Well it's January. It's cold, bills from holiday spending sprees are pilling up, pet's heads are falling off. Yeah, it's a stressful time of year to be sure. But is there something you can do about it? Is there a secret to unwinding that you've never even considered before? According so some experts the answer is YES! Here are five strange things that could help to reduce your level of worry.
1. Washing the dishes. This actually isn't just about de-cluttering the home either. A study in 2014 found that people who were "mindful" while washing dishes were more inspired and less nervous afterward. What constitutes being "mindful?" Well, stopping to smell the soap suds, or taking time to enjoy the warmth of the water on your hands. If you take time to concentrate on the good of this chore, it can be oddly satisfying. Or so they say.
2. De-cluttering your home. Research shows that having a cluttered house increases the levels of the stress hormone Cortisol throughout the day. A clean house can help avoid this. Makes sense to me. Ever walk on a crumby floor with your socks on? That's instant stress for this guy, I don't know about you. This one makes perfect sense to me.
3. Sniffing your partner's laundry. Now, don't get all creepy on me here but a study in the "Journal of Personality and Social Psychology" found that smelling your significant others clothes can make you feel calmer. If you need to bring some of their clothing to work though, may I suggest a jacket? or a sweater or something? I'd avoid the underwear drawer if I were you.
4. Exercising in a group. A study in the "Journal of the American Osteopathic Association" found exercising in a group can reduce stress about 25% better than working out alone. They do say misery loves company after all.
5. Dwelling on your failures. This has to be the strangest one I've come across before. I would have thought forgetting about the past and looking towards the future would be a better method. But research has shown that writing about a previous failure can help people feel less stressed when meeing another difficult situation later on. I guess it sort of makes sense. After all, you're more likely to remember something if you've written it down. I suppose if a failure and a horrible memory is more committed to memory, the next time something bad happens, you'll remember you've had troubles before and that you got past them just fine. It could help you remember that "this too shall pass" when you encounter another sticky situation. At least that's MY theory on it.
(Time / MSN)