28 | JANUARY 27 • 2022 

Tips to Help 
Reduce Stress
Spend time outside … 
even if it is cold! Being 
in nature helps release 
stress so venture outside 
for a few minutes each 
day to nurture a sense of 
wellbeing. 

Limit exposure to the 
news. We all need to 
stay informed about the 

world around us. But 24/7 
exposure can cause a 
tremendous increase in 
our baseline stress levels. 
Instead, limit yourself to 
one half-hour news show 
each day or sign up for one 
daily news email such as 
the New York Times Daily 
Briefing.

Make it a point to laugh 
each day. Deep belly 

laughter (the kind where 
we laugh out loud) helps us 
reduce stress. Whether you 
watch comedies that you 
don’t admit to watching 
publicly but make you 
laugh out loud, or love 
a good Joke of the Day 
calendar or app for your 
phone, having a humorous 
outlook can help reduce 
stress levels. 

Exercise. Sustained 
physical activity causes 
the release of endorphins 
in our brains that help 
improve our mood. So 
whether you choose to 
walk, dance, do Tai Chi or 
jog, get up off the couch 
(with your doctor’s advice, 
of course) and move!
Socialize. Spending time 
with others either in person 

or virtually via FaceTime 
and Zoom can do wonders 
to reduce our sense of 
isolation and stress. So, put 
on a clean shirt, comb your 
hair and plan a game night!

Breathe. We can 
improve our vagal tone, 
a physiologic component 
of our stress response, 
simply by spending a few 
minutes each day doing 
breathing exercises. Try 
inhaling through your nose 
as if you were inhaling 
the fragrance of a flower, 
then slowly breathing out 
through your mouth in 
order to blow out all the 
candles on a birthday cake. 
In order to elongate your 
exhale, picture the whole 
top of the cake covered in 
candles.

HEALTH

continued from page 26

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