The Top Ways To Cope With Anxiety

1. Get Sufficient Sleep

There is a strong relationship between sleep and anxiety. Unfortunately, it’s a two-way street. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), anxiety can itself cause sleeping problems. At the same time, not getting enough sleep can also lead to increased anxiety.

The majority of adults in the world need anywhere from 7 to 9 hours of sleep. One of the best ways to improve your sleep is by getting up and going to bed at the same time. Being consistent will help to align your sleep/wake cycles. This can get you to bed sooner and wake up feeling refreshed. 

2. Practice Meditation

One of the best ways to better cope with anxiety is by practicing meditation in your daily life. This is a good way to effectively lower anxiety levels according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.

There is plenty of research that showcases how meditation programs can help to minimize anxiety and depression in those that suffer from it. Along with this, they can directly impact how much sleep you get by reducing insomnia. Meditation can also help with panic attacks. Read this guide how to calm down from panic attacks.

3. Exercise More

Another great thing you can do to effectively cope with anxiety is to exercise more often. Exercising helps to promote the release of endorphins. Endorphins are brain chemicals that effectively reduce your body’s natural reaction to stress and even pain. They promote feelings of euphoria and happiness. This is similar to the effects you would get with morphine. It’s no wonder exercise can give you a “runner’s high.” By incorporating more exercise into your routine, you can benefit from the anxiety-reducing benefits that it can deliver.

4. Spend More Time Outdoors

If you are aiming to combat anxiety, you may want to start spending more time outside. Spending time outdoors is one of the best ways to combat excess stress. 

There is research that shows how forest bathing can help fight anxiety. Not only that, but it can also help to reduce blood pressure too. There was a review of trials published in the International Journal of Biometeorology that sound that levels of the stress hormone known as cortisol were lowered in those that partook in forest bathing versus those that didn’t.

5. Practice Yoga

Yoga is a good way to improve your anxiety levels too. It does much more than help you retain better flexibility. Yoga requires a lot of exercise. Because of this, you are getting everything from stretching to deep breathing and exercise into the same routine. This can help you combat anxiety in many ways. It’s a comprehensive way to reduce anxiety. Numerous studies have showcased how yoga is good for coping with anxiety.

6. Dance therapy

There is similar research that showed that dance therapy was equally as effective at helping one cope with anxiety. It naturally reduces anxiety one experiences because it engages with the body’s nervous system in a way to limit cortisol production. The body reacts to stress in a certain way and the way you dance can alter it. Along with this, the act of dancing helps to boost serotonin production. Serotonin is the body’s natural chemical that regulates one’s mood.

7. Breathing Exercises

You will find yourself wanting to breathe deeply when you are suffering from a panic attack. How you breathe is directly correlated with how you feel. Whenever you suffer from an anxiety attack, you will notice your breathing getting increasingly shallow. You can counteract this by focusing on your breathing and breathing deeply instead. Taking deep and slow breaths is one of the best ways to naturally calm your body according to Psychology Today. Don’t take shallow breaths as it’s only going to make things worse.

One of the best breathing techniques that you can use to improve your anxiety levels is diaphragmatic breathing. This is the process of filling your lungs to their fullest capacity and then letting go.

You can practice this by laying down on your back. You want to be laying on a completely flat surface and place your knees in a bent position. Try to have your head supported so you are lifting it while doing the breathing exercise. Try to place one of your hands on your chest and one right underneath your rib cage. From there, you can start to breathe in through your nose until you feel your stomach rise. You don’t want the hand that’s located on your chest to be moving at all. From there, you’ll tighten your core muscles and exhale through lips that are pursed. Continue to repeat this for several repetitions.