6 Tips to Relieve Work Stress

Adapted from Calm.com, read the full article there.

In small doses, stress can motivate you to meet deadlines and achieve goals at work. However, when work-related stress becomes chronic, it can lead to mental health problems like anxiety and depression, and physical health problems such as heart disease and high blood pressure.

Recognizing the signs of work stress

  • Emotional symptoms: These may include irritability, frustration, anxiety, depression, or low morale.
  • Physical symptoms: Signs of stress include headaches, muscle tension, fatigue, and sleep disturbances.
  • Behavioral symptoms: Increased absenteeism, reduced productivity, and withdrawal from work-related activities are a few examples.

What to Do About It

1. Identify your stressors

Observe and reflect on when and why you feel stressed to help you see patterns and develop strategies to cope.

  • Keep a stress diary: Record the moments when you feel stressed. Note the situation, your thoughts, how you reacted, and what could have been done differently. 
  • Analyze your diary: Look for recurring themes in your diary. Are there specific tasks, times of day, or interactions that consistently cause stress?

2. Ask for help

Seeking support is a sign of strength, not a weakness.

  • Talk to your supervisor: If workload or a specific task is a source of stress, discuss it with your manager. They may offer solutions or adjustments to your workload.
  • Seek support from colleagues: Talking about stressors with a trusted colleague can provide relief. They might also offer practical advice or assistance.
  • Consider professional help: If work stress is severely impacting your life, seek advice from a mental health professional.

3. Practice mindfulness and meditation

Mindfulness and meditation can help you stay centered and calm.

  • Start with short sessions: Begin with a few minutes of meditation or a mindfulness practice daily. Use guided sessions if you’re a beginner.
  • Incorporate mindfulness into your day: Try to be fully present in whatever you’re doing, whether it’s eating lunch or attending a meeting, to help yourself stay present and reduce feelings of stress and overwhelm.

4. Establish boundaries

Establishing clear boundaries between work and personal life is important for stress management.

  • Set work hours: Define clear start and end times for your workday. Avoid checking emails or taking work calls outside these hours.
  • Create physical or virtual boundaries: Designate a specific area for work and avoid using it for personal activities to help separate work from relaxation time.

5. Take breaks

Regular breaks, even short micro-breaks can help clear your mind, improve focus, and reduce stress.

  • Step away from your desk: Take short breaks throughout the day to walk around, stretch, or do a quick relaxation exercise.
  • Use breaks wisely: Rejuvenate yourself with a few minutes of deep breathing or a brief walk outside.

6. Commit to work-life balance

Ensuring a healthy balance between work and your personal life is essential for reducing stress.

  • Prioritize non-work activities: Make time for hobbies, exercise, and spending time with loved ones. 
  • Learn to disconnect: Physically and mentally disconnect from work after hours. Turning off notifications or setting limits on work-related activities in the evening.

A New Way to Say No

People have the right to ask the question and favors of you, and you have the right to say no.

Some of us are taught early on that saying no to requests from those around us are acts of violation of the relationship but are actually nothing of the sort. It is our right and also our responsibility to draw my own boundaries, rather than expect another person to draw them for me. Author Leslie Jamison learnt this lesson over many years and recently wrote about the art of saying no.

She created a “Notebook of Noes.” On every page, she wrote down an opportunity she had decided to decline: a speaking gig, a magazine commission, an invitation from a friend. Then she drew a line across the page. Underneath, she wrote what saying no had made room for: more time with her partner. More time at home. More time to write. More time to call her mother and ask about her day, and tell her about hers.

What she wound up writing was the story of learning to live a different way. She realized that each time she uttered the word, the world continued just as it always had. The people she had been anxious about disappointing? They were OK. The fear of losing something for good? It often came back, or something else did.

More than anything, however, the Notebook of Noes helped her see absence as a form of presence — instead of lamenting the ghost limb of what she wasn’t doing, she could acknowledge that every refusal was making it more possible to do something else.

Read her full article her, and start your Notebook of Noes today!

Sleep and Mood

While we know poor sleep can be associated with depression, anxiety, and other mental health concerns we often feel powerless to do anything about this. Christina Caron as a writer on the New York Times Well desk where she aims to share expert advice and reputable research in a useful and empathetic, helping others to live better lives. And, while she often write about depression, anxiety and other mental health problems, she also likes to focus on solutions.

