Published: May 4, 2023 by Loida Garcia-Febo, Health and Wellness Ambassador

All the best for a fruitful end of the semester!

Recently, it seems that many of us are stressed out, sleepless, and feeling Mercury in retrograde intensely. Wellness strategies can take us through times like these. In this post, I will share different strategies to help manage stress and anxiety. I would like to encourage everyone to take a moment to analyze which strategies are best for you.

Box breathing – can regulate breath, increases oxygen to the lungs, can help reduce blood pressure, and lower the heart rate.

1. Exhale to a count of five.
2. Hold your lungs empty for a five-count.
3. Inhale to a count of five.
4. Hold the air in your lungs for a count of five.
5. Exhale and begin the pattern anew.

Tips to use music to improve your well-being

• Listen to relaxing music – a tempo of 60 beats per minute is best for encouraging the alpha brainwaves that create a relaxed and conscious mind.
• Express yourself with a beat – You don’t need to be a musician to do this. Create rhythms that express emotions you’ve been feeling. Try making sounds like a storm and then moving back into a calmer state.
• Write a song – Express how you feel, sing it into your phone and play it back. Hearing your own feelings reflected back to you is an important part of healing through music.
• Create mood playlists – Let the music take you into happier or calmer places.

Stretches for the office – Mayo Clinic has a series of super short videos you can watch and follow to stretch out. One of the videos shows neck stretches for the workplace.

Tips to sleep better

• Go to bed and get up at the same time every day.
• Avoid eating big portions of food, smoking or drinking before bedtime.
• Keep your room cool, dark, and quiet. Use earplugs and room-darkening shades as needed.
• Consistent physical activity can help sleep better. Move more and sit less. Make sure to shake it, but not too close to bedtime.
• Keep electronics out of the bedroom.
• Use strategies to manage your stress.

Top strategies to cope with anxiety from the CDC

• Take breaks from news stories: limit news intake and exposure to screens.
• Take care of your body: Staying physically healthy can improve your emotional well-being. Here are some ways to improve your health:
  • Eat healthy. Have fruits and vegetables, lean protein, whole grains. Limit foods with unhealthy fats, salt, and added sugars. See Healthy Eating Tips.
  • Get enough sleep.
  • Increase physical activity. You can do 20 to 30 minutes a day or an overall of 2 ½ hours per week.
• Limit alcohol, drugs, smoking. Before bed can disrupt sleep.
• Make time to unwind. 
  • Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate.
  • Try to do some other activities you enjoy.
• Connect with others. 
  • Talk with people you trust, connect with your community-based or faith-based organizations.

Note: Overall, it is important to listen to your body. If after practicing anxiety-reducing strategies you still feel severe anxiety, consider consulting a health professional.