Varsha Kariya

Stress affects your health in many ways but is a part of your life. There are many causes for it so as many ways to relieve it. Learn to manage stress before it gets to be too much.

Did you know? 

• 33% of people feel extreme stress
• About 72% of people experience stress that affects their physical and mental health.

Source

Thus stress can take a toll on your well-being. Consider the following suggestions and inculcate them in your daily life to live stress-free.

Improve your health with these simple healthy habits: 

Regular exercise –

Stretch every day for some time. Your muscles would have become stiff and tires, which results in reduced body blood flow. Hence it is necessary to have the habit of exercising regularly.

Take a walk/run outside –

Spending time outside is important to healthy living. It relieves stress and strengthens your immune system. 

Enjoy whatever you do –

Do something that puts you in a good mood. It will affect positively for the rest of the day. Do something that you enjoy every day,  no matter how small.

Sleep well –

Lack of sleep is an indicator of poor health. It affects your stress levels. Get enough sleep to relieve it.

Have a balanced diet –

Most of the experts suggest that drinking tea calms the nerves. It also means you are consuming herbs that are known for relaxation. Having ginger as part of your diet also calms you down. It is considered a homeopathic stress reliever.

Connect with family and friends –

a little bit of fun and laughter with family and friends can do wonders. It relieves tensions. It helps your mind and body to be relaxed.

Just laugh –

laughter increases mood-enhancing endorphins. It helps in reducing stress-causing hormones. Relive your stress by watching a comedy, listening to jokes, or even by telling them!

Avoid unhealthy habits –

Avoid consuming alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine, and drugs. These habits are temporary ways to escape stress. They actually lead to an increased level of stress and have negative long-term effects.

Practice the slow breathing technique –

Oxygenate your body. One of the best ways to deal with stress is slow and deep breathing. It is the time-tested way to beat anxiety and stress. Try out this breathing technique if you are feeling stressed:

• Slowly inhale for air for 5 seconds
• Hold for 5 seconds
• Slowly exhale for 5 seconds
• Repeat the action

Identify the triggers and indications –

Identity what triggers stress for you. Your behavior might indicate whether you are stressed or not. When people are stressed, they bite their nails, sweat, or tap their feet. If you can identify these indicators, you can take a break and go for a walk/ take deep breaths. 

Thus, by practicing these habits you can live a calmer and fulfilled life. 

What are you waiting for? Start a good habit today and reduce your stress levels.

Download Joyscore App for more tips on healthy living and happiness. 

Do you remember Newton’s first Law of motion? It states that if a body is at rest, or moving at a constant speed in a straight line, it will remain at rest or keep moving in a straight line at constant speed unless it is acted upon by a force.  You must be wondering why I’m stating the law of inertia. Well, after a long period of quarantine or staying indoors, maintaining social distancing has considerably slowed down body’s motion. The slowness and stress of dealing with the pandemic leads to procrastination. And you’re not alone.  

As the pandemic drags on way beyond what we expected, it’s getting difficult to get things done. Covid-19 has spawned a worldwide psychological crisis, And it is directly impacting one of human’s harmful tendencies: Procrastination. Experts say it is not a time management problem but an emotion management problem. And practicing mindful habits can help you get over procrastination, at least to some extent. 

Here are few strategies to overcome procrastination and create mindful habits:

Maintain a to-do list

Make a list of things you want to do this week/month/day. You can go old school and write on a chart paper and stick it on the wall, where you can see it every day. You get a sense of accomplishment as you see the list getting whittled down.  

Speak out self-motivating statements

That way you perceive a task can alter our motivation for completing it. You can repeat a few phrases to yourself, like “there’s no time like the present” or “the sooner I complete this, the sooner I can do something that I truly love.” You can put these are reminders on your phone, twice or thrice each day, and see the difference in your attitude. 

Break the task down into smaller pieces

This is the most effective and tested way to combat procrastination. Write all the steps involved in completing the task and recognise these steps in terms of time and efforts metrics. You’ll start to look at it as a manageable job that can be done with a reasonable amount of effort. 

Reward yourself when you accomplish a small goal

Once these small steps are panned out and completed, you can reward yourself by taking a break or calling up a friend, or treating yourself to ice cream, or it can be anything else. But be mindful about it, and don’t take long breaks. 

Don’t be too hard on yourself

Look at your accomplishments, at least once a week or by the end of the day. This will prevent you from being too harsh on yourself. Take a more positive approach consciously. 

Becoming mindful, especially in this very moment, is a very powerful thing. For the mind of a procrastinator, mindfulness is a simple place to be. A dedicated 2 or 3 minutes of regular practice can make the seemingly task bearable. It goes a long way in providing the advantages of meditation. If you want to start practicing mindfulness, JoyScore can help you! You can build mindful habits by completing suggested activities in the app, which are customized as per your needs. You need to fill a short in-app survey before you start. The app is scientifically backed and has many unique features which can help you increase your joy quotient. Download the app today and experience joy!