In a recent piece she shared that Americans are chronically sleep deprived: one-third of adults in the United States say they get less than 7 hours a night. Teenagers fare even worse: About 70 percent of high school students don’t get enough sleep on school nights. She also shared that an analysis of 19 studies found that while sleep deprivation worsened a person’s ability to think clearly or perform certain tasks, it had a greater negative effect on mood. And when the National Sleep Foundation conducted a survey in 2022, half of those who said they slept less than 7 hours each weekday also reported having depressive symptoms. Some research even indicates that addressing insomnia may help prevent postpartum depression and anxiety. So what do we do about it?

Ms. Caron says “We’ve all heard how important it is to practice good sleep hygiene, employing the daily habits that promote healthy sleep. And it’s important to speak with your doctor, in order to rule out any physical problems that need to be addressed, like a thyroid disorder or restless legs syndrome. But this is only part of the solution. Conditions like anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and bipolar disorder can make it harder to sleep, which can then exacerbate the symptoms of mental illness, which in turn makes it harder to sleep well.”

But what else is there? In addition she came across “Say Goodnight to Insomnia” by Gregg D. Jacobs. The book, which uses C.B.T.-I. techniques, helped Emily to reframe the way she thought about sleep. She began writing down her negative thoughts in a journal and then changing them to positive ones. For example: “What if I’m never able to fall asleep again?” would become “Your body is made to sleep. If you don’t get enough rest one night, you will eventually.” These exercises helped her stop catastrophizing.

It may also be helpful to check out some apps with empirical support for efficacy in treating sleep and mood issues, specifically CBT-i Coach.

Be YOUR Valentine

Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate love. But for many, the holiday can be stressful, especially for singles, those mourning lost love, or anyone who may be unhappy with the status of their relationship. One way to cope with this is to shift the love you offer this Valentine’s Dat from others back to yourself! The folks over at Embark Behavioral Health offer these 5 tips for shifting the focus back to you today:

1. Celebrate your most important relationship – the one you have with yourself! The relationship you have with yourself will be your longest relationship in life, so it’s important to treat yourself well. If you are not spending Valentine’s Day with a significant other, plan your own night. Think about what reenergizes you. Take a bath, spend some time with a good book or plan your own at-home spa night. Buy yourself chocolates or flowers. Valentine’s Day is a time to feel loved, so show yourself how much you love you.

2. Invest in all your relationships. Valentine’s Day is a day for love, but not just romantic love. Send Valentine’s Day cards to your family and friends, small gifts of love to your nieces and nephews, or maybe bake cookies for a neighbor. Make the day a day of gratitude where the people in your life feel your appreciation.

3. Practice mindfulness. Meditation and mindfulness can be found in a variety of forms. Find a mindfulness app or a free podcast, turn down the lines, and focus your attention on your breath and your emotions. If sitting quietly and journeying through meditation does not sound helpful, consider coloring in a calming book or writing a journal entry. Doing this regularly has been shown to reduce feelings of anxiety and stress and can help you cope if emotions become too strong.

4. Seek support if necessary. If you are really struggling this Valentine’s Day, speak to a trusted family member, friend or therapist, and get the help you need. If you consider harming yourself or others, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for immediate support by calling, texting, or chatting 988.

5. Turn off social media. You love to see your family and friends happy, but consider avoiding social media for the days leading up to Valentine’s Day. It can be difficult to see others having something you want and turning off social media will give you time to focus on what’s really important this holiday. Always remember that a person’s social media page is often their “highlight reel,” never showing the full story, and usually finding the best parts of their life to show the world.

Do Good, Eat More Cookies!

Launched in 2017, Girl Scouts of Greater New York’s Troop 6000 is a first-of-its-kind program designed to serve families living in temporary housing in the New York City shelter system.

Each week, Girl Scouts meet in shelters across the city to take part in activities that help them make new friends, earn badges, and learn to see themselves as leaders. All fees, uniforms, trips, and program materials are provided at no cost.

As a permanent fixture of the program, we also established the Troop 6000 Transition Initiative, which supports Girl Scouts and their families as they transition to permanent housing. The average stay for a family in a city shelter is 18 months. Remaining connected to the community and opportunities introduced to them through Troop 6000 can help facilitate a successful transition for girls and young people, and it is essential they continue to receive the financial support that allows them to do so.

For Troop 6000 members, not only does Girl Scouting mean fun, it means consistency and community – a network of supportive peers and adults who, even if they’ve never met before, have similar experiences and are part of the same club.

If you want to support this, and do not have a local troop to buy from, or need an ethically driven reasons to buy even more, you can buy cookies to support Troop 6000 at https://digitalcookie.girlscouts.org/scout/sixk347668/

To learn more about Troop 6000’s expansion to serve recent immigrant and asylum-seeking families, click here.

