Activities Which Reduce Stress

How do you combat all the mental strains and stresses of modern life? Are these stresses harming you – and if they are what can you do about it?

They may stop you sleeping or make put you off your food. One thing that experts agree on is that just sitting around trying not to think about the things that are worrying you is NOT going to work.

Exercise and meditation in the outdoors can often help – though its not for everyone. For many of us it seems stresses have a habit of whirling round and round forever in our brains.

Instead the latest psychologists recommend actually doing something with your brain to take you mind away from its troubles. The latest branch of the science is the specialism of therapeutic recreation – and the experts in this field have some surprising stress-busting solutions.

Their answer is to let the mind engage in new and fun mental activities. And this can be anything from online poker to Wordle.

Fancy doing a puzzle or learning a new language? What about trying to start playing the piano?

The latest idea is to give the brain something that is challenging, new and, best of all, fun. It sounds good doesn’t it?

Best of all, the scientists say, these brain games aren’t just a great calming distraction for stress sufferers – they actually do us all good too.

They say that giving the brain some new work to do is an important way of preventing memory loss, expanding creativity and avoiding depression. It can even make you more popular with others too.

The psychologists say that these side effects mean that these mental activities could be crucial for many people. As we grow older our minds can get very set in our ways.

Brains may follow the same old patterns if they are not stimulated and challenged. That’s why trying something new could be the great saviour from stress related problems.

It is claimed that these fun mental activities in the UK can also help human self-confidence and create feelings of accomplishment. Anything from doing a new art project to playing an online casino game can boost your own self-esteem and lower harmful stress levels.

The result will be that the brain will be much healthier and will trigger the release of helpful endorphins. These will generate a great feeling of wellbeing and counteract the effects of stress.

There are all sorts of personal development resources that can be found online when it comes to a variety of different circumstances that you may be experiencing in life whether it be a change of career, looking for new motivation to reach your goals and helping combating stress when you may feel your back is against the wall.

The Trans4mind Podcast helps focus on development topics that can transform your life and introduce you to a different level of forward thinking that can influence your life choices and others around you.

After all, anything might work for an individual – but the stress experts recommend that activities like these will have the most positive effect on the most people:

Play a game

Gaming nowadays has a wealth of positive mental effects, even a session of real money poker with friends is extremely popular where you can pit your wits against other newcomers or even a quick game of chess can deepen your focus and improve your memory. Or how about taking up a completely new game to really stimulate the grey matter?

Real-life board games are a great way of bonding with friends and family while the online world of virtual games is a great way for enjoying some quality me-time.

Do puzzles

Try word games like crosswords or word puzzles. They’re fun and make you think too.

There’s a reason that the simple New York Times daily word puzzle Wordle swept around the world recently – because people found how much they appreciated a puzzle to break their stressful routine every day.

Do some gardening

Fresh air is always good for you. It helps your body make melatonin and that helps you get a good sleep at night.

Garden activities occupy your brain in a restful way – and can be exercise too. Sowing seeds and watching plants grow is very satisfying and restful.

Even if you have no space at home try growing things in pots or even renting an allotment.

Do some art

Remember when you were a kid – a piece of paper and some pens was an invitation to create all sorts of fantastical drawings. You could draw for hours and it wasn’t for anyone else to see, it was just for your own fun.

It shows that you don’t have to be a professional artist to have fun making marks on paper.

Your new art project could range from filling in a colouring book for adults to trying your hand at some inventive freehand sketches. Or how about getting some paint and really making a splash of colour?

Get baking

What about making a cake. Or a pie?

The sense of reward when you pull something from the oven will banish your stress for a long time. Try a new recipe to really get your brain – and your appetite – stimulated.

This interesting new idea from the psychology experts is that our interests and activities are as important to our health as our work. Relaxing and beating stress isn’t just a matter of switching off – it more about switching your focus on to something else.

That’s an interesting new theory – and one that rings true for many online gamers. After focussing on gaming for a while they often feel all their stresses have been forgotten.

Stress is one of the major mental hazards of modern life. It’s great news that the latest scientific advice seems to be that the modern world – including online games and puzzles – can help combat the worst effects of stress.

And it all sounds like a great excuse to get online and start playing…