Archive for the ‘Tips’ Category

We all know that stress at work can be as aggravating as an online dating site promising to find your true love. It can be gruelling, time-consuming and overwhelming to say the least. If you’re experiencing a lot of stress at work, why not try aromatherapy. Aromatherapy techniques have been shown to reduce stress and turn on the pleasure receptors in our brains. Unfortunately, stress is all around us; but it’s how we handle it that can make the difference.

Try Out an Aromatherapy USB Oil Burner

Turn your cubicle into a safe haven of pleasing scents and plug in to de-stress. The nice thing about working in a cubicle (if there is any) is that using aromatherapy scents can be a subtle and unassuming way to reduce stress without bothering anyone around you and it can be more effective than you might think. You can actually use your USB power to warm up aromatherapy oil. All you need is one drop of your favorite oil and you’ll be on your way to feeling better in no time. Jasmine oil is a great stress reliever oil and packs a punch to knock out brain fog and worrisome stress. Jasmine is referred to as the “snap out of it oil” and over a million flowers go into making just one bottle of Jasmine oil.

De-clutter your Cubicle

It’s important to try and keep a clean cubicle that is free of clutter and debris. The cleaner and more organized your work space is, the more relaxing it is to sit in. Take the time to collect any stray papers or files and put them in their respective space. In the long run, it will save you time and needless aggravation when you can’t find something.

Grab a Bouquet of Flowers

A bouquet of cheery flowers is sure to make anyone smile as they are visually appealing and inviting to the eye. Flowers have the power to brighten up that boring old corner of your desk and they smell fantastic!

Sachet Your Way Throughout the Day

Believe it or not, sachets aren’t just reserved for underwear drawers. Consider placing a small lilac or orange sachet in each office drawer, so that when the drawer is pulled open each time, a subtle scent will come out to relax and invigorate you.

Stay Hydrated with Facial Mist

Spray your stress away with hydrating Eucalyptus or Lemon facial mist. Facial mist will make you feel energized and ready to tackle your next project. Lemon Eucalyptus is a great therapeutic oil that is used to not only clarify and cleanse the face, but to soothe frazzled nerves and awaken the mind.

Author Bio

Tiersa Buckley is a freelance writer who has written on a myriad of health and wellness topics at www.TiersaBuckley.com, as well as relationship articles and advice for www.DatingSite.org.

The routines we’ve developed to contend with our modern multitasking lifestyles don’t tend to allow much room for relaxation. That’s a pity. Because not having relaxation built into our routines isn’t just harmful to our psychological well-being; it actually decreases our productivity at home and at work. Multitasking was hyped as the new efficient way to work but it has actually proven less efficient. Engaging in multiple ongoing tasks leads to less focus on each task. That leads to a drop in efficiency and quality in our work as a whole, and production suffers. Integrating relaxation and meditation time into our daily routines can help increase productivity.

Relaxing improves focus. Taking a half hour at the start of your day for relaxing seems could seem counterintuitive. But instead of charging into work and blundering into your tasks like a whirlwind of misdirected energy, try taking a different tactic, even if it means coming into the office a bit earlier. Sit down and close your eyes and don’t think about work at all initially. Meditate if you like. Don’t get lethargic, but allow yourself to relax completely.

Once you’ve achieved that, direct your thoughts to the tasks you need to accomplish in the day ahead. Allow yourself to begin prioritizing the tasks mentally. What is most important? What task needs to be executed on first to set up the next one? A logical progression will begin to follow and priorities will begin to crystallize in your mind. At this point, while still relaxed, take out a pen and paper and begin to write down the day’s priorities in a list. When you’ve done this, you’re ready to start your day. There is no reason to be anxious during the day because you’ve got your list of tasks identified and you can begin to complete each one in order while remaining calm, focused and efficient.

This process can work just as efficiently for your personal life as it does at work. Worrying about things that need done seldom results in accomplishing concrete goals. Not accomplishing goals results in anxiety. You may find it helpful to set aside time every day for meditating. Just as you do at work, while meditating at home, begin to identify the areas in your life that are causing you anxiety. Once you’ve identified personal priorities think about the best way to execute an action plan for each one.

Education, career and relationship issues are often areas that people fret about without having an action plan to resolve them. If education is high on this list for you, think about your options. For folks who never finished college, or who want to return to university for continuing education for a master’s degree, getting an online degree may be a great action plan.

Career issues need to be identified. Make a list of three actionable items that you can easily incorporate into a workplace strategy. If career advancement is what you’re preoccupied with; execute your identified goals to help get you there and quit stressing about it. Relationship issues can be handled the same way. Identify the problems you may be encountering in your relationship and come up with three concrete actions you can take to positively impact your relationship.

Meditating and relaxing can be vehicles to increase calmness and tranquillity in your life in two different ways. The most obvious of course is that the mere process of meditating results in calmness. The second, less obvious way that meditation can increase your quality of life is that by using it as a tool to identify causes of worry, you can set about removing the worry by taking effective action.

- Article by Whitney Jones.

It’s a well-known fact that pets can boost our spirits – research has repeatedly demonstrated this over the years. So it’s not surprising that animals are being increasingly used to improve health and well being in various walks of life. Need more evidence that your pet can help you de-stress? Read on for 5 areas where pets can help alleviate some everyday stresses:

• Exam Stress
Various colleges, including Tufts University and UC San Diego, now employ therapy dogs to help relieve exam-associated anxiety. Students get to pet, feed and play with the dogs, allowing them some smiles as well as a much-needed break to counteract the monotony of studying. In addition to the immediate stress relief, experts report that simply petting a dog can have longer lasting effects and can help produce better exam results. Allowing yourself the chance to clear your mind of exam thoughts seems to improve the ability to retain information, and therefore help the learning process.

• The Mind
Pets play a crucial role in emotional health and can certainly bring us many psychological benefits. They greatly reduce feelings of loneliness in people who live alone, not only through companionship, but also because they improve social interactions by becoming a topic of conservation with others. They also serve as a great, natural anti-depressant – research has shown that petting animals can help increase the release of endorphins and other chemicals in the body that are linked with pleasure.

• The Body
Owning a pet seems to be correlated with improved general health in people. Research studies from UCLA and Cambridge University both reported that pet owners apparently make fewer visits to their doctor. And additionally, a study of Medicare patients demonstrated that dog-owning seniors made fewer doctor visits than those without a dog. A large Australian study also determined that pet owners needed less medication for conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and high cholesterol.

• Self Esteem
Research studies have also demonstrated a link between pet ownership and improved self-esteem in children. Additionally, pets apparently help children develop empathy as well as improving their cognitive abilities.

• Family Life
It’s common for pet owners to describe their pet as “part of the family”. Pets are reported to enhance the quality of family life in numerous ways, including minimizing tension between family members, as well as helping them to develop increased compassion for living things. One survey of US families described the important role of pets during stressful events such as a family crisis or the death of someone close.

So it’s official – pets are good for your mind, and your body. If you don’t already own a pet, it’s time to think about adding one to your life. They’re just what the doctor ordered!

This article was created by Mey Lau, one of the invisible dog fence supplies and dog containment experts at www.dogfencediy.com.