Rebooting the Resolution

This post will be published on the last day of January. Statistically speaking, many of us have already had to rethink or abandon our resolution for the new year. But is there another way of thinking about this?

Christina Caron, a writer, clinical researcher, and ethicist publishing at the New York Times, recently authored a piece examining why we get stuck and describing 5 ways we can try to get unstuck from common traps that can impede progress toward our goals. You can read her full article at NYTimes.com and these 5 tips are summarized below.

Do a ‘friction audit’: The friction audit is one way organizations weed out areas of inefficiency. Individuals can apply the same principles to their own lives by identifying the things that create obstacles and add complications or stress, Dr. Alter said. To get started, try asking: Am I repeating certain patterns that are unhelpful? Are there certain things I do regularly that I don’t enjoy? The next step is to either trim away or smooth out each friction point. Say you dread your commute but feel powerless to change it. Dr. Alter suggested asking yourself: “What’s the part that makes it most unappealing?” What specific changes can you make to address the problem? Will it help to listen to a great podcast or audiobook? If you drive, can you start a car pool with other co-workers? Is there a way to work from home more often?

Reframe negative thoughts: Maybe you engage in “catastrophizing,” or thinking the worst will happen. Or maybe you are overly harsh with yourself and have a case of “the shoulds,” as in: “I should have gotten more done at work,” even when you accomplished a good amount. Persistent thoughts like these can create stress and interfere with your goals, said Judy Ho, a clinical neuropsychologist and associate professor at Pepperdine University. Try to reframe your thinking, Dr. Ho suggested. For example, instead of “I’m going to fail at this project,” you can think, “I’m going to do the best I can, and if I’m struggling I will ask for help.” Finally, she said, aim to evaluate your thoughts objectively: “I’m having this thought. What’s the evidence for it? And what’s the evidence against it?”

Try ‘futurecasting’: “Imagine a future life where you are unstuck,” said Sarah Sarkis, a clinical psychologist and executive coach in Boston. What does it look like? How do you feel? Then think about the specific steps that would help you work toward that vision. Write those steps down — ideally by hand. This helps us commit to them, Dr. Sarkis said. And don’t wait until you feel “ready,” she added. Do at least one step each day if you can — but be kind to yourself if you cannot. If you skip a day or two, just start again tomorrow. “Paint the future that you’re seeking,” Dr. Sarkis said. “Map a plan to get there.”

Share your goal: Telling other people about your plans can also be helpful. Adam Cheyer, the co-creator of Siri and the vice president of A.I. Experience at Airbnb, has said that this was crucial to his success. “Just the force of putting the words into the world now makes you believe — makes you commit,” he told an audience at the University of California, Berkeley. The added benefit is that people may want to help you out. “Somehow, the universe will help you achieve this goal,” he said. “It’s been a huge, huge tool for me.”

Do something meaningful: Spending time on activities that align with your values “moves you forward if you feel stuck in completely unrelated domains of your life,” Dr. Alter said. When he was feeling unmotivated early in his teaching career, he came across a poster at his gym — a group was looking for volunteers to help raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society by running in the New York City Marathon. It felt almost like fate, he said; one of his friends had died from leukemia years earlier. While training, he ended up making several friends. “I felt like a more productive person and it gave me confidence to tackle other areas of my life,” he said. “We need meaning more than ever when we’re feeling stuck.”

Mindful Management of Type 2 Diabetes

Matthew Solan is the Executive Editor of Harvard Men’s Health Watch, and Howard E. LeWine, MD is the Chief Medical Editor for Harvard Health Publishing. They recently collaborated on a piece for Harvard Health Publishing examining how mindfulness practices and similar interventions such as yoga may help people with diabetes control blood sugar. The pair cite a recent analysis of multiple studies, published in the Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine, that suggests how and why these might help.

The findings suggest that “those who participated in any of the mind-body activities for any length of time lowered their levels of hemoglobin A1C, a key marker for diabetes. On average, A1C levels dropped by 0.84%. This is similar to the effect of taking metformin (Glucophage), a first-line medication for treating type 2 diabetes, according to the researchers. A1C levels are determined by a blood test that shows a person’s average blood sugar levels over the past two to three months. Levels below 5.7% are deemed normal, levels from 5.7% to less than 6.5% are considered prediabetes, and levels 6.5% and higher are in the diabetes range.”

They suggest that one’s ” “ability to reduce stress may play a big part. “Yoga and other mindfulness practices elicit a relaxation response — the opposite of the stress response,” says Dr. Shalu Ramchandani, a health coach and internist at the Harvard-affiliated Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. “A relaxation response can lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. This improves insulin resistance and keeps blood sugar levels in check, thus lowering A1C levels.” A relaxation response can help people with diabetes in other ways, such as by improving blood flow and lowering blood pressure, which protects against heart attacks and strokes.

