You can’t completely eliminate stress from your life, but you can learn to deal with it in a healthy way. And since stress is associated with all sorts of negative health effects like high blood pressure and a weakened immune system, taking a few minutes a day to fight stress keeps you not only happy and smiling, but healthy too.
“Daily hassles and annoyances can get to anyone, but small changes make a big difference,” explains Judy Saltzberg, who holds a doctorate in clinical psychology and teaches at the University of Pennsylvania’s Masters of Applied Positive Psychology program. Here’s how to keep smiling.
1. Take it outside
“The first intervention I advise is physical activity,” says Saltzberg. Even if you don’t have time for a full workout, you can still boost your happiness. A study from the University of Essex found that just five minutes of walking, biking or even gardening outdoors can lift your mood and improve self-esteem.
Health bonus: Aside from melting away stress, you’ll melt calories too!
2. Find time for tea
Sipping a few cups of tea may make you more resilient to stress, according to research from the University College of London. Study participants who drank four cups of black tea a day had less of the stress hormone cortisol in their body after completing a challenging task than did those who didn’t drink tea.
Health bonus: Tea’s antioxidants may ward off some cancers, improve heart health and decrease risk of stroke. And green tea benefits go beyond lowering stress.
3. Pop a piece of gum
Under pressure? Chewing gum could help, say experts at Swinburne University in Melbourne, Australia. Researchers found that people who chewed while multitasking reported feeling less anxious and less stressed than their gum-free peers. They also felt more alert and performed twice as well on stressful tasks.
Health bonus: Chewing sugarless gum after meals will not only reduce stress, but it can also help fight bacteria that cause cavities.
4. Indulge in dark chocolate
Dessert probably puts a smile on your face already, but now there’s proof of chocolate’s joy-boosting benefits. German researchers found that people who ate 1.5 ounces of dark chocolate a day for two weeks had significantly lower levels of anxiety- and stress-related hormones in their system.
Health bonus: Dark chocolate may also contribute to lower blood pressure and reduce your risk of stroke or heart attack by 39 percent, suggests a study in the European Heart Journal.
5. Stop and smell the flowers
Sniff your way to serenity and fight off sickness by keeping a bouquet of roses on your desk, wearing citrus-scented lotion or getting a whiff of cinnamon. Stress can wreak havoc on your immune system, but Japanese scientists found that when people inhaled a scent compound common in flowers, herbs and spices, their systems kept functioning normally in spite of the stress.
Health bonus: Smelling lavender before bed can help you sleep better, according to a study in Complementary Therapies in Nursing and Midwifery.
6. Flip your perspective
Focusing on the positive in a stressful situation can help keep you smiling, says Saltzberg. Instead of stewing on a bumper-to-bumper traffic jam, for example, think of it as an opportunity to call an old friend. “Tuning into your thinking and challenging doomsday thoughts can put a situation in perspective,” says Saltzberg. And that defuses the tension.
Health bonus: A glass-half-full approach has been linked to faster recovery from injury and illness, according to research in the Journal of Personality.
After a few weeks of practicing these techniques, you’ll not only feel happier, but you can rest easy knowing you’re healthier too — which is one less thing for you to stress about!
107 thoughts on “6 Instant Ways To Stress Less And Smile More”
I think it’s so amazing that positive thinking can help you to heal faster/better. And of course I love that dark chocolate helps with stress 🙂
All chocolate!
Milk Chocolate
I like milk chocolate with caramel
Dark chocolate is my favorite.
I love milk chocolate
Dark Chocolate
I like Dark Chocolate now because it is healthier. But I would eat all the Milk Chocolate if you put it in front of me right now!! @Celebrate Woman Today
I love dark chocolate with fruit!
white chocolate is my favorite
Milk and dark chocolate are great but milk is my favorite
I love chocolate ….oh yeah and love milk chocolate !!!!
I love milk chocolate.
All chocolate is good to me
i am not a chocolate person but i do like Frango mints! and recess peanut butter cups
love dark chocolate
Yum! Milk chocolate!
Not crazy about white chocolate but I love milk and especially dark chocolate!!
I like all kinds of chocolate!
I like (LOVE) milk chocolate
White chocolate is my favorite
I like all of the chocolate, but usually go for dark or white.
I prefer dark, but I am pretty happy with any chocolate available.
I love dark chocolate alone or with just about any flavor combination. My favorite used to be dark chocolate with chili pepper, but I haven’t been able to find it lately.
