In today’s fast-paced world, stress has become one of the most common issues faced by people. It has many causes, some of which are work, studies, difficult relationships and more. Before you learn how to manage stress, you should be able to recognize it. So let’s give definition to this term!
What is stress?
Stress is an overwhelming feeling of emotional or physical tension that is not possible to control. In fact, it’s a normal human reaction to changes or challenges in the environment. Stress occurs when one is unable to cope with specific demands and events. But in some cases, it may become a chronic condition. When stressed, the body produces larger quantities of cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine, which leads to the following physical reactions: increased blood pressure, sweating, muscle tension and alertness.
How to avoid stress?
It’s impossible to completely avoid stress in our lives. However, you can reduce its frequency and intensity. If the biggest source of your stress is work, then you should do your best to maintain a work-life balance. Try not to take too many responsibilities and delegate your duties when possible. It’s very important for your mental health not to stay at work until late at night and stick to your schedule. Overworking inevitably results in stress, so don’t exceed the number of hours set by your employer.
Another big source of stress is studies. If you are a student, you may struggle with numerous assignments, regular assessments and hard exams. College life is very demanding, so you need to make much effort to keep up with everything. Luckily, there is a great solution that can make studying easier. You can turn to so-called assignment writing companies and ask them for help. Professional writers working there will complete a paper in any subject for you. What’s more, there are a lot of essay examples on their official websites. You can access them absolutely for free, just quickly choose one essay about stress in our life to see how it works. Why do you need those examples? Well, you can learn a perfect essay structure from them and use it in your own work. Paper samples also provide you with useful terms and phrases for your home assignment.
Music and meditation for stress management
It’s a well-known fact that music as well as meditation have many great benefits for stress management and mental health. Furthermore, listening to music, if done properly, can be a kind of meditation itself. Actually, you can take any activity, including walking or even washing the dishes, and make them a meditation by adding more awareness. This way, any experience can become richer and more satisfying.
“Listening meditation” can be a very powerful practice. If you consider the experience of so-called dhyanas or jhanas, which are calm, focused and blissful states of meditation, you may realize that you feel the same while listening to your favorite music. So why not treat music as a meditation object?
The power of music for stress release
Music has a profound effect on both our feelings and body. For example, fast music usually makes us feel more alert and helps to concentrate better, while upbeat music makes us feel more positive and optimistic. Music with a slower tempo quiets the mind and relaxes muscles, so we can feel soothed and less stressed.
Research confirms that music is effective for relaxation and stress management. According to some studies, tracks with 60 beats per minute help the brain synchronize with them. As a result, the brain functions on alpha waves, which are frequencies from 8 to 14 hertz per second that promote relaxation. What’s more, music can induce sleep by causing delta brainwaves of 5 hertz. Scientists say that listening to music changes brain functioning nearly to the same extent as medication. But to achieve positive results, one needs to devote at least 45 minutes to this practice.
What type of music works best
Surprising enough, Celtic, Native American and Indian music has the most powerful effect. Various stringed-instruments, drums, and flutes are extremely effective when it comes to relaxing the mind. Also, different nature sounds, such as rain, thunder and bird singing, may be relaxing. It’s especially nice when they are mixed with other genres, like light jazz and classics.
Since we don’t count beats while listening to music, how to choose tracks that have a relaxing effect? The answer is completely up to you because you must first like the music being played. So start exploring different types of music and see what works best. Never force yourself to pick relaxation music that irritates you as it will only create additional tension.