You can read the full article at https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/a-mindful-way-to-help-manage-type-2-diabetes-202302062885

Popular Myths About Sleep, Debunked

Marielle Segarra is a reporter and the host of NPR’s Life Kit, the award-winning podcast and radio show that shares trustworthy, nonjudgmental tips that help listeners navigate their lives. Ms. Segarra recently published an article looking at popular myths about sleep many of us believe and why we should think twice about them! You can read the full article at https://www.npr.org/2024/01/09/1196978496/debunking-popular-myths-about-sleep and have a look at some of the debunked items below.

MYTH 1: It doesn’t matter what time of day you sleep – “Unfortunately, the time of day does matter,” says Robbin. Our circadian rhythm — the internal circuitry that guides the secretion of the essential sleep hormone melatonin — is “significantly influenced by natural sunlight in our environment.” When the sun comes up and we go outside, that sunshine “stops the floodgates of melatonin and switches the ‘on’ phase of our circadian rhythm,” she says. “Conversely, going into a dark environment is what allows for the secretion of melatonin,” she adds.

MYTH 2: One night of sleep deprivation will have lasting effects – Your sleep isn’t going to be perfect every night, says Robbins. “Every now and then we might struggle. If we experience some stress during the day, our sleep suffers that night.” Sleep deprivation, or lack of sleep for at least 24 hours, can lead to short-term adverse effects such as a lapse in attention or an increase in resting blood pressure, write Robbins and her colleagues in their research paper. But they likely resolve with recovery sleep. So if you have an off night, don’t beat yourself up about it, says Robbins. Instead, try to get back on track with your normal sleep schedule as soon as possible.

MYTH 3: Being able to fall asleep anytime, anywhere is a good thing – “It’s a myth that a good sleeper would be able to hit the pillow and fall asleep right away,” says Robbins. “This is because sleep is a process.” It takes a well-rested, healthy person about 15 to 20 minutes or maybe a little bit longer to fall asleep, she adds. If you’re able to fall asleep immediately, it may be a sign of a chronically sleep-deprived state, write Robbins and her colleagues in their study. “If you were starved for food and sat down at any opportunity to eat a huge meal and ate voraciously, that would probably be a sign you’re not getting enough nutrition. It’s the same thing with sleep.”

MYTH 4: You can survive on less than 5 hours of sleep – Some people brag about needing only a few hours of sleep at night. That may come from the notion in our high-performing society that “well-rested people are lazy,” says Robbins — “which is a myth.” The reality is that adults need about 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night, she says. “That’s where we see the most optimal health [outcomes]: improved heart health, longevity and brain health into our older years.” Sleeping less than 7 hours a night can result in weight gain, obesity, diabetes and hypertension, according to a statement from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society. It’s also associated with impaired immune function, impaired performance and increased errors — like “sending an email to the wrong person or entering incorrect numbers in a spreadsheet,” says Robbins. So if you can, try to hit that goal of sleeping 7 to 9 hours as many nights of the week as possible, she adds. You’ll know that you’ve hit your sweet spot when you “wake up feeling refreshed, have energy throughout the day and are not reaching for coffee or energy drinks in the afternoon.”

MYTH 5: Watching TV is a good way to relax before bedtime – Some people like to wind down before bed by watching TV. But that’s not a good idea, says Robbins. “You’re starting to associate your bed with things other than sleep.” Watching a show on a device that emits heat, like a laptop positioned on your stomach, can also deter your ability to fall asleep. “Keep the body cool as you approach bedtime,” she says. Your bedroom should ideally be under 70 degrees. Hotter temperatures can lead to “tossing and turning, sleep disruption and more nightmares.” In addition, watching upsetting programs like the nightly news could cause the stress hormone cortisol to spike in your body and “hinder your ability to power down,” she says. But if watching 20 or 30 minutes of a comforting TV show like Friends or Seinfeld is a big part of your sleep routine and helps you relax before bed, then “carry on,” she adds. If your sleep routine “isn’t broken, don’t worry about fixing it.”

