Member-only story
There’re always chores to do, work to finish, errands to run and bills to pay. We barely have time outside of these dreary responsibilities to socialize or Netflix and chill depending on our version of enjoyment.
At night, we lie in bed thinking about our hopes and dreams. Should we pursue them? But we fall asleep and the next day dawns bright and busy and whatever dreams we have take a back seat.
It’s difficult to balance responsibilities, leisure, friends and time to ourselves. With the constant pull of our attention and energy in a hundred directions, life can get overwhelming and stressful.
So we get used to living with tension humming in the background, so constant it becomes part of our life until a random part of our body starts hurting or our nerves start fraying.
That’s what happened to me, or maybe I’m a snowflake. Ha! It motivated me to seek out ways to reduce tension. Here are 10 of them— all backed by science.
1. Pet a furmily member
If you have a pet, I’m sure you’ve noticed this.
When you pet your dog or cat (or other pets), your body reduces the level of a stress hormone (cortisol) and raises the level of a happy hormone (oxytocin). It helps to reduce tension and blood pressure and makes you feel happier. And we…
