate the skin and mucous membranes, cause headaches and asthma, and they are associated with an increased risk of cancer.

At school

TNO investigated at several school, classes with and without plants, in order to research the benefits of plants in the classroom. In the classes with plants, after 16 weeks, 10-20% reduction of CO2 was measured, degradation of unwanted odors within 45 minutes at 0, 7% less health complaints, more creativity and on average more than 20% improvement in scores from tasks and tests.

At the office

TNO also did research on plants in the office, which showed that people who worked with a computer for more than 4 hours a day, felt less stressed, more alert and more at ease when there were plants in the workplace (2 plants per 12m3). In addition, the aforementioned improvement in air quality was found as well, as improvement in atmosphere and acoustics.

Take a plant

Not everybody has green fingers, but fortunately, it’s easy to enjoy a nice plant. Many houseplants are very easy to maintain and require little attention, and prefer rather less, than too much water. There�s quite a lot of research from renowned research institutes, that emphasize the beneficial effects of plants. So make sure to include plans at work and at home, to reduce your work stress and improve your performance. In the list of NASA you can find a plant that fits your environment. Watch out for poisonous plants if you have children and animals nearby.