Do you ever feel like your day is just one long marathon of stressful situations?

One of the worst things about that feeling — and we all know it well — is that it can seem like you don’t have even an hour to yourself to take a break and find some ways to destress. Meaning that things continue to pile on top of each other, making you less and less able to cope.

But while there are some days when an hour is impossible to find, anyone can take five minutes to destress during a busy day, especially if you know how to make the most of them. Here are five of our favorite ways to relieve stress in five minutes or less.

1. Meditate

If you barely have the time to devote to eating a sandwich, how on earth could you have time to meditate?

According to Constantin Bisanz, founder and CEO of Aloha, it’s actually not that difficult. Bisanz meditates for 20 minutes a day twice a day, but you could even do it for less using his techniques.

“I meditate on the way to the airport in the taxi, I meditate in the office; I just put earplugs into my ears,” he says. “I just carve (the time) out — it’s like a meeting with myself. I love to do it in fancy places, but my daily life is not in fancy places.”

Make a playlist with five minutes of peaceful music. Make a daily appointment with yourself — literally, add it to your planner — so that you can close your eyes, plug in, and zone out.

2. Get In a Loving Mood

Sex is one of our favorite ways to destress, but even we have to admit: it’s tough to play hooky for some midday nooky, especially if it’s only going to last five minutes. But you can definitely put love on your brain — and the brain of your partner — by sending a quick, sexy text.

Just putting the effort into composing a message (and thinking about making that message a reality as soon as you get home!) can take your mind off your work and onto something a bit more enjoyable. Plus, you’re far less likely to cop out because you’re too tired if you’ve both been looking forward to it all day.

3. Call Someone You Love

When you’re totally stressed, call someone — your husband, your mom, your best friend, your brother — and have a five-minute chat. But here’s the rule: no talking about work (or whatever the source of your stress).

Talk about a book you just read, a show you can’t wait to watch with them, the next time you’re going to get lunch — anything except what’s currently stressing you out. It will get your thoughts off the problems you may be facing at work and remind you of the more important things.

4. Take a Brisk Walk

Step away from your desk — leave your phone behind! — and walk around the block for five minutes.

Walking briskly will not only help increase your heart rate, which will better your mood thanks to your body’s release of endorphins, but it will also give you a chance to get away from your screen for a while. It’s amazing the good that being outdoors in the sunlight can do, particularly in parts of the world with shorter days.

5. Get a Massage

OK, a five-minute massage isn’t exactly on the menu at most massage parlors, but you can definitely do the deed yourself: take a minute and give yourself a head, knee, or forearm massage to reduce the pent up stress in your muscles and to give yourself a breather.

When the massage is over, we guarantee you’ll be feeling much better — you can even give your masseuse (aka… yourself) a tip to spend on a drink at the end of the week!

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Bring out your inner child and avoid house cleaning–it just might be good for you.

Housework will always be there. It’s like death and taxes; no one escapes. It’s easy to get caught up in the humdrum routine of everyday life, but life is so much more than going to work, food shopping, and house cleaning. While you can’t shirk off work or food shopping–you’ve got to eat!–housework can wait, though.

So let it go until next weekend and do something fun instead. Remember, all work and no play makes us all too stressed out! Instead, refresh, destress, and bring out your inner child by doing any one of these activities instead of house cleaning. Future you will thank past you!

Put Off House Cleaning with These Fun Ideas

1. Take an Art Class – Always wanted to learn how to paint or throw pots? Look into art classes at your local art center, or try online sites like Skillshare.
2. Make Water Kefir – Water kefir is a delicious lightly fermented sweet beverage. Get started with making your own by buying a starter set of the grains. Cultures for Health is an online resource.
3. Volunteer at a Local Animal Shelter – Did you know that many animal shelters are looking for volunteers to spend time with the kitties and puppies? Sounds way more awesome than house cleaning, right?
4. Enjoy Nature with a Peterson Field Guide – Get out into nature and learn about the big wide world around you with a Peterson Field Guide for your region.
5. Be a Big Sister or Brother – Give back to your community. Providing mentorship to girls and boys is way more important than cleaning your house.
6. Take up Bodyflow – Bodyflow is one part yoga, one part Pilates, and another part Tai Chi–and all set to music. You can find classes at many health centers, or look for videos online. Bodyflow will change your life.
7. Read a Good Book – This time of year is a great time to discover new books via best book lists. NPR just recently came out with the Best Books of 2015–that’s a good place to start.
8. Catch Up on Your Netflix (and Chill) – So many TV series and movies, so little time–unless you avoid cleaning the house. “Jessica Jones” and “Master of None” are two series that you could waste away an afternoon watching and cuddling up with someone special.

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Image: Toddler Doing Housework via Shutterstock

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“Move over “man caves,” we need room for our “she sheds.”