I like dark and milk chocolate. if it is milk chocolate, I prefer almonds in it. I also love Ferrero Roche!
I don’t like white chocolate though
Love all chocolate esp. milk:)
milk
I love milk chocolate…it’s my go to snack!
dark chocolate with almonds.
Milk chocolate
dove dark chocolate Celebrate Woman Today
dove dark chocolate
Milk Chocolate
I LOVE Dark Chocolate!!!! Especially dark chocolate covered coffee beans…..YUM!!
I wish I could say stress free, but dark chocolate is by far my favorite!!!!
I prefer milk chocolate. My son loves the dark chocolate
I love Dark chocolate it’s healthier for you.
DEEP DARK CHOCLATE MMMMMMMM
Definitely milk chocolate…oooh so good!
love milk chcolate
I love dark chocolate.
White chocolate only for me!!
I love Milk Chocolate! Perfect around “that time of the month”.
Love chocolate, milk chocolate more then dark
I like dark chocolate!
I like milk choclate
Dark Chocolate with caramel!
White and milk chocolate. I am very picky about chocolate lol
I like all chocolate, but milk chocolate is my favorite
Love chocolate any kind as long as there are no nuts in them.
Milk choc!
I love all chocolate but prefer milk chocolate over the dark chocolate love white chocolate also
Dove..Dark Chocolate 🙂
I prefer Milk Chocolate.
I have to say I love milk chocolate but I will eat any kind of chocolate
Milk chocolate is my favorite, however, I’ve never turned down any chocolate, love it 🙂
I love chocolate covered cherries milk chocolate
I like white not milk or dark chocolate
My favorite is dark chocolate with raspberry. Every bite is a taste of heaven.
Dark Chocolate is my favorite but I like most chocolates.
I love chocolate period! If I have to choose, I would choose milk chocolate first!
I love all chocolate, white, dark and milk chocolate, filled with peanut butter caramel or truffles, oh my gosh that just made me hungry for some truffles!!!
I like milk chocolate, but, recently I tried Lindt’s dark chili chocolate and it was goooood.
I mostly eat Milk, but still love white and dark also!
love chocolate in all it’s forms/colors: dark, milk and white
try to eat mostly dark
Definitely milk chocolate and if it has caramel in it the better!
I don’t care for chocolate by itself..has to be peanut butter & chocolate 🙂
I love all chocolate
I prefer milk chocolate but looks like I should start eating dark chocolate
I prefer dark chocolate plus it has the added health benefit.
Love dark chocolate and occasionally white.
Love dark chocolateand an occasionally white!
I love all Chocolate but Dark Chocolate love to just put in my mouth and let it melt slowly I eat less cause it satisfies me more.
I’ll take either but prefer milk chocolate.
I haven’t met a chocolate I didn’t like lol I love all chocolate, my favorite is dark you can really taste the richness.
Dark chocolate is my favorite, but I like all chocolate
I love milk chocolate the most especially with nuts.
I LOVE White Chocolate but can devour Caramel Milky Ways
dark chocolate all the way!
I don’t like chocolate, dark or milk. White chocolate is okay, but I am not a big sweet eater.
Milk Chocolate for me please!
I’m chocoholic. Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, candy coated chocolate..I’ll eat it all!
One of my favorite treats at this time of year is dark chocolate “oranges”.
Rich deep dark as you can find it Dark Chocolate~~
milk chocolate
I like high cocoa content Lindt chocolate bars.
I love dark and white chocolate! Yummy!
LOVE milk chocolate, but eat mostly dark since it’s better for you 🙂
MILK CHOCOLATE <3
I love white chocolate and creme filled chocolates.
milk chocolate… yes please
love love love milk chocolate 🙂
I love both but prefer dark chocolate because of the health benefits. Sometimes I even make my own!
I like milk chocolate
I love all chocolate but dark is my very favorite!
I really like ANY kind of chocolate, but if I have to pick, it would be milk chocolate!
I love Milk Chocolate
I love dark chocolate 🙂
Both
Milk Chocolate all the way, but in a pinch any chocolate will do…lol
Milk! yum!
I like milk chocolate.
love dark and milk chocolates!! mmmmmmmm
I love all chocolate but prefer milk chocolate.
Love dark chocolate
White chocolate is my favorite but I CRAVE milk chocolate (and cant stand most dark chocolate )
70% dark chocolate
I love Milk Chocolate and Dark Chocolate!