For countless millennia, stress was a reaction that kept a human alive when in a perilous situation, such as facing down a bear or big cat. But the stress response no longer has a place in our modern world despite it remaining, and it’s left us with something of a global problem that affects millions of people every year. Stress can be a powerful experience that causes both a physical and mental reaction, and in the long term can lead to serious health problems that even the best medicine can’t fix.

There are a number of ways of reducing stress, which has become more important than ever as we continue to face uncertain times.

1. Going Into Nature

We evolved in nature, it shaped and moulded us, and it makes sense that we would be more at ease when surrounded by the peacefulness of a natural setting, such as out in the woods or down to the ocean. Nature has powerful, scientifically proven healing abilities, able to calm our minds as well as provide us with fresh air and plenty of sunlight.

In fact, evidence has shown that certain elements of the natural world, such as the leaves on the tree, use special mathematics known as fractals that can make us feel less stressed. It’s a well-documented phenomena that explains why, at least partly, why depression levels tend to be much higher for those living in a city.

2. Better Food

Food might not seem like it would be involved in stress, but there is a lot of research to suggest that food, stress, anxiety, and depression are all closely tied together. The westernised diet has become something of a problem – especially one that focuses on eating processed fast foods that have plenty of calories but not many nutrients.

Aiming for whole, unprocessed foods is always a good idea, especially healthy vegetables like dark, leafy greens, cruciferous veggies, and more. There is a strong link between stress, unhealthy food, and inflammation, and many of the problems that we face in today’s age can be addressed by serious lifestyle changes, with the first being focussed on having a better diet.

3. Regular Exercise

Exercise is a vitally important to the health of the human body – we just don’t do that well without it. Getting regular exercise, which means exercising a few times a week for around 40 minutes each time, is important not just for the body, but also for the mind.

More and more people are becoming sedentary, often because both our work and our entertainment has become based indoors, and it means that we’re now staying on our office chair or couch more than ever, and with the right exercise, there’s nothing wrong with a person that wants to get gaming every day.

4. Negative Media

The global media banks on most people watching it and being hooked on the negative stories that it sells due to the fact that human brain is much more likely to become hooked on something negative rather than positive – it’s just the way our brain is wired.

Avoiding the news at every corner will do a lot to cut down on how much stress a person feels, even if it means not being able to keep up with all the latest happenings around the world.