Life is stressful – There is no way around it.  When you become mindful of your stress levels and how to manage them, stress can be easily reduced.  Put yourself and your wellness first and implement these tips to instantly reduce the stress in your life.

• Prioritize Sleep:   We need 7-8 hours of quality sleep each night.  Make this a priority no-matter-what.  Lack of sleep increases your level of stress hormones.  Remember, quality is just as important as quantity.
• Make a To-Do list:  If your busy schedule is a main source of stress, try making a daily to-do list.  Keep it simple and only include the top priorities – also realistic so that it can be accomplished in one day.
• Breathe:  Take a few minutes to just breathe.  There are many different meditation and breathing techniques that help calm you down and give your brain the extra oxygen needed to come up with solutions.
• Say “no”:  This is a hard one for most of us!  Learn to say ‘no’ first.  You can always change your mind later.  Saying ‘no’ to commitments you do not have time for will save a lot of stress for everyone involved.
• Eat Healthy:  Meal prepping will take away stress on a busy night when you don’t have time to cook dinner or pack lunches for the next day.  Focus on nutritious foods that will naturally reduce stress by lowering cortisol levels
• Exercise:  Getting active causes your body to produce endorphins, which will help your mind and body to relax.  Just 30 minutes a day for better sleep, a clearer mind and an improved mood.
• Take Breaks:  Your mind needs some time to de-compress.  Taking small breaks throughout a hectic workday will decrease stress while increasing creativity.
• Be on Time:  Learning to be on time will save you from speeding to work, skipping breakfast, and those awkward moments of walking into a meeting that started 10 minutes ago.
• Simplify Life: Focus on essentials in life and eliminate any unnecessary stressors.  Once you simplify your life, you’ll spend more time doing what is most important to your and less time feeling stressed.
• Make time for YOU:  Spend some time on yourself!  Dedicating just one hour a week or every couple weeks for self care with relieve stress tremendously – schedule a facial, massage, or a waxing session.  
• LET-IT-GO:  The most important thing is to NOT stress over the things that you cannot control.  Many things that keep us up all night worrying are perceptions on the future or things out of our control.