Lifestyle changes to reduce your overall stress levels are important.

1. No multi-tasking

Do not multi-task. Although you may think this is a time-efficient way to go about things, you will rapidly become overloaded. The more stimuli you impose upon yourself, the greater the activity of your stress glands. Keep your tasks simple and do them well. When you are finished move on to the next.

2. Learn to say ‘No’

People often have a problem saying ‘no’ and end up saying ‘yes’ to everything, taking on too much for fear of hurting or upsetting others. They end up hurting themselves. Learn what your boundaries are, and how much you can handle. Once you reach that limit, do not take on any more. Others will understand, for they themselves are on overload, otherwise they would not be asking for your help.

3. Avoid known stressors

If there are certain parts of your day where you know you will encounter stressors, try to alter your pattern. For instance, if you get upset in traffic, try not to leave the house at rush hour. Then you can leave the office sooner and miss the traffic on the way home. If you can’t avoid the traffic, then prepare yourself for it. Bring some soothing music to listen to, or a tape of something you want to learn.

4. Don’t set unrealistic goals

Many of us want to do everything and do it as quickly as possible. We are impatient and our society has programmed us to expect results straight away. Our failure to achieve goals is a major stressor. Reset your goals to be attainable, and attainable within realistic time frames.

5. Positive affirmation

Wake up and look in the mirror and take note of one positive thing a day. If you see something you don’t like, then look away for now. Don’t focus on the negative. The actual process of looking for ‘good’ is calming — and finding it will improve your mood and outlook.

Some simple at-home techniques for reducing stress:

Massage

By reducing stress and increasing your feel-good brain hormones, dopamine and serotonin, massage makes you more relaxed, happier and it decreases your hunger-centre activity. This leads to less stress and less craving.

Massage therapy is defined as the treatment of disease or injury through the manual manipulation of body tissues. Massage is employed for the relief of pain and spasms, to induce relaxation, to stretch and break down scarring and adhesions, and to increase circulation and metabolism. It promotes the resorption and metabolism of toxins and the residue of inflammation.

The relaxation benefits of massage therapy are not just subjective. That wonderful feeling you get at the end of a massage is not just from lying down quietly for a period of time. There is a significant therapeutic effect from receiving regular massage therapy, which clearly goes far beyond simple musculoskeletal pain relief.

Simple massage techniques can also be practised at home to help relieve stress.

1 Use a massaging shower-head, which augments the benefits of superficial heat from the water.

2 Move a simple wooden roller-type massager back and forth across the neck, back or feet.

3 Use commercial electric massagers, with or without heat.

4 Have a partner apply slow, gentle, finger, thumb or hand pressure.

Safety: Contraindications are few. Following acute injury or a severe flare-up of an existing injury, or in the presence of an open wound, local massage would not be advisable in that area. However, distant massage or massage therapy performed on other parts of the body is advisable to help increase the effects of the immune system and decrease inflammatory mediators and cortisol levels. It is avoided in certain cancers to avoid promoting spread.

Aromatherapy

Aromatic healing oils can be used during a therapeutic massage. These essential oils are absorbed both through inhalation and through the skin during a treatment. Throughout the massage, lymphatic drainage, muscle releases and spinal pressures are applied to target the nervous system. Each oil has a different effect, ranging from detoxification and relaxation to increasing energy levels.

Essential aromatherapy oils for relaxation and stress relief are amber, bergamot, camphor, cedarwood, lavender, poppy and ylang-ylang.

And there are several ways you can use essential oils:

Diffuser — a small metal bowl heated by a candle

A few drops in a warm bath

In a massage oil

A few drops in a facecloth or sponge in the shower

As a perfume

Sleep right

How to make sure you get sufficient sleep:

Reduce your stress levels: Deep breathing, meditation and regular massage therapy can decrease overall stress and promote restful sleep. Aromatherapy can also be used before bed. Burn a lavender candle or put a little lavender oil on your pillow.

Get into a routine: Our body loves routine. This means getting into bed at about the same time each night.

Dim the lights: Once we fall asleep our body starts to produce melatonin, our sleeping hormone. Production of this hormone is also linked to light and darkness. Our body will increase the production of melatonin when it is dark and suppress its production in the light. So try to make your room as dark as possible to mimic night-time and increase production of your sleeping hormone. It is also wise not to spend your last hour before getting into bed under bright lights. This will hinder the secretion of melatonin and make sleep more difficult.

Exercise: Try to avoid vigorous exercise in the evening, as this is likely to increase cortisol and other stimulatory hormones.

Food and drink: Avoid a large meal late in the evening, as it is likely to give you a higher than normal peak in glucose levels due to the inactivity that follows as you wind down for the evening. This will increase your hunger hormones, making you want to snack again before bed. Alcohol is also known to increase hunger hormones, so avoid this if you are having trouble sleeping. Caffeine in tea, coffee or soda can have a long-lasting stimulant effect, interfering with restful sleep. Try to avoid them after lunchtime and during the evening.

What do you do to fight stress? Tell