We’re living through a very stressful period right now. Whether you’re a broadcaster reporting on it or a voiceover person trying to ignore it so you can work effectively, the constant stress of politics, weather emergencies, and global disasters seems to be pressing down on all of us.
After 9/11 I wrote a book entitled, Broadcasting Through Crisis. (It’s no longer available for sale, but Broadcasters Survival Guide offers tips.)
In my next two blog posts, I will focus on some ideas I presented after 9/11 to help you cope with the present difficult period. These tips take very little time, but they make a difference in your day.
This is based on the mnemonic, RELIEF. In this post I will concentrate on the first three letters REL. You’ll get the IEF next month.
The R in the work relief stands for RELAX. That seems an obvious thing when you’re stressed, but it can be very hard to accomplish. Here are some easy techniques to use:
To lower blood pressure and create a sense of calm, spend a few seconds concentrating on feeling your breath passing in and out of your nose as you breathe. It might help to close your eyes.
Go outside for a few minutes and look at nature. This can be for 5 minutes or 30. Combine a walk with this and get extra benefit.
Stop checking your newsfeed first thing in the morning. Instead grab a cup of coffee or tea and listen to some soft music, look out your windows at the new day, or play with your dog or cat if you have one. As little as a 5-minute break can reduce stress for hours.
The first E in RELIEF stands for Exercise. The studies on the benefits of exercise for stress relief and mental sharpness increase every day. There is no disputing its effectiveness. Just 20 minutes of exercise has lasting benefits all day long. And it doesn’t have to be a killer workout. Simple walking is enough to get the stress relief benefits.
Doing your exercise first thing in the morning will help you with stress all day long, or you can break it into 10-minute short cycles.
Do things like walk around your building either inside or out, go up and down stairs, run in place, or use some exercise equipment or a bike.
The L in RELIEF stands for Let Yourself Sleep. Lack of sleep hurts our bodies and our minds.
Here are some suggestions for good sleep:
Cut back on caffeine at least 4 hours before sleep.
Stop your screen time an hour before bed or at least dim the screen down to reduce the blue light. It has been proven to negatively affect sleep.
Stop any eating and drinking alcohol at least two hours before bed. Keep the same bedtime and rising time straight through the weekend so your body clock will not be upset.
Try a few of these things during October and see if you feel a difference in your stress level. Check back for my next post to complete the idea of RELIEF from stress.