Man caves as a concept have been around for ages–not quite back to the time of cave dwelling, but they have been a feature of suburban living for quite some time. But the concept of having one’s own space, a place for solitude and a place to create, unwind, relax, and do pretty much whatever the hell you want, really shouldn’t just be the purview of men. And while I think we all would prefer gender-neutral terms, the reality is that overworked and overstressed women deserve their own peaceful place to relax and de-stress. That’s where the “she shed” comes in. At its core, she sheds are really just the latest home design trend to capitalize on the idea that women want (*need*) a space to call their own too.

The man cave is a thing of the basement or the garage, but she sheds are a creature of the backyard. It’s a space away from the rest of the house–just far enough away to not hear the calls of “MOM?!”, but close enough in case you are actually needed.  She sheds don’t literally have to be sheds either. Sure, transforming a shed (greenhouse, unused playhouse, or what have you) into a blissful backyard hideaway is a great way to create your own space, but a building a gazebo, treehouse, screenhouse, pergola, or some other structure would work just fine as well.

The idea is to create a retreat and the sky is pretty much the limit with how you do it. Convert an existing structure or build a new one. It’s all about what will work for you.

3 Tips for Getting Started Creating Your Own She Shed

1. Determine the function of your space.

What will the purpose of your space be? Home office? Yoga retreat? Reading nook? Artist studio? All of the above? Your intended use of the space will help guide you in converting and designing your dedicated space.

2. Convert or Build?

If you already have an unused backyard structure, it may be a no-brainer to simply convert it into a comfy backyard getaway. If you don’t have an existing structure, then you know you will have to construct one.

3. Repurpose Decor and Design

Whether you convert or build a structure, repurpose where you can for your design and decor. Pallets can be used to make a fence around your she shed to give more privacy and a little love can turn a thrift shop table into a chic desk.

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Image: Pretty garden shed via Shutterstock

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Stress is a normal part of life. You can experience stress from a slew of  life experiences affecting both your body and your mind. The human body is designed to manage stress, and in fact, it can be a good thing, making us aware and alert. But continuous stress without the ability to relax can impact your body. It’s important to learn how to destress.

Tension related to stress can build up and stress can cause headaches, chest pain, upset stomach, sleeping problems, anxiety, irritability, and depression. As you react to stress, you can end up acting out in anger, overeating, abusing alcohol and drugs, and withdrawing from relationships.

The key to managing stress is having a number of tools in your toolbox that you can turn to when stress hits. While this entire list may not appeal to you, having a few tricks that work is the key.

Daily Stress Relievers

These stress relievers need to be done daily or at least a few times per week to have a real impact. In fact, it’s best to get started before you ever feel the first pangs of stress.

1. Meditation

2. Yoga (Restorative and Yin Yoga are great for relaxation.)

3. Running

4. Going caffeine-free

5. Qigong

6. Allotted device-free time

7. Identifying a crafty hobby

Reacting to Stress

When stress hits you hard, there are a number of steps that you can take to fight back. Keep these tools ready when you need them.

8. Journal

9. Deep breathing

10. Reading

11. Going news-free

12. Visualization meditation

13. Laughter yoga

14. Tending to friendships

Pamper Yourself

If you feel the weight of stress building in your body and mind, it may be time for a treat. Don’t feel guilty pampering yourself once in a while because tools like massage actually work.

15. Massage

16. Aromatherapy

17. Acupuncture

18. Pedicures

19. Attending meditation or yoga retreats

20. Planning a getaway

21. Facials

Learning how to destress shouldn’t feel indulgent, it’s actually part of our survival, especially considering that we’re no longer cavemen being chased around by carnivores. In fact, today much of the stress in our bodies is mental and the result of worrying. While it’s not entirely a bad thing, if left unchecked, stress can lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, and obesity.

Thanks to Labdoor for sending this story idea along.

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Learning to chill out and deal with painful emotions is a huge step toward peace and balance. More importantly, realizing that your emotions are a part of you, but they aren’t all of you.

Our emotions are closely tied to our feelings and when they come on strong they can be overwhelming. We can begin to think in extremes without repercussions, hurting ourselves through impulsive behavior like overindulging on vino, slamming a bag of Reese’s pieces, maxing out our credit cards, or worse.

Learn to Deal with Emotional Pain

1. Don’t forget the basics.

If you’re uncomfortable, you’re more likely to fly off the handle, so make sure you get enough sleep, nourishment, and leisure time. It’s easier to take what’s thrown at you when you start on balanced ground.

2. Breathe before responding.

Don’t let your emotions hijack your relationships. When you get into a heated spat, take a few breaths before responding with bitter anger or tear-filled rants. Gain your composure and go from there.

When emotions get heated that’s when you say things that you don’t mean and it just makes the problem worse. In these situations, consider keeping quiet. That way you don’t have to take something back later.

