4 strategies to help you relax

Our modern lifestyles are full of stress, and this can negatively impact our health. Studiesshowthat stress can lead to a variety of health concerns, from diabetes to heart disease. Here are four simple ways to manage it on a daily basis.

Our modern lifestyles are full of stress, and this can negatively impact our health. Studies show that stress can lead to a variety of health concerns, from diabetes to heart disease. Here are four simple ways to manage it on a daily basis.

• Instead of asking "How did my day go?," ask "How did I handle my day; how did it compare with six months ago?"
• Focusing on what you can handle – your response to stress – helps you feel more in control.

• Studies show that as late as 4 p.m., most people don't know what they're going to have for dinner.
• Planning ahead prevents the end-of-day stress of trying to figure out what to eat.
• Knowing what's for dinner when you come in from work cuts down on stress and encourages better eating habits and family time.

• When you make a split decision about which line to join at the supermarket, chances are some other line will move more quickly.
• In a worst-case scenario, a customer in front of you has to have the price of one or more items checked by an assistant who takes a little time to get back.
• Rather than sending your stress hormones into the stratosphere as you steam over your bad luck, think about how busy you usually are and recognize this time – in reality, usually just a few minutes – as a gift, as a time when you can just relax.
• As you wait, think about the things in life for which you are grateful, meditate on your breath, talk to one of the other customers or look at a magazine. 

• This is your "worry" journal.
• When you feel stressed, get it out and scribble down everything on your mind.
• Close the notebook. Shut your eyes. Take ten deep breaths.
• Now open the journal and read what you've written.
• You'll find your worries are not nearly as stressful as you thought now that you've got them out of your head and onto the page.