Stress On The Job - How To Cope

Face it. Even if you are stressed beyond your limits in the
office, you can't do anything about it. After all, what job
does not involve any stress? The secret is to make sure that
you can manage on the side the job of managing your stress!

Managing your stress however can be really tricky if you are
inside the office. The work environment limits the ways that
you can manage your stress. For instance, if watching TV or
movies relieves your stress, you cannot very well do that
inside the office. Neither can you play badminton or sing
with a karaoke. The most that you can do is to play some
quick computer game, hoping that somehow it can relax you.
For some people, this is enough; but for others, it is not.

But there are ways to relieve the stress while sitting on
your office chair. Often, the trick is to not wait for the
stress levels to go up. As they say in medicine, an ounce of
prevention is more than a pound of cure. Don't wait to get
stressed, avoid it like the plague! Here's how.

1. Eat healthy. People who are basically healthy will have
more energy levels on which to work on. They are more able
to withstand late nights and are more able to keep up with
long brain activities as compared to people who are not. To
do this, you've got to eat healthy foods especially those
that are rich in vitamins, minerals and proteins. Besides,
having all the energy that you need will help you cope
better with stress when it happens.

2. Sleep. Sleeping provides the body the rest that it needs.
Brain activity and bodily functions slow down when people
are sleeping. Muscles also relax. When the body lacks sleep,
energy levels go down and the brain becomes disoriented.
This results in poorer concentration, which in the long run
can become detrimental to your job functions. Thus, one way
to avoid stress altogether is get the requisite 8 hours or
more sleep. It will do you good.

3. Exercise. Another way to combat stress and to prevent it
from happening altogether is to have a daily run or an
exercise routine. Experts say that a person must work out 30
minutes each day to successfully keep the body in shape and
healthy. Exercise strengthens our resistance and
surprisingly increases the energy levels. It helps keep the
stressors at bay as it relaxes the muscles and keeps the air
flowing freely through breathing techniques.

4. Manage time. Nothing can make you more stressful than not
managing your time well. Just ask people who are used to
cramming for exams or for work assignments. Planning your
time right and doing what you are supposed to do on time
will help keep the stressors away. Besides, by doing your
assignments and work load piece by piece allows you to relax
while doing it and gives you enough time to really work on
it should the boss decides to have it real early.

5. Smile. Being happy and optimistic is the number one stress
buster there is. Do you know that smiling can help keep the
muscles in the face relaxed? It actually uses less muscles
than when you are frowning. So laugh on the job and keep it
cool.