Read more debunked myths at https://www.npr.org/2024/01/09/1196978496/debunking-popular-myths-about-sleep

How to Stay Energized All Year Long

Jancee Dunn is the columnist for The New York Times and who writes extensively on, among other things, wellness. As part of a series she called the 6-Day Energy Challenge, Ms. Dunn shared a few tips to light up the year ahead. You can read the full story at nytimes.com, or have a look at her 6 tips below:

1. Reframe bedtime as the beginning of the next day.

Julie Morgenstern, a productivity consultant and the author of “Time Management from the Inside Out,” said that when we consider sleep to be the last thing we do at night, we’re more likely to push it off — staying up to scroll TikTok or finish our to-do lists. Instead, she suggests thinking of a prompt bedtime as a way to get a head start on the upcoming day. Reframing rest as a new beginning rather than the tail end of the day can inspire better sleep habits, she said.

2. Try monotasking and time-blocking.

Most of us multitask throughout the day, said Cassie Holmes, a professor at U.C.L.A.’s Anderson School of Management and the author of “Happier Hour.” It’s not unusual to be sitting in a Zoom meeting while ordering groceries online and texting.

But this is not only exhausting, it’s also counterproductive, said Dr. Aditi Nerurkar, a physician at Harvard Medical School and author of the forthcoming book “The 5 Resets.” Human brains are wired to do one thing at a time, she added.

Instead, try time-blocking, said Dr. Holmes, in which you schedule uninterrupted time on your calendar for one task.

If you’re most productive in the morning, block that time to do your most important work, she suggested. And grouping similar activities avoids “transition costs,” the mental energy that we use when moving between different kinds of tasks, Dr. Holmes said. (For example, she told me that she does all of her household chores at one time — on Wednesday evening after her kids are in bed.)

3. Set digital boundaries.

We all know instinctively that constantly checking our phones can siphon our energy, so it’s important to put limits on the habit, said Cal Newport, an associate professor of computer science at Georgetown University and author of the upcoming book “Slow Productivity.”

He advised keeping your phone plugged in at a fixed location when you’re home in the evening, such as on a table in the hallway or in the kitchen. Then “if you need to look something up, or call someone, or check in on text messages, you have to go to where your phone is to do so,” he said.

If you want to listen to podcasts or audiobooks while doing chores, he added, use wireless earphones. “In this way, you are still able to get benefits from your phone,” he said, “but it is not with you as a constant companion. You cannot turn to it at the slightest moment of boredom.”

Immediately jumping to answer every text or phone call from a loved one can lead to burnout, added Nedra Tawwab, a psychotherapist and author of “Set Boundaries, Find Peace.” If you can, let the call go to voice mail. Leave the text unread. “You have the right to be unavailable,” she said.

7 tips to keep your New Year’s resolution

Making New Year’s resolutions is a yearly tradition for many people. Yet, some of us fall short of reaching our goals. Below are seven tips to help you make and stick to your New Year’s resolutions. By following these suggestions, UC Davis Health experts say you can set yourself up for success.

1. Be picky about your resolutions

We may want to lose weight, eat more vegetables, volunteer more, quit smoking and spend more time with family. But experts say that’s too many goals to set for a New Year’s resolution. Pick one, maybe two things you’d like to focus on and go all in. This sets you up to achieve specific goals instead of feeling like a failure for hitting none of them.

2. Plan your resolution

It’s best to plan for your goal. Think through how you want to accomplish your resolution and how long it might take to reach your goal. For example, if your resolution is to quit smoking, research how long it takes an average person to kick the habit and the possible setbacks to expect. Proper planning will help ensure you can see it through to the end.

3. Set very specific goals

Many of us will set a New Year’s resolution like “exercise more.” But what does that really mean? Instead, you should be detailed in your resolution. It could be “exercise 30 minutes daily.” This gives you a measurable goal to reach each day that you can check off your list. It will help you feel more accomplished.

4. Don’t take on too much

Start small. Avoid setting an overly high expectation of yourself. If you’d like to lose weight, pick a small but realistic weight loss goal. Maybe that’s 10 pounds in two months. Once you reach that goal, you can think about losing another 5-8 pounds. Setting small goals can help you achieve big results.

5. Choose a new resolution

Avoid picking a goal that you’ve tried in the past but failed. You may set yourself up to fall into the same pitfalls that stopped you previously. Instead, pick something different where you can set up a better path to success. Or maybe you can modify a previous goal if that’s something you still want to accomplish.

6. Identify accountability partners for support

Lean on people – whether it’s a friend to keep your exercise resolution on track, or a spouse to help with healthier eating habits. We function better with community around us, motivating and reminding us why we chose that New Year’s resolution in the first place.

7. Give your resolution time to become a habit

New routines don’t just become habit overnight. A 2009 study found that on average, it takes 66 days to form a new habit. Be patient with yourself. If you have minor setbacks or don’t hit your goal one week, pick it back up the next week. Just keep working at your goal and eventually it can become second nature.