by Jennifer E. Brown

Created on: February 04, 2009   Last Updated: June 29, 2009

It was a late night last night, and the alarm is going off early. As you're laying there, trying to wake up, your husband asks you where his clean work shirts are and kids come running in to jump on the bed. Finally, in your robe at breakfast, it hit you: none of the kids lunches are made, and they have to leave in 10 minutes. Your husband's keys have disappeared, and his laptop case he needs for work is missing. What do you do? First-breathe. Then, only do one thing at once and you'll stay low-stress. Here are some other helpful tips to help you reduce your stress level.

First, get everything done that you can the night before. Look ahead to your planner and see what's going on tomorrow. Set book bags by the front door, and set prepared lunches in the fridge. Lay out your clothes the night before, and make sure dirty ones end up in the laundry basket. Set the breakfast table, and simplify as much as you can for the next day. If you go bed organized, then you'll often sleep alot better.

Plan ahead for what may happen in an emergency. Never drive on less than half a tank in your car, and if you take public transpertation always hold money back for your fare. In case you're ever locked out of your house, give a spare key to a person you trust 100%. Never leave a key under the mat, on the ledge or in the mailbox. These are where thieves look first, and this could give them access to your home. Especially in bad weather, allow 15 extra minutes to get to your destination. Likewise, never get to an airport later than hour before the flight. If you get there less than hour, you're sure to run into complications.

Have an optimistic view of the world. If you believe everyone's doing their best, then your stress level will become much lower. If you think that most people are good, and than you are more likely to make friends. Don't ever turn a person down because they may not seem good enough for you, but offer them the opportunity to prove themselves to you. Most people are honest, hard-working people and having this view is better than the opposite.

Your diet has a lot to do with how stress affects you. Fruits and vegetables can provide the vitimins and minerals that are necessary for your body. Likewise, exercise can aid a healthy diet to work the stress hormones through your body. It'll boost your immune system and make you feel better. Try such exercise as yoga, meditation, swimming, walking or running. These will all help you keep the stress level low, and in turn better your health.

Next, escape to a place where you can relax. If It's work that's stressing you out, then get away from work and take a long bath. If it's family or friends, go somewhere without that group and get outside of your box. It will help you refresh and give a new perspective on what you need to do with your stress.

Stress is hard to handle, but it doesn't have to be that difficult. There's ways to reduce it in your life, such as rest and relaxing. There's more ways than I have listed here, so find one that works best for you.

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