Self-care is essential for our health. Adequate self-care is required to be the best version of yourself. It is a practice that you enjoy doing.

What is Self-care?

Nourishing yourself is self-care. It may be physical, mental, and emotional. You must take care of your mind and body if you want it to run efficiently. You need to know how much physical activity you are doing.

Similarly, the way you think greatly affects your psychological well-being. Mental self-care helps you to stay mentally healthy. Emotional self-care includes coping skills to deal with uncomfortable feelings. It helps you acknowledge and express your feelings regularly.

Self-care can be taken in different forms. Here are few things which you can practice:

• Learn a new hobby
• Exercise
• Cooking/baking for yourself
• Express your feelings to the friends/family members
• Taking a walk/stroll outside

Here is 5 step approach towards self-care routine:

Understand your needs first

Self-care is pampering yourself. It is about meeting your needs. Before you start any activities, think about – what needs are to be met? What do I need right now?

This will help you to understand your basic needs. Instead of practicing a random self-care routine, you can exactly know what your need is and fulfill it straight away.

Create a schedule

The common reason for not involving yourself in self-care is lack of time. People who are struggling to engage in self-care often say “I don’t have time”. The remedy is to make time.

You know your daily schedule. Find a gap in that and add self-time and stick to it. If you find even a 10 min gap, utilize that for taking care of yourself by relaxing or taking deep breaths.

Prioritize

Whatever we do with our time is a choice. Usually, our priorities are not aligned with what we actually need. You have to fit self-care into your schedule on priority even though you are busy. Be it time for exercise/meditation, saying no to certain commitments, or your hobby time, you can fit these into your weekly routine if you prioritize.

Set the boundaries

You have to set boundaries about what you are and what you are not willing to do. Take a break from the busy schedule. Take some time off. This will rejuvenate you. The world will be the same when you return. You will be in a better position to deal with the challenges of the world.

Evaluate and practice regularly

Self-care is beneficial when you practice it regularly. Engage yourself in some kind of activity every day for at least 10minutes. This will be more helpful for you than the one that takes two hours once a month.

Evaluate the positive benefits that you gain through self-care. Reflect on your actions. If those have a positive impact on your health, then continue doing so.

Finally, self-care is not selfish. It is not a luxury as well. It is vital for your mental and physical well-being. Check out the Joyscore App to learn more.

World Health Day is an initiative by the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness about the overall health and well-being of people across various countries in the world. It is celebrated on the 7th of April every year. Its purpose is to create awareness of a specific health theme to highlight priority areas of concern for the WHO.

World Health Day is celebrated to mark WHO’s founding. WHO held the first Health Assembly in 1948. This Assembly decided to celebrate the 7th of April each year as World Health Day with effect from 1950. 

Over the years, this has thrown light on important health issues such as diseases, maternal health, and child care. Its focus is to create worldwide attention on these important aspects of global health. The WHO puts together regional, local and international events which are held on this day related to the specified theme.

Each year focuses on different themes. The theme for 2020 was ‘Support nurses and midwives. People around the world spent the day thanking these frontline workers battling the COVID 19. 

The theme for 2021 is ‘Building a fairer, healthier world’. Most of the countries have experienced rapid economic growth, migration, and urbanization. It has created better lives for some and most are left behind. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed more people into poverty, food insecurity, reduced chances of better healthcare facilities, and social and gender inequalities.  People across the world have less or no access to safe environments, clean air, and water. This has led to unnecessary suffering and deaths which has harmed economies and society. 

This is quite unfair, but preventable. 

“WHO is committed to ensuring that everyone, everywhere, can realize the right to good health.” 

WHO is seeking the support of world leaders to ensure that everyone has living and working conditions that are conducive to good health. It is urging leaders to track health inequalities and ensure that people have access to quality health services when and where they need them. 

What can you do?

As you know, celebrating World Health Day is important. A small contribution from you can make a big difference to the people around the world. Each one can take a hand in improving the overall health of the world. Just start with yourself, your family, and your community. 

Here are some steps you can follow:

• Be a volunteer and know about this year’s theme
• Raise awareness about this important issue by planning activities in your community or near your house. Spread the news of the importance of health and threats associated with being unhealthy. 
• You can organize fundraisers to support local clinics and other public health centers.
• Do this every year
• Be a part of promoting global health all around. 

Take care of yourself too!

You can take some extra steps to care for your health. On this day, try to get a gym membership and start going regularly. Start a healthy diet or regular exercise. Make a resolution to have nutritious food and to walk every day. Download the Joyscore app to get more tips on being healthier and happier.