3. Consider the Eight Worldly Dharmas.

Much of our emotional instability in life is based on the classic Buddhist teaching about the Eight Worldly Dharmas. These are four pairs of opposites: four pairs of things that we like and become attached to and four pairs of things that we don’t like and try to avoid. We like pleasure and are attached to it while we don’t like pain and try to avoid it. Second, we like praise and are attached to it while we don’t like criticism. Third, we like fame and dislike disgrace. And finally, we like to gain and we don’t like to lose. Basically, when we’re feeling good our thoughts are pleasure, praise, fame, or gain and when we’re feeling bad our thoughts are pain, criticism, disgrace, or loss.

While at first you might see eradicating these emotions as the only way to alleviate the roller coaster that they cause, but that’s impossible. According to Pema Chödrön, it’s best to see how they hook us, how they color our reality, and then realize that they are not real. In meditation, you can start to see how closely these emotions are tied to thoughts and begin not reacting to them quite so much. Start to label the Worldly Dharmas for what they are.

4. Cut the judgement.

Don’t judge your emotions. By judging them you begin to get caught up in the drama. Instead, just notice how they come in and go out. Feel the emotions as you sit with them without reaction or judgement. After a time, you’ll begin to notice now quickly they change. In the end, emotions are constantly changing like clouds in the sky. The more you practice detaching from these emotions, the more you can find freedom from emotional pain.

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Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? was the haunting battle cry of the last great depression. These days, many of us are begging for something even more elusive: time. Please, mister,  just give me an extra hour to squeeze in a run or a massage, a free weekend to go camping rather than paying bills and scrubbing the bathroom tiles.

Increasing research proves we are struggling in this time warp and are decidedly more stressed over time losses than wage losses or the exorbitant price of things. If it is a given that we value minutes over moolah, than what can we do to conquer the clock?

For one thing, it is clear many workers don’t bother taking the vacation days they have earned at work, according to a somewhat self-serving Westin Hotel survey. It found that while nearly 70 percent of those questioned feel revived after a break, a whopping 75 percent of us are too busy keeping up the pace to actually de-stress on a vacation. It was clear that a bulk of those who keep working rather than beaching or camping are fearful about job security (ah yes, the American way!) and at least 30 percent of those who do manage to take off check in with work every day.

One reason for working through earned time is that we have the least paid vacation days of any nation, which makes taking off even harder in a recession. Americans are afforded just 13 paid days on the average, compared with 42 days in Italy, 37 in France and 35 in Germany. Even if you take those paid golf days (as our president did), they usually don’t amount to many hours goofing off and having fun or just feeling your life. We all know how necessary this is for recuperating from the stress and strain of working and managing our lives.

Professional women often face a double whammy of keeping things up both at work and at home, believing they have no time to escape from either job. Studies continually show these demands are not imagined but rather expected of them. Working women who work from home become exhausted from the multi-tasking while commuters who don’t opt for public transit are often running on empty.

Shelling out $15 an hour for a house cleaner or babysitter could eat up too much of the income needed for the mortgage, medical insurance (it keeps going up, Mr. President), school-related expenses and other money-sucking priorities. Meanwhile, these women are prone to play housemaid on  Saturdays, catching up on laundry and paperwork that falls behind during the busy workweek.

As the most overworked country in the world, it is hard to strike a balance. Even during a recession when have been tossed to the unemployment lines, we are forced to spend free time still caring for children or searching for work. The ego often prevents professional men from lazing on hammocks. Some even continue to dress the part as they search for new work online a home or coffee shops. Despite the fact that taking a breather is often the most beneficial way to gain new momentum, it can be humiliating to appear as if you have nothing to do.

While many Americans say a good income can improve their lives, few find it can buy happiness. People keep busy 24/7 – so busy they often forget to laugh and have fun, or waiting for that free moment when chores are done to reward themselves. Many of us also stress about using time to catch up on our connections, email or Facebook, and the time we needed to restore ourselves gets eaten quickly, according to Zenhabits, which compiled useful list of 20 ways to reclaim your time. One is to make a short list of four to five things you love to do and to actually make room for them. Another is to learn to say “NO”.

An important thing to remember is not to be so stressed over your time management that you lose sleep over it, since sleep is also vital for the body to rest and for the brain to repair cellular damage and absorb nutrients. If you get a free moment, you are better off with a nap than a coffee break. Sleep deprivation resulting from stress, or relaxing in front of the tube rather than socializing or enjoying music, just aggravates the sense of loss, experts say. And then you go around not only being time strapped, but as a cranky time strapped zombie.

Perhaps the goal is not to save up on time, like we try but fail to save up on money, but to spend it the right way. The bathroom tiles can wait. Your health and happiness cannot.

Image: merfam

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