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Stress is part of life and in fact the human body has a natural way of fighting stress. However, excessive or constant stress is harmful to one?s wellbeing and is one of the top causes of serious illnesses such as heart disorders, hypertension, and cancer. This is because stress weakens the immune system and disrupts the chemical balance in the body.

A highly effective way to reduce stress levels is to find a stress relief activity that will relax your body and mind as well as give you an inner sense of calmness. The stress relief activity or activities that you choose should be simple and easy to do. Otherwise, you may not have the energy to go through with it.

Stress is often the result of overworking or spending too much time and energy on a task. Thus, a stress relief activity is intended to distract you from your daily work grind or take your mind off work for a short time every day to give your body time to relax and recover from stress.

A simple but effective stress relief activity is walking. Get out of the building or your home and walk around a couple of blocks or do a quick stroll in a nearby park just to refresh your mind. If you cannot leave your workplace, listening to music is a great alternative stress relief activity. While people have different tastes in music, classical music or instrumental music are the ones recommended for relaxation. Oftentimes, just having a coffee break with friends and talking about other things aside from work is a good enough stress relief activity.

If you are working from home or you are a stay-at-home parent, meditation is an ideal stress relief activity for you. Take some time off from your tasks and go to a quiet place in the house. This stress relief activity can also work for office workers and students if they can find a suitable place to meditate. Meditating is simply being still both physically and mentally for a few minutes, from 5 to 20 minutes or more depending on your preference.

Sit comfortably on a chair or on a mat on the floor. Make sure your back is straight. Close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing. Keep other thoughts away from your mind. Take deep, long breaths through your nose and each time you inhale, hold your breath for 3 seconds and then exhale slowly. Just keep doing this until you feel relaxed.

There are many other activities for stress relief including writing, stretching, gardening or doing some other hobby. The key is to find the stress relief activity that will suit you and will easily fit into your daily routine.

Milos Pesic is an expert in the field of Stress, Depression and Anxiety management and runs a highly popular and comprehensive Stress Management web site. For more articles and resources on stress relief, stress tests, stress symptoms, stress reduction, anxiety and depression treatments and much more visit his site at:

=>http://stress.need-to-know.net/